It seems that while I was busy finishing up the summer term at Drexel University (it went well by the way), Rupert Murdoch (News Corp.) was busy buying up various Internet properties including IGN and MySpace. Both are sites I use in a limited capacity.
The idea is that TV is no longer the optimal way to reach the 18-25 demographic and that News Corp content is best served to this demographic via the web. This completely reverses the business model that Murdoch held to throughout the 90's, during which he suffered a number of losses due to the .com bubble.
Murdoch is widely considered to be one of the most politically influential media providers in the world, and is a well known conservative. Some might contest this, but anyone who says Pat Robertson,"is right on all the issues" has a pretty defined political alignment. Moreover, Murdoch's media outlets including Fox News were known to be supportive of Bush during the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections. The political slant taken by Murdoch media outlets would seem to favor Murdoch's commercial interests.
Murdoch's tycoon status in the television and print media world can only be enhanced by this recent venture into the Internet media environment. I am sad to say that Murdoch is making some smart acquisitions out here in the digital world.
Although I am passionate about a great deal, I am ever vigilant when it comes to Politics and Technology, and I'm afraid that they're coming together in a rather scary way. If you have any thoughts or predictions about where things go from here, please feel free to leave a comment.
Anyone out there who shares my affinity for shows like Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Sealab 2021, Space Ghost C-t0-C, and Robot Chicken will be interested to hear that Adult Swim is taking the bold step into Internet broadcasting. As many of you may know, Adult Swim programming is shown all nights but Friday on the cartoon network. Starting September 16th, broadband users will be able to watch Adult Swim content online on Friday nights from 11pm to 6am for free. The sampling will consist of fan requested episodes of their favorite shows, and previews of programming for the coming week.