# Rupert Murdoch buys National Geographic **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 10, 2015, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rupert-murdoch-buys-national-geographic/730509 "2015-09-10T12:45:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_stamos_left_ear/32/3198_2.png) [@John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Stamos_Left_Ear)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rupert-murdoch-buys-national-geographic/730509/1 "2015-09-10T12:45:06Z")
As a child in the pre-internet, pre-cable days, my windows to the world of science beyond my science classes in school were Carl Sagan’s _Cosmos_, books and of course _National Geographic_. We had a subscription for the magazine all throughout my childhood and I remember specific issues and stories to this day - about King Tut and Egyptian archaeology when they captivated a nation in the '70s, about weather phenomenon, amazing photographs of animals in places I couldn’t even imagine existed. It sparked an interest that lives within me today and that I instill in my child. Imagine my shock and horror when I see this article show up in my Facebook feed: > [@](#): > > The National Geographic magazine has been a nonprofit publication since inception in 1888, but that ends today. The long-running American publication becomes very much for-profit under a $725 million dollar deal announced today with 21st Century Fox, the entertainment company controlled by the family of Rupert Murdoch. > > Murdoch is a notorious climate change denier, and his family’s Fox media empire is the world’s primary source of global warming misinformation. Which would be no big deal here, I guess, were it not for the fact that the National Geographic Society’s mission includes giving grants to scientists. > > [Boing Boing](http://boingboing.net/2015/09/09/rupert-murdoch-just-bought-nat.html) The fact that this billionaire blowhard who has already turned political discourse in this country into _Idiocracy_ now gets to inject his partisan and decidednly non-scientific views into a brand that has heretofore been non-profit is depressing. National Geographic, who embraced science since 1888, is now owned by someone who rejects science. I am disgusted beyond words at this. ---
**Author:** ![Gedd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gedd/32/4938_2.png) [@Gedd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gedd)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rupert-murdoch-buys-national-geographic/730509/2 "2015-09-10T12:47:40Z")
Well fuck. I’m glad I didn’t get that job. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rupert-murdoch-buys-national-geographic/730509/3 "2015-09-10T13:11:02Z")
A less shrill [cite](https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/national-geographic-magazine-shifts-to-for-profit-status-with-fox-partnership/2015/09/09/7c9f034e-56f0-11e5-8bb1-b488d231bba2_story.html). Murdoch is above all a business man. We have to see how this effects things long term. The bottom line is without this change the magazine would probably have died. The actual National Geographic Society remains a non-profit organization. There is some good news with this: > [@](#): > > Fox’s $725 million payment to the society will push the organization’s endowment to more than $1 billion and will allow the organization to double its spending on research, science and other projects, the society said. > > The society said it would create an education center named for the Grosvenor family — whose members helped found the society and ran it for decades — and dedicated to improving high school students’ geography skills. It also said that it plans to establish a center for cartography, journalism and photography. ---
**Author:** ![kferr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/71e660/32.png) [@kferr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kferr)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rupert-murdoch-buys-national-geographic/730509/4 "2015-09-10T13:16:24Z")
> [@John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](#): > > We had a subscription for the magazine all throughout my childhood and I remember specific issues and stories to this day - about King Tut and Egyptian archaeology when they captivated a nation in the '70s, about weather phenomenon, amazing photographs of animals in places I couldn’t even imagine existed. It sparked an interest that lives within me today and that I instill in my child. Don’t forget the boobies. ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rupert-murdoch-buys-national-geographic/730509/5 "2015-09-10T13:20:42Z")
The Murdoch Alert [**extension**](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/MurdochAlert-details/) on my Firefox has been flagging any National Geographic site for years. Perhaps it is predictive. There’s also a [**Murdoch Block**](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/murdoch-block/). ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rupert-murdoch-buys-national-geographic/730509/6 "2015-09-10T13:25:04Z")
> [@Claverhouse](#): > > The Murdoch Alert [**extension**](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/MurdochAlert-details/) on my Firefox has been flagging any National Geographic site for years. Perhaps it is predictive. The National Geographic Channel was already a partnership with Fox. They have been partners since 1997. ---
**Author:** ![Gedd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gedd/32/4938_2.png) [@Gedd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gedd)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rupert-murdoch-buys-national-geographic/730509/7 "2015-09-10T13:32:01Z")
As long as owning 73% doesn’t mean he can direct their research. “If you can’t refute science, buy it!” ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rupert-murdoch-buys-national-geographic/730509/8 "2015-09-10T13:32:47Z")
