WHEN I STRIKE, I STRIKE HARD
Has Guardian Media Group been infiltrated by Tortoise Media? Closer inspection of its agreement to sell The Observer, suggest it has.
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WHEN I STRIKE, I STRIKE HARD
Regular readers will be familiar with Tortoise, the new media organisation set up in 2018 by former BBC and Times Editor, James Harding.
This article and news segment from March provide a more detailed background to the organisation and its affiliations, including:
A direct link to Goals House, the main propaganda hub for delivery of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Partnerships and funding from a swathe of World Economic Forum partners.
A unique strategic partnership with the Rothschild Foundation, placing Tortoise directly next to the dynastic powers behind the formation of Israel and the ongoing genocide in Palestine.
I also recommend watching this interview with Sonia Poulton, which highlights Tortoise’s role in shaping the global conversation around AI governance.
My personal view is the ‘Tortoise’ name is a reference to the Fabian Society, the secret society working to implement a single global communist system whose mascot, up until the 1960s, was a Tortoise. Its motto was ‘When I strike, I strike hard', hence the title of this piece.
In short, this is an extraordinarily powerful and influential media group with a very clear geopolitical and economic agenda: Tortoise does the bidding of the global establishment.
ACQUIRING THE OBSERVER
For the past few weeks, Tortoise has been engaged in high-profile negotiations with Guardian Media Group PLC (GMG) to acquire The Observer, the world’s oldest Sunday paper, which was purchased by GMG in 1993.
The deal has been presented by GMG top brass as the only way to end the ‘inevitable decline’ of the Observer as a standalone title, and to prevent ‘difficult decisions’ having to be made about the future prospects of its editorial and commercial teams.
In all honesty, it’s never made sense to me why the Guardian doesn’t publish seven days a week. The Observer has been in significant decline for many years and its existence as a standalone proposition is difficult to defend.
The Guardian itself, like most traditional media organisations, has struggled to adapt to the digital world and the precipitous decline of advertising revenues caused by the shift away from print media.
Strategically, the sale of The Observer this makes a lot of sense.
Putting that aside, the reaction from GMG staff has been extremely negative, leading to industrial action and picket lines outside the Guardian offices on York Way over the past few days.
Many staff are confused and concerned by the speed of the deal, and the lack of communication between management and frontline colleagues.
Further strike action is planned over the coming weeks.
Despite this internal push back, the GMG board have decide to press ahead with the deal. And last night, Ole Jacob Sunde, Chair of The Scott Trust (ultimate owner of GMG) announced that ‘we have in principle agreed the sale of The Observer to Tortoise Media.’
A REVERSE TAKEOVER OF GMG?
So that should be the end of it, right?
If only it were so simple.
And the devil, as the say, is in the details.
The crucial thing to note about Sunde’s announcement is that this is not a simple, cut and dry, sale of The Observer where the asset is taken over by a new owner and all ties to the exist owner are severed.
Importantly, The Scott Trust will “stay on as a part-owner of the Observer, with a seat on editorial and commercial boards”.
This means that The Scott Trust, which owns The Guardian, will now enter into a formal commercial and editorial relationship with Tortoise Media. With all the strings, bells and whistles I’ve outlined above attached.
Read that paragraph again.
It’s an absolutely astonishing development.
Although the Scott Trust is exponentially larger than Tortoise, the influence the smaller organisation will now be able to exert on the larger simply cannot be underestimated.
From where I’m sitting this amounts to nothing less than a reverse takeover of GMG by Tortoise Media, where the interests of the two entities will now formally align.
I wonder if Guardian colleagues or, more importantly, its readers are aware their favourite bastion of metropolitan liberalism has entered into a strategic relationship with the people who founded Israel?
Someone should tell Owen Jones, I’m sure he’ll be delighted.
More on this crucial story over the coming weeks.
Veritas omnia vincet.
Ben Rubin
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I usually support striking workers. On this occasion I am extremely proud to make an exception.
Why was the Grauniad never 7 days a week? Why, the windbags have to stock up on J........ artichokes and other flatulence making gobble-ups to last them the 6 other days of contant parping. W anchors. Not sad for them at all - nor their brains-still-on-training-wheels readership.