Even though Steve Jobs had a solid working relationship with News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch, it’s no secret that Steve Jobs hated Fox News. In fact, in Walter Isaacon’s authorized biography, Steve Jobs said that “Fox has become an incredibly destructive force in our society.”
Rather than associate Apple’s brand with Fox News, Steve Jobs decided to personally order all of Apple’s ads to be removed from the conservative TV network.
In his upcoming book on Obama’s 2012 push to re-election, author Jonathan Alter dedicated an entire chapter to Fox’s influence on Obama’s campaign where he also describes how Steve Jobs “personally ordered that Apple ads be removed from Fox News.”
Details on why, how and when aren’t given, but we’ll surely learn more when the book, The Center Holds: Obama and His Enemies, comes out on June 4th.
Thanks to some help from Jobs, Murdoch’s company invested heavily in the iPad with the news app, The Daily. Despite their working relationship, it has long been known that Steve Jobs hated Murdoch’s Fox News. In an interview with Walter Isaacson, Jobs recounted a meeting he had with Murdoch:
“You’re blowing it with Fox News,” Jobs told him over dinner. “The axis today is not liberal and conservative, the axis is constructive-destructive, and you’ve cast your lot with the destructive people. Fox has become an incredibly destructive force in our society. You can be better, and this is going to be your legacy if you’re not careful.” Jobs said he thought Murdoch did not really like how far Fox had gone. “Rupert’s a builder, not a tearer-downer,” he said. “I’ve had some meetings with (Murdoch’s son) James, and I think he agrees with me. I can just tell.”
It’s a bit of a surprise that Steve would pull Apple’s business away from Fox when he had a good relationship with Murdoch, but as someone who was focused on making devices that enhanced users’ creativity, it’s no wonder Jobs didn’t want his brand associated with a news organization he viewed as “destructive.”
Source: NYT
