Murdoch Says News Corp. Has Hit a “Brick Wall” in China

Media tycoons have long salivated over China's huge market potential. But a government investigation into Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. underscores the challenges of operating a media business in China. "A year ago I would have said there's a lot of opening up going on," Murdoch said. "The present trend is the reverse," he continued, referring to the government's investigation into the firm's alleged cooperation with unapproved local cable networks. Murdoch is not alone among media executives in protesting the government's tightening of media controls. "The Chinese are doing everything they can to manage the message," said Richard Parsons, chief executive of Time Warner. Still, Murdoch says there is a limit to the extent the government can control the influx of foreign content into China, citing the millions of Chinese who view pirated copies of Hollywood movies. He opined, "That's got to have a lasting effect which the government can't control." – YaleGlobal