> [@kferr](#): > > Don’t forget the boobies. That’ll make a decent pair with his empire then. Every now and again His Excellency rolls his eyes piously ---- he is after all a puritan: just one of those many puritans who will always prefer profit to principle — and announces his media will no longer have Page 3 Girls or similar uses of women. Then after a few months everyone forgets, as easily as forgetting a cellphone hack, and all continues as before. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rupert-murdoch-buys-national-geographic/730509/9 "2015-09-10T15:09:11Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > A less shrill [cite](https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/national-geographic-magazine-shifts-to-for-profit-status-with-fox-partnership/2015/09/09/7c9f034e-56f0-11e5-8bb1-b488d231bba2_story.html). > > Murdoch is above all a business man. We have to see how this effects things long term. The bottom line is without this change the magazine would probably have died. Great so we can look forward to the same fate the history and discovery channel faced, drop all pretense of actually educating the public in favor of just getting readers . “This month on national Geographic our scientists explore whether Tutankhamun was really from outer space”. Better to die than be resurrected as a zombie to fight against everything you previously held dear. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rupert-murdoch-buys-national-geographic/730509/10 "2015-09-10T15:28:39Z")
I, too, grew up in a house with a bookcase that featured what looked like a yellow wall. I’ll take a wait and see approach here, but if the credibility of National Geographic dwindles to that of Fox "news’’, death would have been preferable. ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rupert-murdoch-buys-national-geographic/730509/11 "2015-09-10T15:43:58Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > Great so we can look forward to the same fate the history and discovery channel faced, drop all pretense of actually educating the public in favor of just getting readers . “This month on national Geographic our scientists explore whether Tutankhamun was really from outer space”. Better to die than be resurrected as a zombie to fight against everything you previously held dear. Or, as a future editor may justify it–can you prove he was not from outer space? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rupert-murdoch-buys-national-geographic/730509/12 "2015-09-10T15:50:20Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Murdoch is above all a business man. Yes, that’s the problem. He cares about making money, not about education. And clearly education wasn’t making money, or they wouldn’t have needed to sell–and that’s without having to generate a profit. If education was profitable, we’d have privately owned educational television in this country. We don’t. YouTubers can eke out a living from educational videos, but only because they have principles and don’t sell out. Big, rich multi-company owners generally don’t, and we know Murdoch definitely doesn’t. The guy broke the law in the UK in order to keep his news company working. He puts making money over everything. As you said, he’s “above all a business man.” ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rupert-murdoch-buys-national-geographic/730509/13 "2015-09-10T17:34:23Z")
I see no reason for complete panic. FOX did bring COSMOS back, after all. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rupert-murdoch-buys-national-geographic/730509/14 "2015-09-10T17:43:55Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Murdoch is above all a business man. > [@BigT](#): > > Yes, that’s the problem. He cares about making money, not about education. And clearly education wasn’t making money, or they wouldn’t have needed to sell–and that’s without having to generate a profit. But Murdoch decided to buy that unprofitable magazine anyway. Therefore, he must have in mind some changes that he expects will make NG profitable. What might those be, I wonder? ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Smith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecccb3/32.png) [@Dale\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Smith)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rupert-murdoch-buys-national-geographic/730509/15 "2015-09-10T17:48:52Z")
How can you get a benchmark on what the climate temp is they have been using geo-engineering to modify the atmosphere? They have been using aerosol spraying since 1997. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rupert-murdoch-buys-national-geographic/730509/16 "2015-09-10T17:54:30Z")
Note: > [@](#): > > Spokeswoman MJ Jacobsen said National Geographic essentially retains editorial control with the same leadership team and editors, and the media ventures will continue to be based at National Geographic’s headquarters in Washington. > **[National Geographic sells majority stake to Fox](https://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/2015/09/09/national-geographic-sells-media-business-fox/71954828/)** > > The agreement will give the company a 73 percent stake in the new National Geographic Partners venture Seriously do Dopers still read National Geographic? Likewise I remember it from when I was a kid–but not since. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rupert-murdoch-buys-national-geographic/730509/17 "2015-09-10T17:56:00Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > Seriously do Dopers still read National Geographic? Sometimes, when I’m browsing in the library or happen to see it on the newsstand. Read != buy. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rupert-murdoch-buys-national-geographic/730509/18 "2015-09-10T18:00:06Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > Note: > > [National Geographic sells majority stake to Fox](http://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/2015/09/09/national-geographic-sells-media-business-fox/71954828/) > > Seriously do Dopers still read National Geographic? Likewise I remember it from when I was a kid–but not since. I have a subscription so yes. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rupert-murdoch-buys-national-geographic/730509/19 "2015-09-10T18:24:14Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Murdoch is above all a business man. And he just bought a new brand, he is not going to kill what that brand means to the loyal customers. The target audience will remain the target. There is ideology, loyalty, and then there is business. Like when they took Tessio out to kill him in Godfather II and he turned around and said something like, “Tell Michael it was only business, I always liked him.” I really don’t think this should be a worry to Nat Geo fans. Nat Geo may actually improve with more stable financial backing and capital. You don’t buy the cash cow and kill for burgers. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rupert-murdoch-buys-national-geographic/730509/20 "2015-09-10T18:25:41Z")
> [@Gedd](#): > > As long as owning 73% doesn’t mean he can direct their research. > > “If you can’t refute science, buy it!” He is not buying the society. That remains a separate non-profit organization. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rupert-murdoch-buys-national-geographic/730509.md?page=2)