A number of major media companies, including the owners of ABC News and Fox News Channel, are making sizable donations to charities to benefit the victims of Hurricane Sandy.
News Corp., which owns Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network, donated $1 million to charity, half of it for help in NYC, and half for New Jersey. News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch announced the donation on Twitter:
Newscorp giving $1millionto help families in NY and NJ badly hurt by Sandy.Hope other companies will do same.
Advertisement— Rupert Murdoch(@rupertmurdoch) October 31, 2012
The Walt Disney Company, which owns ESPN, ABC and ABC News, is donating $2 million to relief efforts, half to the Red Cross and half to local organizations. The company will also match employee donations to many organizations.
“It’s hard to fathom the devastation from this storm,” said Disney CEO Bob Iger in a statement. ”Thousands of people in the hurricane’s path lost everything and face the daunting challenge of putting their lives and communities back together. We hope this helps provide immediate aid needed to get through this disaster and begin the road to recovery.”
Viacom, which owns MTV and Comedy Central, is also giving $1 million to charities, split between the Red Cross and local organizations, and will be matching employee donations up to $1 million more. All three companies will also be running PSAs. Earlier, NBCUniversal announced a telethon to air tomorrow, in an effort to drum up additional relief funds.
Time Warner Cable, a separate company from Time Warner which operates CNN and other networks, is donating $600,000 to aid efforts.