News Corporation CEO Rupert Murdoch is well known for his conservative politics and his Fox News channel is often considered to be a mouthpiece for his views.

But after the shootings Friday in Newtown, Conn. that left 28 dead -- including 20 children -- Murdoch called for a ban on automatic weapons.

"Terrible news today," he tweeted. "When will politicians find courage to ban automatic weapons? As in Oz after similar tragedy."

Also read: Newtown School Shootings: This Changes... Nothing? [5]

Murdoch's native land -- Australia -- banned fully automatic weapons in the 1930s, though they remained legal in  rural Tasmania until 1996. But after a deranged man killed 35 people and wounded 23 in a massive shooting in Port Arthur, a popular tourist stop in Tasmania, they were banned there, too.

Adam Lanza, 20, allegedly killed his mother and shot up the elementary school where she taught, killing several faculty members and  20 children between the ages of 5 and 10. Lanza then apparently killed himself.

In its coverage of the tragedy Friday, Fox News was quick to find pundits eager to point out that mental illness -- not guns -- prompted the horrendous attack. The New York Post remained silent on the issue.

Also read: Newtown School Shootings: Why Are Networks Interviewing Kids? [6]

And while the Wall Street Journal did not immediately weigh in on the gun-control debate, it did pose its readers' a question after a shooting spree in Colorado left more than a dozen dead in a theater screening of "The Dark Knight Rises."

"Should national gun control policy be changed in the wake of the shooting at a Batman movie in Colorado?" the newspaper asked.

Journal readers overwhelmingly voted "no." [7]