"Not A Fit Person To Exercise the Stewardship
Of A Major International Company."
After phone hackings, lies to Parliament, use of moneyed power to influence members of Parliament including Prime Minister David Cameron, a British Parliament Select Committee has declared Rupert Murdoch unfit to run his global media empire.
Murdoch is a U.S. Citizen with American operations, of which I’m reminded every time I pass a newsstand with screaming New York Post headlines. The British public and press are in a frenzy, but no one here seems much concerned.
Corporate and municipal bonds get ratings, so do restaurants and tennis players. But the only American organization that rates its leaders is the U.S. military, with a numerical system for its officer corps: 1 - Outstanding, 2 - Excellent, 3 - Average, 4 - Below Average, and 5 - Well Below Average. It’s likely not perfect but it does produce ratings, while corporate heads run loose no matter how badly they perform or behave.
A Parliament that can give a CEO a public “Unfit” rating is worth paying attention to. One of my favorite occasional pastimes is watching British Parliament on TV, less like our Congress than a raucous town meeting, people arguing, booing, shouting, “Hear Hear!”
The U.S. Congress is beyond producing anything except partisan trumpery, but some neutral non-governmental organization—there must be one—able to keep corporate CEOs honest, at least relatively, and pull the plug on those who run amok, like Enron’s Kenneth Lay, WorldCom’s Bernard Ebbers, and a host of others is desperately needed. Heaven knows Rupert Murdoch is not the only viper in the nest.
Of A Major International Company."
After phone hackings, lies to Parliament, use of moneyed power to influence members of Parliament including Prime Minister David Cameron, a British Parliament Select Committee has declared Rupert Murdoch unfit to run his global media empire.
Murdoch is a U.S. Citizen with American operations, of which I’m reminded every time I pass a newsstand with screaming New York Post headlines. The British public and press are in a frenzy, but no one here seems much concerned.
Corporate and municipal bonds get ratings, so do restaurants and tennis players. But the only American organization that rates its leaders is the U.S. military, with a numerical system for its officer corps: 1 - Outstanding, 2 - Excellent, 3 - Average, 4 - Below Average, and 5 - Well Below Average. It’s likely not perfect but it does produce ratings, while corporate heads run loose no matter how badly they perform or behave.
A Parliament that can give a CEO a public “Unfit” rating is worth paying attention to. One of my favorite occasional pastimes is watching British Parliament on TV, less like our Congress than a raucous town meeting, people arguing, booing, shouting, “Hear Hear!”
The U.S. Congress is beyond producing anything except partisan trumpery, but some neutral non-governmental organization—there must be one—able to keep corporate CEOs honest, at least relatively, and pull the plug on those who run amok, like Enron’s Kenneth Lay, WorldCom’s Bernard Ebbers, and a host of others is desperately needed. Heaven knows Rupert Murdoch is not the only viper in the nest.
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