A group which is a persistent critic of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, pictured in 2009, said Thursday that it had paid 86,000 dollars and won a charity auction to have lunch with the News Corp. chairman.

A group which is a persistent critic of media mogul Rupert Murdoch said Thursday that it had paid 86,000 dollars and won a charity auction to have lunch with the News Corp. chairman.

Media Matters for America said it submitted the winning bid for the lunch with Murdoch through an online charity auction benefitting the Global Poverty Project.

On its website, the non-profit Media Matters for America group describes its mission as "comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the US media."

It frequently singles out Murdoch's Fox television network for criticism.

Auction site Charity Buzz described the auction as a "once in a lifetime chance" to sit with Murdoch "face to face over a friendly lunch and get his feedback firsthand on your proposed business ideas."

It said it was valid for a total of six people and would be held in New York at a "mutually convenient" time with Murdoch covering the cost of lunch.

"Winner will be subject to security screening and background check," it stipulated.

Media Matters founder and chief executive David Brock expects the lunch to go ahead.

"I look forward to this opportunity to have a friendly lunch with Rupert Murdoch, along with five of my invited guests," Brock said in a statement.

"I will soon contact Mr. Murdoch's office to determine a mutually convenient time and place in New York," he added.

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(c) 2010 AFP