London - The surrender of control by the National Geographic Society of most of its assets, including its venerated monthly magazine first published in 1888, to the Fox media empire controlled by the Murdoch family has ignited fears that its dual journalistic and scientific missions are in jeopardy.
Under a deal that will see it transform itself from a philanthropic institution to a for-profit business, the society has agreed to retain just 27 percent of a new entity to be called National Geographic Partners. Fox will own 73 percent. It will publish National Geographic magazine, which has a global circulation of nearly seven million, as well as its television channels, digital platforms and map publishing arm.
Fox has been a partner in the society's National Geographic cable channel since 1997 and both sides insist the new arrangement is merely the obvious next step forward. In return for its stake, Fox will infuse $725m (£470m) into the society's endowment to help sustain and expand its research and educational activities.
But it is the potential for commercial gain that has been the focus from the Fox side. “This expanded partnership, bringing together all of the media and consumer activities under the National Geographic umbrella... creates vast opportunities and enables this business to be even more successful in a digital environment,” said James Murdoch, the CEO of 21st Century Fox, in announcing the deal.
Critics of the union are already pointing to a recent string of comments from Rupert Murdoch, often via Twitter, questioning the science of climate change. He recently called himself a “climate change sceptic not a denier”, and contended that a summit of climate scientists this month at the UN in New York would offer “endless alarmist nonsense from u know whom! Pessimists always seen as sages.”
“Is the grandeur of the brand and the standards we associate with National Geographic... going to be lowered?” Christopher Palmer, an environmental film maker and professor at American University in Washington, asked in an interview yesterday. “That's the worry, whether Fox's drive for sensationalism, commercialism and ratings is going to damage those standards.”
Palmer, a native of Bath, said that the remarks by Rupert Murdoch about climate change set up an instant clash. “It will be fascinating see if National Geographic now, in very subtle ways, begins to soften its views on the profound threats of climate change. We have to be realistic. Money talks.”
THE INDEPENDENT