DAVOS: Rupert Murdoch claims he and fellow media moguls have been prevented from ruling the world by the advance of the internet and digital media. He told the World Economic Forum in Davos that giant media conglomerates such as News Corporation these days wield less influence over political and financial agendas.
Those now in the driving seat, averred the NewsCorp chairman/ceo, are bloggers, podcasters and news sites - in other words 'welcome to people power'.
He opined that media giants, hitherto accused of shaping government policy and manipulating public opinion, would have to accept these changes and more, adding: "We just have to let this go. We can't reverse it."
UK chancellor, prime minister-in-waiting and fellow panellist Gordon Brown was eager to concur. He was settled cosily next to Murdoch, whose UK tabloid are still market leaders and helped the Blair administration achieve power in 1997.
Brown told the meeting that politicians were still stuck in the "slow lane of the information super highway". But they were willing to accept and embrace the new reality to help them shape the way they make decisions and communicate their policies.
Jack Ma Yun, founder and ceo of Chinese web and electronic commerce giant Alibaba.com told the assembled great and good that the Chinese government was not as censorious as it is generally perceived.
He claimed his company had managed to educate the government about the benefits of the web and to demonstrate how it helps Chinese citizens.
He added: "You create value and show the government it works."
Data sourced from Adweek (USA); additional content by WARC staff
