What a week it is proving for Murdoch

The sacking of Andy Gray represents a major watershed in our social revolution. I grew up in a world in which sexism was the order of the day. I shudder at the sort of stuff that was commonplace when I was emerging from adolescence.

Watching football on the Kop when I was at uni, the likes of Andy Gray were commonplace, the views too.One swallow doesn’t make a summer – though it may represent a glimpse of spring.

Commerce and advertising have a lot of catching up to do. Will the advertising regulator go where Sky Sports have finally got it together to tread? No one could have been confident that Sky would risk its stand and one suspects there may have been more to its decision to fire Gray than we yet know.

For all the brickbats that have been thrown at the Murdoch empire of late, praise is due for this emblematic outcome. Doubtless the discovery that at least 50 per cent of their viewers in their own poll rejected the commentator’s sexist language will have played a part.

Noticably, Rupert Murdoch himself appears to have cancelled his onward travel to the Davos Economic Forum, according to the FT, to concentrate on his continuing efforts to satisfy ministers on his desire to take over the whole of BSkyB.

What a week it is proving for Murdoch. Coulson and Gray gone, his business bid stalled. But shed no tears. There’s no danger he will need to outstay the 90 days that might prejudice his tax status. He’s on track to secure the takeover according to a well-informed source who called me last night.

You don’t invest in your relations with Downing Street for the four decades in which he has, without tangible results. News Corp is with us to stay, big, and will stay big. You can get the man out of Downing Street but can’t get Downing Street out of the man.

At least we can celebrate a watershed in combating sexism. Whether we can celebrate a similar moment in phone hacking- the jury’s out. Well actually it hasn’t even been summoned… yet.