Only Murdoch Mug Shot So Far is a Smiley Face

A photographer friend, responding to this pic in the NYT Lens “photos of the day” slideshow, wrote to ask why most pictures of Rupert Murdoch, since the hacking scandal broke, show him looking so upbeat. And now I’m wondering too.

Checking GoogleNews Images, it’s not that the currently embattled Rupert hasn’t been depicted in a few instances as embattled (or a little and sallow and meglomaniacal). It is curious, however, how often the media (maybe instinctively not wanting to kick a human hornet’s nest) tends to, instead, propagate the image of a sweet older guy, or your favorite uncle, or even a countenance akin to the harmless Marlon Brandon/Don Corleone shuffling around in the garden tending his tomatoes.

God knows the man is aware of how to put on a face. But, like my point in this recent Tumblr post about an “Rupert outlier shot,” it does seem like he’s visually getting a pass. But then, with this scandal shining most likely a very temporary light on how exponentially big and bad this guy is, is there any surprise?

(h/t: DG. photo 1: Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images caption: News Corp chief Rupert Murdoch leaves his London home on July 11, 2011. Media baron Rupert Murdoch Monday fought to keep his bid for satellite broadcaster BSkyB alive after reports that his top executives were aware of the widespread phone-hacking which felled News of the World. Murdoch flew into London to take personal charge of the scandal that caused the demise of the 168-year-old British tabloid as calls mounted for the government to block his media empire’s BSkyB bid..screen shots: BBC , NDTV , SMH. embedded photo: Telegraph.)