A reader writes, in response to my earlier post:

How accurate is it to describe Murdoch as a “center-right” publisher? Fox News is certainly designed to appeal to conservatives, and I guess some of his newspapers have right-leaning editorial pages, but isn’t it also true that one of his biggest papers sells soft-porn alongside celebrity news? Would a conservative do that? And his vast entertainment division cerrtainly doesn’t promote conservative values. Have you ever seen Family Guy or the Simpsons or Glee or some of the appalling stuff on FX? And has there ever been a bigger piece of left-wing propaganda than Avatar? In fact, hasn’t Murdoch bragged about News Corp’s environmental policies and how it uses Fox movies and TV shows to push a “green” agenda? Would a conservative do that? Is Murdoch truly a conservative or is his main motivation making money?

First off, I’m not convinced that the ‘center-right’ position is quite as conservative as it is made to sound here in any context. But secondly, it should be noted that my post was about the UK, in which those on the center-right (or ‘One Nation,’ Disraelian tradition) are staunch fans of socialized medicine, ‘climate change’ initiatives, the existence and power of the European Union, and even some nationalization of industry. While there is some truth in the notion that Rupert Murdoch is primarily interested in making money, and that his media portfolio is diverse, he does unquestionably own two British newspapers which are center-right; The Sun and The Times can be described in no other way. It is perhaps also worth remembering that social conservatism is not a significant force in the UK in the way it is in America. For better or worse, hot topics such as gun control, abortion, the role of religion, and gay marriage, simply do not draw much by way of debate or controversy.