The Murdoch Connection 'Does Not Present an Ethical Dilemma' For the World's Largest Bible Publisher

Zondervan issues statement giving its viewpoint about being part of the scandal-laden News Corp


By Dan Wooding
Founder of ASSIST Ministries


GRAND RAPIDS, MI (ANS) -- As Rupert Murdoch presides over the News Corp media empire and is a desperate fight for his reputation after being forced to close his scandal-laden British newspaper News of the World, the most widely read English tabloid in the world, it has now been revealed that Murdoch also owns Zondervan, the world's largest publisher of Bibles.

Time magazine's cover story on Rupert Murdoch

Actually, Zondervan, is owned by Harper Collins Publishers, which is owned by News Corp., which in turn is owned by the world's biggest media tycoon, Rupert Murdoch.

In its mission statement, Zondervan identifies itself as a Christian company committed to glorifying Jesus Christ and promoting biblical principles through its publications.

"For 23 years, the News Corp family has included the leading seller of the best-selling book in history," said Will Braun, a well-known Christian blogger.

In a hard-hitting piece carried in in the Canadian-based Geez Magazine (www.geezmagazine.org),  Braun wrote, "I know many Christians see the Bible's publishing stature as validation of their chosen faith, but a savvy entrepreneur could simply see it as a business opportunity.

"Or perhaps the 80-year-old Murdoch, like any shrewd businessman, wanted diverse investments - a diversity that in his case ranged from a cleavage-saturated tabloid that ran headlines like, 'F1 Boss Has Sick Nazi Orgy With 5 Hookers' to a publisher that offers Little Lamb's Storybook Bible."

Braun also discusses Bible profiteering, asking, "What are we to make of the fact that every time we buy a Zondervan product we contribute to Murdoch's mogul-dom, which includes a personal fortune that Forbes pegged at $6.3 billion last year"?

Zondervan logo

He added, "The company owns exclusive North American print rights to the popular New International Version of the Bible which it says has sold over 300 million copies worldwide. Zondervan also publishes books by leading Christian authors like Rick Warren (over 30 million copies of his 'Purpose Driven Life' have been sold), Tim LaHaye, Eugene Peterson, Brian McLaren and Shane Claiborne."

Pat Zondervan, co-founder of the company

Now Zondervan has hit back at this criticism with a statement by Tara Powers, a spokeswoman, who said, "This does not present an ethical dilemma for Zondervan as we will continue to operate with autonomy as we always have.


"We are fortunate to have strong and positive relationships with our authors. They know who Zondervan is and how we operate and we have not heard of serious concerns from authors. While we are obviously aware of the matter at hand, it does not distract or detract from our work at hand and we will continue to pursue our mission and operate as we have for the past 80 years."

Cover of book

Dan Wooding, 70, is an award winning British journalist now living in Southern California with his wife Norma, to whom he has been married for 47 years. They have two sons, Andrew and Peter, and six grandchildren who all live in the UK. He is the founder and international director of ASSIST (Aid to Special Saints in Strategic Times) and the ASSIST News Service (ANS) and was, for ten years, a commentator, on the UPI Radio Network in Washington, DC. He now hosts the weekly "Front Page Radio" show on KWVE in Southern California which is also carried on the Calvary Radio Network throughout the United States. The program is also aired in Great Britain on Calvary Chapel Radio UK. Besides this, Wooding is a host for His Channel Live, which is carried via the Internet to some 200 countries. You can follow Dan on Facebook under his name there or at ASSIST News Service. He is the author of some 44 books. Two of the latest include his autobiography, "From Tabloid to Truth", which is published by Theatron Books. To order a copy, press this link. Wooding, who was born in Nigeria of British missionary parents, has also recently released his first novel "Red Dagger" which is available this link.