Rupert Murdoch began his career when he was young, ambitious, and driven to reclaim his family’s share of Australia’s journalism industry.
The 22-year-old “the boy publisher” had a plan to take on the global media and had inherited his father’s newspaper in the little city of Adelaide.
The 92-year-old is perhaps Australia’s most successful businessman on a global scale, and his success has been driven by his open pursuit of influence.
In a 2011 piece, Prof. Robert Manne, a former News Corp contributor, said it was “his genius to discover different ways in which his two passions – a desire for money and a thirst for power – can be combined.”
In a 2011 piece, Prof. Robert Manne, a former News Corp contributor, said it was “his genius to discover different ways in which his two passions – a desire for money and a thirst for power – can be combined.”
But as his 70-year career comes to an end, it’s unclear what will become of him at home.
With News Corp. holding 60% of the print industry, Australia has one of the most consolidated media landscapes in the Western world, which is frequently criticized.
Calls for a Royal Commission into Murdoch’s effects on the country’s democracy have been led by two former prime ministers, and his publications are accused of making money off a “anger-tainment ecosystem”
According to Prof. Tim Dwyer, a media specialist at the University of Sydney, “What matters is not what’s happening to Rupert at age 92, but his lasting impact on institutions, right-wing news culture, and media ownership.”
“Boy publisher”
Rupert Murdoch was born and raised in the newspaper industry.
“There’s a propensity to think of the Murdoch press as something that just appeared out of nowhere. Actually, Walter Marsh, who has written about the media mogul’s early childhood, told ABC radio that Rupert is a member of a dynasty of popular press barons that dates back generations.
The Australian Journalists Association’s founding member and well-known reporter Sir Keith Murdoch was his father.
He had also amassed a number of publications and radio stations by the 1930s, solidifying his position as a prominent voice of the political right.
But by the time of Sir Keith’s passing in 1952, bankruptcy had forced the sale of a large portion of the family business, leaving only the Adelaide News and its about 75,000 subscribers.
When Rupert took over the daily, he outperformed his rivals by using bolder headlines and articles.
Although he claimed his editors had a lot of leeway, he was known to modify pages himself when needed.
The tabloid tactics were successful.
By 1964, he had newspapers in every state and was preparing to publish The Australian, the country’s first-ever national broadsheet. Along with that, he was preparing to enter the UK market, something his father had attempted but failed to do.
With the introduction of Sky News Australia in 1996, News Corp ventured into 24-hour TV journalism. Sky News Australia distinguished out for its opinion-based prime time programming.
A recent comment made by one of the channel’s hosts that an upcoming referendum on Indigenous recognition might result in “an apartheid system of governance” is just the latest in a string of what critics have long criticized as the network’s “polarizing” or “misleading” segments. These include discussions about the reliability of climate science.
It’s a brand that emphasizes strongly held right-wing opinions. Additionally, this is a news diet to which the locals have grown accustomed. Years of skepticism about climate change have been one of the worst effects, according to Prof. Dwyer.
King-maker in politics
A teenage Rupert Murdoch was asked if he “liked the feeling of power” his expanding newspaper empire offered him in one of his first TV interviews in 1967.
Of course, the only truthful response to that is yes, he said.
In the US and the UK, Murdoch’s intimate associations with some of the most important political personalities of the twenty-first century are well known.
According to several Australian leaders, things were the same back home.
At a senate hearing on media diversity in 2021, former prime minister Kevin Rudd admitted that he was still afraid of the Murdoch media beast.
Murdoch shouldn’t be feared, but I have to admit that he is a frightening individual due to the influence he holds.
News Corp executives have disputed that description, saying legislators that their reporting centered on “the robust and open exchange of news, views, and opinions” during the time.
In 2020, Mr. Rudd launched the campaign for a Royal Commission—Australia’s highest form of public inquiry—to investigate News Corp’s influence, branding it a “cancer on democracy.”
But despite gathering 500,000 signatures of support—among them the former Liberal Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull—efforts have come to a standstill.
Additionally, before taking office, Australia’s current prime minister Anthony Albanese made it clear that he opposed the proposal.
“It’s similar to criticizing the referee during a football game. After the petition was started, he stated, “It could make you feel good, but it doesn’t change the outcome.
Following Mr. Albanese’s triumph in the federal election of 2022 and the electoral success of a number of independent, climate-friendly candidates, there was a heated discussion about whether News Corp’s power was eroding in Australia.
Political journalist Malcolm Farr commented, “The election result exposes a gaping disconnect between News Corp and voters.”
Although younger Australian consumers are shunning traditional media, according to Prof. Dwyer, the brand may be “on the wane” but it won’t vanish overnight.
Lachlan believes that continuity will rule in his life.
Things won’t change much at all; in fact, that is the whole purpose of the News Corp brand; it is established, has a culture that won’t alter, and persists regardless of who is in charge. And Lachlan’s moderate views are not very well known.
