Fox News

A Fox Corp. shareholder doesn’t buy the old marketing line that Rupert Murdoch’s pride and joy is a “fair and balanced” operation.

Fox did strike a blow for integrity in advertising when it junked that fair and balanced schtick in 2016.

The stockholder is upset that only 43 percent of Americans trust Fox News for political news, according to a Pew Research study.

Her solution: Fox Corp. should junk its certificate of incorporation and become a public benefit company.

Fox’s vast reach and power demand accountability, the shareholder notes in a resolution up for a vote at the Nov. 10 annual meeting in Los Angeles.

But Fox’s governance is “structured to produce profits without accountability.”

As a PBC, directors would have to balance the interests of shareholders, stakeholders and the public benefits stated in its new charter.

That would allow Fox “to protect communities, even when doing so does not optimize financial return.” A PBC Fox would reward viewers with careful journalism and accurate information.

“Misinformation can put democracy at risk, threaten public interest in the environment and undermine public health,” says the resolution. These threats could be prioritized at a PBC, even if doing so sacrificed financial reform.

Concentrated voting does limit the efficacy of the PBC status. The resolution calls for the PBC status to go into effect if ownership of Fox Corp by a single person does not exceed 41 percent.

Chairman Rupert Murdoch controls 41.4 percent of the company via family trusts.

He growls “humbug” to the starry-eyed investor.

Team Murdoch claims the PBC is not needed because it delivers “unique and compelling storytelling and the finest in news, sports and entertainment” that serves all of its stakeholders, including viewers, creative partners, employees, distributors and advertisers.

“We are purveyors of First Amendment activities and defenders of the US Constitution and its rule of law,” claims Fox. “We contribute to the marketplace of ideas by providing our audiences with the timely news, clear opinion and engaging entertainment they care about—from politics to sports, business to health, natural disasters to uplifting stories of courage, hope and humanity.”

Question for Rupe: Why do only 43 percent of us trust Fox’s political coverage?

Spinning an oil deal. ConocoPhillips says the addition of greenhouse gas emissions acquired via its $9.5B deal to acquire Royal Dutch Shell’s Texas oil shale fields is a plus for the environment.

CEO Ryan Lance says the deal adds barrels of low-intensity greenhouse gas emissions to the mix.

Bloomberg notes that oil executives these days are emphasizing intensity over total emissions as a way to distinguish between “clean and dirty assets.”

That’s Lance’s strategy.

Royal Dutch Shell isn’t playing that game as it diversifies from fossil fuels and invests in “real” clean energy.

It says unloading the Texas assets is part of its “powering progress” strategy to develop “a more focused, competitive and resilient portfolio that provides the energy the world needs today whilst funding shareholder distributions as well as the energy transition.”

Houston's ConocoPhillips is kicking the can down the road, while Royal Dutch Shell is stepping up its efforts to combat global warming.

Got an itch to tell the boss to buzz off, but too busy to update your resume? Not a problem.

Send a single word describing what you want to do (writer, janitor, thinker, planner, cheerleader, designer, messenger, promoter, organizer), a link to your LinkedIn profile and send it to PR firm Lewis. Someone will get back to you to discuss current openings.

In junking the resume, Team Lewis notes 20 percent of the global workforce is between the ages of 15 and 24, They apparently are too stressed out to sit down and prepare a resume, which may be pretty skimpy due to a lack of work experiences.

About half of all marketing professionals are reexamining their lives due to COVID-19 pandemic. They are rethinking their career choices and apparently ripping up resumes.

Lewis isn't interested in details. It is looking for passionate, curious people intent on breaking boundaries. It can train them with skills needed to perform PR magic.

The firm believes that junking resumes is a way to break down barriers to new careers.

It may find that resumes are good tools to weed out junky job candidates.