Global warming is highly questionable as a phenomenon.

That's obvious enough based on all the scandals of scientists faking their "climate change" data and weepy phony stories about sick polar bears.  So much for "science."  It's also obvious in the hypocrisy of princelings and billionaires flying to expensive conferences with big carbon footprints in order to tell us not to use plastic straws.  "I'll believe global warming is a crisis when the people who tell me it's a crisis start to act like it's a crisis themselves," as Instapundit's Ed Driscoll memorably said.  It's obvious in the greed of the politically connected who cook up fake energy alternatives such as Solyndra for big bucks and then take the money and run when the scam's up.  It's obvious in the news commentators who attribute every natural and unnatural disaster, no matter how imaginary the facts, to global warming.

And it's most obvious in the suppression of anyone who questions the data, the cause of the data (such as sunspots), the unintended consequences of global warming legislation (such as bird Cuisinarts), the hypocrisy of China, Russia, the U.N., and Europe, which make few global warming sacrifices but demand that America make many, or the outrageous cost-benefit ratios, as in the case of California's failing power grid.  All such questioners are shut out of the news, marginalized, demonetized, if not denied a social media presence, or labeled as some kind of "denier" on a par with Nazi types who deny the Holocaust.  Suffice it to say a big industry with powerful forces and big dollars has sprung up to perpetuate this failing idea and questioning anything about it cannot be tolerated.

So here we go: another moneybags rich guy is looking to manipulate news coverage based on his need to perpetuate the global warming trope.

According to the Daily Caller:

James Murdoch, the son of billionaire media mogul Rupert Murdoch, and his wife Kathryn are close to a deal to fund a climate reporting division of the Associated Press, according to Axios.

The Murdoch couple will make a multi-million-dollar investment in the Associated Press as part of the deal, two sources familiar with the negotiations told Axios. The investment will go towards the creation of a new AP climate reporting hub which will employ 20 reporters.

The new climate division at the AP would reportedly have other donors in addition to the Murdochs, according to Axios. James and Kathryn Murdoch will make their investment through the Quadrivium Foundation which they co-founded in 2014.

"We look for initiatives that address the root causes of problems and where single actions can create multiple positive outcomes," the group states on its website. "We prioritize the potential for lasting impact over safe bets. And we seek opportunities where our investment or leadership will make a real difference."

The original Axios story is here.

It's kind of disgusting to think that with all the access to media outlets Rupert Junior has, based on old Pop's media empire, he chose instead to branch out to the Associated Press, a news outlet that's ubiquitous, such that it can only be compared to a utility.  "More than half the world's population sees AP journalism every day," according to the news agency's website.  The AP runs as a non-profit cooperative, according to Wikipedia; has about 3,300 employees; takes in revenue of about $510 million; and made $1.6 million in net income from it, according to the 2017 figures cited.

Suffice to say that given the relatively piddly plan to hire just twenty reporters in this Murdoch project, any donation of more than a million dollars — and it sounds as though it might be quite a lot from the stories — is going to make an impact on a news agency that squeezes out only $1.6 million in net income from its operations.

Naturally, the AP claims that none of this incoming cash is going to make an impact on the coverage, and Murdoch Junior won't do a thing to stick his nose into the news coverage.  That's laughable on its face, given that all news agencies to varying degrees are influenced by their owners.  "Freedom of the press belongs to those who own one," as New Yorker essayist A.J. Liebling wrote.  Is this big AP project to shove more phony global warming stories in our faces going to cover the next global warming data scandal or irrefutable data demonstrating global warming's phoniness?  Don't hold your breath.  Some stories will be written and others not, but it won't be contingent on which stories are truest or most important.  News judgment will be subject to whatever the prevailing "narrative" from the elites might just be.

The Axios story has a couple of interesting details the Daily Caller didn't mention or emphasize — that a lot of rich guys are getting into this business, not by buying media itself, which is a hell of a difficult thing to run, but by shoveling foundation money into pet projects to get the stories they want.  The Soros bunch, which Axios did not mention, is big on this.  A suspicious omission from Axios about all the billionaires and rich guys (we think Murdoch Jr. is just a rich guy at this point) getting into this game was that of Apple widow/heiress Laurene Powell Jobs, who's got the hooks in at The Atlantic.  Wonder why Axios didn't mention that in its list, given that she's so prominent? 

Here's a big likely as to why Axios didn't mention it, from MarketRealist, emphasis mine:

Who owns Axios?

Axios is owned by Axios Media, whose investors include Glade Brook Capital Partners, Lerer Hippeau Ventures, Greycroft, and NBC News. NBC doubles up as Axios' media partner. Axios reporters have made appearances on NBC television networks. Moreover, as part of the partnership, Axios co-founder Mike Allen has featured on MSNBC's Morning Joe. 

The outlet has also raised money from investors such as Laurene Powell Jobs, and Atlantic Media owners David and Katherine Bradley. Axios has raised about $60 million from its investors. 

While many of the owners are known, the exact shareholding structure in the company, such as the stakes owned by Axios founders, isn't currently public. As Axios is a private company, investing in it may require one to have a certain level of net worth to qualify as an accredited investor. 

Once again, we see the idea in action that the owners of media outlets have a lot to say about what gets reported and what gets ignored.  So much for AP's denials of undue influence.

A big industry has sprung up around this rich man's idea of promoting global warming, highly favored by billionaires such as Tom Steyer and wannabe billionaires such as the Murdoch couple.  It's a cause that's definitely in the interest of rich guys, given that it's a disguised bid to keep the hoi polloi oppressed, impoverished, immobile, stuffed into cramped little rented rabbit warrens instead of owned homes, dependent on atrocious, disease-spreading unionized, zero-customer-service public transportation with zero choice and, above all, at a distance from them.  It's fine if they live in multiple heated mansions, drive private cars, use petroleum products to their hearts' content with those carbon credit "indulgences," and fly private jets, but those little guys had better not try to get any of that on their own.  Big cash ensures that the global warming idea, despite its obvious flaws, persists, based on its appeal to billionaires, government bureaucrats hungry for power, and miserable Millennials looking for some kind of religion.  Now we're seeing moneybags fanatics moving in for the kill in a bid to flood the news and crowd out little dissenters as if that hasn't already been done enough.

It may be a matter of the public not buying into the nonsense that so much effort is now being expended.  Perhaps saturation coverage promoting this flawed idea is the idea.  If so, it makes the effort propaganda.  What a pity that it's come to this in the matter of news.  We'll believe that these guys are sincere when we see a real story disproving global warming from a real study or a good exposé of global warming data fraud.  Until then, it's just more corporatization of the news, which is what's driving the public away from news and raising the levels of distrust of the media to its stellar heights.  This cash won't fix that, it will act as an accelerant. 

Image: Pixabay, Pixabay License.

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.