Twenty-First Century Fox 2002 Annual Report Download - page 7

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Months later, Fox News Channel initiated and led
the charge against September 11 charities that
were slow to distribute their funds; and the New
York Post launched an awards program, based on
nominations by the public, to honor New Yorkers
who exemplify the strength of character that the
city has shown since the attacks.
Our responses to momentous events were not
limited to the U.S. during the past year. In the U.K.,
The Sun and The Times lent their distinctive voices
to Britain’s historic debates over currency and poli-
tics. In India, the management and employees of
STAR showed enormous bravery as they worked to
serve their customers through that country’s politi-
cal upheaval. And in Australia, the Daily Telegraph
in Sydney organized and executed a phenomenally
successful appeal for the sake of the victims of the
destructive bushfires that struck New South Wales.
Media companies such as ours have an obliga-
tion to the communities we serve to be good
and involved citizens. I was – and I remain – deeply
proud of all our companies’ efforts during this past
year to fulfill that essential function.
At the same time, we also have a fundamental
responsibility to shareholders to operate our
Company as efficiently and profitably as possible.
Therefore, I am pleased to report that the Company’s
results were extremely strong in fiscal 2002. Our
revenues rose 10 percent to US$15.2 billion and
Chief Executive’s Review
We have long been proud of News Corporation’s stature not only as one of the world’s most successful
media companies but as its most international. The films, television programs, newspapers, magazines,
books and other products and services of our Company simply reach more people in more countries
than those of any other media provider. Yet we do more than operate on a truly global scale: for almost
50 years we have operated according to the values that bind us to the communities we serve – and that
unite people across the globe.
The past fiscal year gave us ample chance
to exercise those values. It was a time of
extraordinary events and exceptional diffi-
culty for people, nations and industries around the
world – during which our worldwide Company
met challenges to our operations, and our principles,
head-on. Our efforts have always been driven by
a fierce egalitarian spirit, by a deep belief in fair play
and in the rights of individuals. This is the spirit that
has guided our diverse operations as we’ve catered
to television audiences from Britain to Bangalore; as
our newspapers have earned one loyal reader at a
time from New York City to New Guinea; and as
we have turned the vision and expertise of the indi-
viduals who manage our businesses into successful
operations. It is also this spirit that has guided our
principled response to world events during the past
year, particularly the events of September 11.
Our journalists in New York – at the Post,at Fox
News Channel and at our foreign newspaper bureaus
based in the city – showed tremendous resolve
and personal courage as they delivered exemplary
coverage of the attacks and their aftermath from
the front lines, even while being targeted them-
selves with anthrax contamination and terrorist
threats. Our FOX network was one of the original
organizers of the telethon that brought together
the world’s most popular entertainers and raised
US$180 million for the victims of September 11.