News Corporation has pledged to become carbon-neutral by 2010. Now, that does not mean News Corporation will eliminate emissions within three years — it's a promise to cut net emissions to zero in that time: News Corporation can offset polluting parts of the empire with credits from investments in clean power.

The greening of News Corporation is also a strategic business move. Murdoch has already said is it a way to please advertisers.

Murdoch's willingness to use his global media interests to spread the green message is most important, if controversial. Though it's not as if he never spread a message through the empire before.

Still, as the leading US-based greenie website Grist.org told its readers: "It's not groundbreaking, but it's nothing to sneeze at." At home, Murdoch even got the Greens party leader Senator Bob Brown to applaud the move.