July 22, 2011
Bloggers and media outlets everywhere are scrutinizing the relationship between Christian publishing giant Zondervan and British tabloid mogul Rupert Murdoch. One of Murdoch’s holdings is HarperCollins, the parent company of Zondervan, publisher of books by renowned Christian authors and the several editions of the New International Version of the Bible. Murdoch himself, perhaps best known for holdings such as The Wall Street Journal and Fox News, has come under investigation and harsh criticism of late and was forced to close one of his British tabloids, News of the World, following accusations of widespread phone hacking by the tabloid’s journalists.
An article in Christian Today reported that Zondervan released a statement saying its connection to Murdoch “does not present an ethical dilemma” for the company, since it has always operated with autonomy and editorial independence and none of their authors have expressed a serious issue with the connection. “While we are obviously aware of the matter at hand,” said the statement, “it does not distract or detract us from our work at hand, and we will continue to pursue our mission and operate as we have for the past 80 years.”
