Bullying is a problem we oppose up here in these clear skies. Dan Olweus, who created a nationally respected bullying prevention program, says bullying has three components: an imbalance of power, aggressive behavior with unwanted negative actions and a pattern of behavior repeated over time.

     A bully’s impact has arrived in this neighborhood and over ninety five percent of neighborhoods in the United States. He’s an Australian who became a US citizen in order to move the corporate headquarters of his Australian company to the United States in 2004. His name is Rupert Murdoch and he’s the founder, chairman and CEO of News Corporation, News Corp for short.

     News Corp’s behavior is similar to a bully. Murdoch's aggressive business and political tactics have created a $30 billion media business second only to Walt Disney, a far less politically active company. Murdoch created its imbalance of  power through aggressive political and business behavior with negative actions in a pattern of behavior repeated over time. Murdoch’s already profiting handsomely from the success of his apparent presidential candidate for the 2012 election.

     News Corp used cash from its businesses to purchase a cable network from Metromedia and create the FOX cable network. It financed the startup of FOX news network with its negative, attacking news personalities such as Bill O’Reilly. FOX broadcasts inspired MSNBC to hire Keith Olbermann, and the sparring between the two networks has driven ratings for both networks higher than CNN's ratings.

     News Corp is the world’s largest English language newspaper publisher. It owns the New York Post, the seventh largest newspaper in the US. It purchased Dow Jones and now owns the Wall Street Journal. The WSJ cut advertising rates in its New York metro section to cut income at the New York Times. NYT CEO Janet Robinson confirmed News Corp is “very, very, heavily” discounting rates. News Corp also owns book publishers HarperCollins and Zondervan, the Christian book company with retail stores.

     Michael Wolfe, who wrote The Man Who Owns the News, describes Murdoch’s media tactics to strengthen his political and business power. In 1977, he and his New York Post staff chose Ed Koch, a liberal long shot among seven candidates in the primary race for New York mayor. Its early endorsement emphasized his campaign in photographs and headlines that buried critical articles and helped him win. His victory established the Post as a power in New York.

     News Corp is underwriting Sarah Palin’s media moves. Her attorney Robert Barnett, said News Corp.’s HarperCollins was “first and fervent” in the bidding to sign Palin. HarperCollins CEO Brian Murray said, “Governor Palin is the most charismatic, inspiring and controversial figure to appear on the national political stage for years. She has a fascinating story to tell and we look forward to publishing what surely will be a captivating book.”

     News Corp's various divisions are profiting by promoting Palin’s media campaign. Palin’s book signing for Going Rogue included co-publishing a different Christian version for Zondervan to publish and distribute through its stores. FOX news channel frequently quotes Palin’s support for candidate endorsements and covered her book signing tour. She is scheduled to host a FOX entertainment program. No other Republican potential presidential candidate has comparable media access. 

    Experts on bullying report that it often goes unnoticed in front of adults. The first step in prevention is to identify bullies and when, where, and how it happens.

    Murdoch and News Corp have bullying power in our political process. Do we really want one person to have that much power over our electoral process?