Of Billionaire Moguls and Their Prostitute Publishing Companies
| So I learned a few things today that really piss me off. Given, the information is public knowledge, and I probably shouldn’t be surprised at all. But I am. I guess I’m not as cynical as I thought I was. But in a few years I’ll be hopeless. Anyways, apparently Rupert Murdoch owns Zondervan. For those not in the know, Zondervan is one of the largest publishers of Bibles and "Christian books" around. Zondervan, for instance, publishes the New International Bible, still perhaps the most popular contemporary translation in print. Let that sink in for a moment. The same man who owns Fox News, dozens of newspapers and television stations, the National Rugby League, and the Los Angeles Lakers (9.8 % option) owns what is probably one of the three biggest Christian book publishing houses on the planet. And given Murdoch’s politics, that ought to scare you shitless. For some reason, I’ve also never really thought about the fact that modern translations of the Bible are copyrighted. Again, it’s obvious that they would be. But this never crossed my mind for some reason. The NIV version, for instance, is copyrighted by the International Bible Society. And Zondervan is its publisher. (Other publishers do apparently publish the NIV, too. Tyndale, for instance, publishes The Daily Walk Bible, which is an NIV translation. But Zondervan seems to put out 99.9% of NIVs). So every time you buy a Zondervan NIV Bible, Rupert Murdoch’s coffers gets deeper. And those funds go directly back into spinning the world uncomfortably towards the Right. Sigh. The next time Jesus goes to church, he won’t be turning over tables. He’ll have a fucking rocket launcher. |
posted by Wasp Jerky at 8:10 PM
Comments on "Of Billionaire Moguls and Their Prostitute Publishing Companies"
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Anonymous said ... (5/19/2005 11:59:00 AM) :
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Brandon said ... (5/19/2005 01:19:00 PM) :
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Wasp Jerky said ... (5/19/2005 05:41:00 PM) :
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Anonymous said ... (5/19/2005 09:17:00 PM) :
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Anonymous said ... (5/19/2005 10:34:00 PM) :
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Wasp Jerky said ... (6/02/2005 09:08:00 PM) :
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John 3:17 said ... (7/11/2006 05:18:00 PM) :
post a commentThank God for Oxford University Press et al,.
That is most concerning.
Yeah, I never thought I'd find common ground with the "if it ain't King James, it ain't Bible" crowd. But man. Rupert Murdoch essentially semi-owns the NIV. WTF?
Back in the day when HarperCollins bought Zondervan, I remember people getting up in arms because HC also published The Satanic Bible.
Murdoch has made a bundle off of lighting the flames of cultural outrage with one hand and shoveling on his own smutty tinder with the other. I don't like him any more than you, but he's brilliant in his own way.
Not that the NIV has anything to do with that. And not that he personally had anything to do with the NIV. But you still make an uncomfortable connection.
Interesting that you write about this... i just heard about that same connection today through my wife in relation to zondervan's (murdoch's) sponsorship of the emergent convention. yes, disturbing.
"Oh no. Murdoch is earning money from a publishing business that happens to publish Bibles."
What are you, five? Do I really need to explain to you why it's bad for one the the richest men alive to essentially own a version of the Bible? Or why it's bad for the Bible to be copyrighted? Or why corporations and Christianity shouldn't mix?
Incidentally, here's a novel concept: if you're going to make incorrect insulting assumptions about people, at least have the balls to enable your profile so they can visit your blog.
Don't let Murdoch fool you. He is not as "right wing" as he is made out to be or as much as he pretends to be. It is sad that someone like him does have so much money that he can purchase things that are sacred and force his image upon them.