Le führer Murdoch, dans son bunker

Le führer Murdoch, dans son bunker

La décision de Rupert Murdoch, hier soir, de fermer définitivement The News of the World, ce journal londonien vieux de 168 ans, pour “riposter” à la crise qui touche son groupe, a soulevé des commentaires stupéfaits. Murdoch liquide le journal qui a été l’instrument de l’illégalité, tandis que les responsables de cette illégalité, dont Rebekah Brooks, qui dirige le groupe au Royaume-Uni, gardent “toute sa confiance”. Le geste ressemble à une incantation : détruire l’arme du crime, que tout le monde connaît désormais (et l’arme, et le crime), en espérant que le crime disparaîtra.

A côté de cela, bien entendu, il y a diverses hypothèses de stratégie pour expliquer cette décision de Murdoch… En attendant, Jane Marinson du Guardian conserve l’image du führer dans son bunker, prenant des décisions irrationnelles (le 8 juillet 2011).

«It did not take long for the saga at News Corporation to be given the full Downfall treatment online, with Rupert Murdoch as the flailing führer in the war film depicting Hitler's final hours. In the spoof, on YouTube, he sacrifices his beloved Eva Braun, aka Rebekah Brooks. In real life, and in much more dramatic fashion, Murdoch sacrificed the troops at the News of the World.

»The announcement that it would publish its last edition on Sunday left a shocked industry with many questions: how could the Murdochs close down a newspaper and sack its staff, perhaps 200 people, rather than jettison the chief executive in charge when a murdered girl's phone was hacked? And where does this leave Murdoch's son James, whose letter to staff admitted an astonishing level of culpability?

»“This is just like the last days in the bunker,” said Brian Cathcart, professor of journalism at Kingston University. “Their behaviour is completely unpredictable. To close down a 168-year-old newspaper rather than sack Brooks is simply extraordinary. It's impossible to think of any rationale.”

«The tears of Brooks, chief executive of News International and former NoW editor, as she told staff that there was no alternative but to close, failed to soften hearts; nor did her accusation it was the Guardian alone that had killed the venerable paper. Few media analysts could comprehend the survival of Brooks, described by one as “the captain of the ship when it hit the iceberg”. Two possible explanations were put forward: an emotional bond felt by Rupert Murdoch to the former editor; and that Brooks was still needed as a firewall. “If she goes, the next domino along is James, and that's a price Rupert's not prepared to pay,” said Cathcart.

»Given the time a public inquiry could be expected to take, this firewall role was not expected to last forever. The flimsiness of Brooks's excuse [of being on holiday], combined with video of her admission to parliament that her paper paid police officers in 2003, left few people betting on her survival at the group. Both Brooks and Murdoch had been accused of being part of a “criminal underworld” in parliament. Asked whether she should resign, the cabinet minister Chris Huhne told the Today programme: “Either they know what's going on, in which case the editor was complicit in some criminal activity, or they were extremely incompetent.”»

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