News Corp attacked in Georgia

The country, not the state. Sadly, the state likes Murdoch way too much.

The country of Georgia (more specifically the government) was displeased with News Corp's recently purchased TV station, Imedi, was raided by Georgia's special forces, destroying their equipment and leaving "very extensive damage."

MOSCOW, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. described as "totally outrageous" on Friday the storming of its Georgian television station Imedi by armed police, saying they caused "very extensive" damage.

Georgian special forces charged the station on Wednesday night, forcing staff to the floor and holding guns to their heads before smashing equipment and blacking out the signal, witnesses said.

"Two hundred, I don't know what they were, special police, thugs, came into the station, did not serve any papers, did not say why they were there," News Corp. executive vice-president Martin Pompadur told Reuters in a telephone interview.

"I have no idea who gave them the authorisation, someone in the government I assume. And they destroyed the station, they destroyed the control room, they destroyed equipment, they obviously had been given instructions to do just that".

Imedi, which had broadcast extensive coverage of anti- government protests, remains off the air. Under President Mikhail Saakashvili's 15-day state of emergency, only government media are allowed to broadcast news and big meetings are banned.

Heh. I mean... aw... Maybe this is the beginning of Murdoch's Karma for what he did to Fox News and the Washington Post. At any rate, Murdoch is maaaaaaaaad. His channel will be likely out of commission until after the special election in Georgia (the history of which I know nothing about and don't care to look for information on - Something about a new government being created in Moscow). At any rate, the reality of the story is that News Corp MAY have been doing a good thing by relating the opinions of the opposition, but I can't feel bad about Murdoch's property getting trashed, no matter how unjust it is.

More on the story here, here, here, and here.