Murdoch 'Shocked' by Media Pessimism

The nation's top media moguls aren't feeling very optimistic these days, according to News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch. In an interview with Fox News from the Allen & Company conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, Murdoch said he was "shocked" at the "very bearish" mood of his colleagues. Most at the conference think it will take at least five years before the economy sees "any real growth." He also said that if the market doesn’t improve by the end of the year—when he predicts “unemployment goes above 10 percent before Christmas”—Obama’s approval ratings could plummet in the public sector as well as in the media. Though for the moment, the media “remains very supportive” of the president, Murdoch said, pointing out the exceptions of Fox News and The Wall Street Journal, both of which the press mogul owns.