Rupert Murdoch has addressed the News Ltd troops overnight in an email memo that also salutes the departure of his long-serving number two Peter Chernin.

This, it should be said was not the same memo as the one in which he aplogised to New York Post readers for the whole shot-monkey-cartoon business:

I have had conversations with Post editors about the situation and I can assure you, without a doubt, that the only intent of that cartoon was to mock a badly written piece of legislation. It was not meant to be racist, but unfortunately, it was interpreted by many as such. We all hold the readers of the New York Post in high regard and I promise you that we will seek to be more attuned to the sensitivities of our community.

But we digress.

On the glittering array of commercial opportunities presented by the current collapse of the global financial order, Murdoch says: 

In the past, we have met downturns with vigor, often departing from the herd. We have emerged much stronger.

Achieving our ambitions will require change and renewal. So throughout 2009, I will continue to work closely with all of our companies to make sure that we are organized and resourced in the best way to take advantage of this extraordinary point in time. We will press our advantages and invest in our great franchises.  And, of course, we will keep our eyes on big prizes, some of which may arise only once in a generation.

See. He feels your pain.