This cartoon by Schrank from The Independent portrays media mogul Rupert Murdoch as an organ grinder. His three monkeys (UK PM David Cameron, Deputy PM Nick Clegg, and Labour leader Ed Miliband) have turned on him. We can see the Houses of Parliament in the background, and a satellite marked BSkyB bid is falling from the sky in flames.
CONTEXT
Rupert Murdoch's once-commanding influence in British politics dwindled to a new low on Tuesday, when all three major parties in Parliament joined in support of a sharp rebuke to his media empire and a parliamentary committee said it would call him, along with two other top executives, to testify publicly next week about the phone hacking scandal enveloping his media empire. The following day, Murdoch's News Corporation announced that it is withdrawing its bid for BSkyB.
COMMENTARY
The organ grinder was a musical novelty street performer of the 19th century and the early part of the 20th century, and refers to the operator of a street organ. The grinder would crank his organ in a public place (either a business district or in a neighborhood), moving from place to place after collecting a few coins or in order to avoid being arrested for loitering or chased by persons who would not appreciate hearing his single tune over and over again. The grinder would often have as a companion a White-headed Capuchin monkey to do tricks and attract attention. The monkey would collect the money from the audience and sometimes collect other shiny objects that attracted his attention. Other attractions might be parrots, dogs, dancing bears and members of the organ grinder's family who would dance and sing. (source: Wikipedia)
The organ grinder-monkey relationship is sometimes used as a metaphor for a situation in which one person has control over another. Before the phone hacking scandal British politicians were in thrall to Murdoch's media empire, but they are now beginning to break free from his grip, which is what the cartoon illustrates.
VOCABULARY
In the early days of newspapers, when newspapers were the primary method of delivering the news, when something big happened, the publisher would not only publish the normal daily paper, but would also publish an Extra. The newspapers were sold on the street, often by newsboys, who had a stack of papers and would sell them to walkers-by. When an Extra came out, they would chant "Extra! Extra! read all about it" to call attention to the fact that something big has happened, and an Extra paper has been published. (source: WikiAnswers)
