Rupert Murdoch can have well documented dislike for Google without his dislike intrinsically kneecapping the Wall Street Journal’s journalistic integrity. The comment I replied to criticizes the article we’re discussing categorically by origin, instead of specifically on merits.
Murdoch’s agenda can be a thesis statement for why the WSJ has poor journalistic integrity with respect to Google, but it doesn't demonstrate that failing on its own, nor is merely calling out that someone in a position of power has an agenda a well-reasoned thesis.
Basically, it’s not contributing anything more interesting to the discussion, and is just going to attract other comments or upvotes that agree. That’s not insightful discussion, it’s just ingroup commiseration.
Appreciate the demand for precision, but you won't get more than anecdotes in this case.
I used to work for Google and I remember the 180 degree turn in WSJ's output after Murdoch gave a speech in which he announced Google News was killing journalism and the future of newspapers was the iPad (this was just after the iPad was new). Suddenly bullshit articles about us started appearing constantly.
The first one I remember was about the Safari cookie case, if anyone remembers that. Basically Safari had shipped a third party cookie filter that broke the web as a "privacy" feature. Because it didn't work and couldn't ever work Apple started adding in bizarre documented workarounds that were basically bugs in the filter, but they chose to document rather than fix, so important apps like the Facebook like button would start working again. Google started using these workarounds as was intended by Apple in order to fix its own products. The WSJ paid some academics to go dirt digging and they found this, announced Google was hacking Safari's filter etc, Apple exploited the situation, this caused regulators to go and whack us and so on.
It's quite amazing how easily manipulated governments and especially regulators are by newspapers. My father used to hate Murdoch with a passion (he was in the tv biz), and after that I understood why... the power wielded by people who own newspapers is phenomenal. And they do not hesitate to abuse it!
