If the 35 members of the Bancroft family have been concerned that selling their beloved Wall Street Journal to Rupert Murdoch will impugn the newspaper’s integrity, they need look no further than Rupert’s The Simpsons to put their minds at ease.

Creator Matt Groening and the rest of the team behind The Simpsons have been openly criticising the Fox Network — and sometimes its owner — since the show first aired on Fox in 1989. Throughout its 19 seasons, the Simpsons  has run the gamut, from digs at the network’s biased news reporting to parodies of Murdoch in prison.

Here are half a dozen highlights with accompanying video links for your perusal:

  • Season 15, Episode 335: “Fraudcast News”: Mr Burns: “I guess it’s impossible to control all the media… unless of course you’re Rupert Murdoch. He’s one beautiful man”. Watch
  • Season 18, Episode 400: “You Kent You Always Say What You Want”. Lisa asks why Fox News is so conservative while the Fox Network airs a program depicting strippers flying an airplane. Watch
  • Season 18, Episode 400: Bart: “Then I had this crazy dream that my family were all just cartoon characters and that our success led to some crazy propaganda network called Fox News.” Watch
  • Season 18, Episode 400: Homer tries to tell Lisa something “really bad” about Fox but the network keeps interrupting. Watch
  • Season 14, Episode 305: “Mr. Spritz Goes To Washington”. Fox: Welcome to Fox News. Your Voice for Evil. Tonight we’ll be interviewing the top two candidates for Springfield’s 24th congressional district. For the Republicans? Beloved children’s entertainer, Krusty the Clown … and for the Democrats, this guy. Watch
  • Season 16, Episode: 339: “She Used To Be My Girl”. We only have this clip in German. Sorry. Read a translation here. ANNOUNCER: In Springfield today, a s-x scandal has brought in reporters from around the world. Why? Here’s Fox News! [MUSIC UP AND UNDER – “WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS”] Watch.

And so as News Corp representatives and Dow Jones directors meet this week to sort through the remaining issues that stand between the Wall St Journal and acquisition, we say, ”mmmm integrity”.