Murdoch: I Won't Put the 'Times' Out of Business

Excerpting his upcoming book in Vanity Fair this month, Michael Wolff claims that Rupert Murdoch has become embarrassed of Fox News, and, in particular, of its biggest star, Bill O'Reilly. But it sure doesn't seem that way in a lengthy Q&A Esquire conducted with the 77-year-old News Corp. chairman for its October issue.

"Fox News is a core asset in every sense," Murdoch told Esquire. He continued,

In terms of its popularity and of its profit. But the thing that I am proudest of is that it is very, very fair.

As for O'Reilly's chief rival, Murdoch says,

Keith Olbermann is trying to make a business out of destroying Bill O'Reilly. He's done certain things to Bill O'Reilly that I believe were way over the line. I think that's bad behavior. But it's okay for him to criticize Bill. And Bill shouldn't be so sensitive. He should ignore that.

More Murdoch:

-"It's bullshit to say we're going to dumb down The Wall Street Journal. We didn't dumb down the London Times -- we made the London Times. The Sunday Times, too. Are they a little more popular than they were? Yes. They are populist papers. You've got to listen to readers."

-"I don't think for a minute that we're going to put The New York Times out of business. I think they have a future, too. But there's certainly room for an alternative."

-"I think that [Times publisher] Arthur Sulzberger, over the years, has made it very clear that he wants a very liberal paper, and that he wants a staff that reflects that community. For five years, he didn't want any white, heterosexual men hired. He was sending a clear message."

-"It's a libel to say that I use my newspapers to support my other business interests. The fact is, I haven't got any other business interests."