Rupert Murdoch, Joel Klein, and New York City Schools
A recent New York Times story on former DOE Chancellor Joel Klein’s increasingly central role in responding to the fallout from the Rupert Murdoch hacking scandal included some interesting background about the origins of the two men’s relationship.
Apparently Murdoch and Klein initially bonded over their mutual support for the expansion of charter schools, among other education issues. More recently, Murdoch provided key financial support to Education Reform Now (chaired by Klein) it its efforts to influence New York State’s debates over teacher layoffs:
His eight years as schools chancellor formed the foundation for his unlikely friendship with Mr. Murdoch, who holds his own strong views on education reform, which the two began to discuss over regular lunches and dinners with their wives.
A Surprising Alliance
Though Mr. Klein did not see eye to eye with Mr. Murdoch on many political issues, they agreed
