Rupert Murdoch Clarifies Political Donations

At last evening’s Media Institute Awards banquet in Washington, Rupert Murdoch did more than just heap praise on D.C. public schools chancellor Michelle Rhee.  News Corporation‘s founder and CEO, also took a moment to discuss the nature of his recent political donations with Politico’s Keach Hagey. 

Murdoch told Hagey that News Corp. gave $1 million to the Republican Governors Association because of his friendship with former Fox News host and Republican candidate for Ohio’s governor’s seat, John Kasich.  The Australian-American media mogul claims the gift, one of the largest ever donated by a media company to a polictical cause, ”had nothing to do with Fox News.”

This is not the first time Murdoch and Fox News’s political motives have been brought into question.  In September, The Huffington Post reported that the Democratic Governors Association filed a complaint with the Ohio Elections Commission claiming Fox News made an “illegal in-kind donation” to Kasich by displaying a graphic promoting Kasich’s website during his appearance on The O’ Reilly Factor.  The DGA has since withdrawn their complaint after finding no legal problem with the donation.

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