Public just don’t trust Murdoch
By politics.co.uk staff
Only 11% of the public believe Rupert Murdoch and other News Corporation executives are 'fit and proper' to own British media, polling suggests.
Research by YouGov for Avaaz found that two-thirds believe they do not meet regulator Ofcom's requirement, as public opinion turns decisively against News International's presence in the UK media.
Mr Murdoch's subsidiary of News Corp owns three UK national newspapers – the Times, the Sunday Times and the Sun. It decided to close down the News of the World after last week's phone-hacking allegations.
Over seven in ten people believe the media mogul has too much influence over British politics.
"Ed Miliband was right to say the public opposed the News Corporation's plans to take full control of BskyB," YouGov president Peter Kellner said.
"However you look at these results, the picture is bleak for News Corporation. Its executives have a vast challenge to restore public faith in their operations."
In a separate survey for the Sunday Times, YouGov found just eight per cent believed phone-hacking was confined to the News of the World.
Seventy-two per cent said they thought it was never acceptable for a journalist to pay a police officer for information – even if doing so helped expose political corruption or criminal behaviour.
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