TV & VIDEO - July 27, 1988

Australian media tycoon Rupert Murdoch blasted the British Broadcasting Corp. on Tuesday, calling the institution elitist and unconcerned with viewers’ opinions. Murdoch’s comments at a broadcasting forum in London followed a government announcement on Monday that it will drop plans to make two of Britain’s four existing channels available by satellite. “Broadcasting has in (Great Britain) for too long been the preserve of the old Establishment,” Murdoch said. “It’s deeply elitist in its thinking and indeed in its approach to programs.” Murdoch is hoping to establish alternative satellite broadcasting to Britain, but the Independent Broadcasting Authority, which oversees commercial British television, is opposing Murdoch’s proposals.