Keith Rupert Murdoch
Rupert Murdoch, August 2006
Born	11 March 1931 (1931-03-11) (age 77) Melbourne, Australia
Occupation	Chairman and CEO, News Corporation
Net worth	$8. Events 1425 BC - Thutmose III, Pharaoh of Egypt, dies (according to the Low Chronology of the 18th Dynasty Year 1931 ( MCMXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1931 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Melbourne ( is the second most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 3 For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. A chief executive officer ( CEO) or chief executive is typically the highest-ranking corporate officer ( executive) or administrator News Corporation (often abbreviated to News Corp) (,,) is one of the world's largest media conglomerate companies by Market capitalisation 8 Billion[1]
Spouse	1) Patricia Booker (1956 - 1967), one daughter Prudence; 2) Anna Tõrv (1967 - 1999), one daughter Elisabeth and two sons Lachlan and James; 3) Wendi Deng (1999 - present); two daughters Grace and Chloe

Keith Rupert Murdoch, AC, KCSG (born Melbourne, March 11, 1931), usually known as Rupert Murdoch, is an Australian-American global media mogul. Elisabeth Murdoch (born in Sydney, Australia on August 22 1968) is a business executive in the British television industry and a daughter Lachlan Keith Murdoch (born September 8, 1971) is the elder son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch and the former Anna Torv James Murdoch (born 13 December 1972 in United Kingdom) is the Chairman and Chief Executive of News Corporation, Europe and Asia including the British Newspapers Wendi Murdoch (née Deng) ( Simplified Chinese: 邓[[wikt 文|文]] 迪; Pinyin: Dèng Wéndí originally 邓[[wikt 文|文]] Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia on 14 February 1975 "for the purpose of according recognition The Pontifical Equestrian Order of St Gregory the Great was established on September 1, 1831 by Pope Gregory XVI, seven months after his election Melbourne ( is the second most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 3 Events 1425 BC - Thutmose III, Pharaoh of Egypt, dies (according to the Low Chronology of the 18th Dynasty Year 1931 ( MCMXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1931 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the "Popular press" redirects here note that the University of Wisconsin Press publishes under the imprint "The Popular Press" A business magnate, sometimes referred to as a mogul, tycoon, baron, or industrialist, is a person who has reached a prominent place in He is the major shareholder, chairman and managing director of News Corporation (News Corp). A mutual shareholder or stockholder is an Individual or company (including a Corporation) that legally owns one or more shares of Managing director is the term used for the Chief executive of many limited companies in the United Kingdom, Commonwealth and some other English News Corporation (often abbreviated to News Corp) (,,) is one of the world's largest media conglomerate companies by Market capitalisation Beginning with newspapers, magazines and television stations in his native Australia, Murdoch expanded News Corp into the UK, US and Asian media markets. The United Kingdom has an extremely diverse media with an almost unrivalled number of outlets second only to the United States. American media redirects here For the publisher of the same name see American Media (publisher. In recent years has become a leading investor in satellite television, the film industry, the Internet and media. Satellite television is Television delivered by the means of Communications satellites as compared to conventional Terrestrial television and Cable The film industry consists of the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking i The Internet is a global system of interconnected Computer networks News Corp is based in New York. The City of New York

According to the 2007 Forbes 400, Murdoch is the 33rd wealthiest American, with a net worth of $8. The Forbes 400 or 400 Richest People (first published in 1982) is a list published by Forbes Magazine of the Wealthiest 400 Americans The United States of America —commonly referred to as the 8 billion. ^[2] He was made a Grand-Officer in the Order of St. Gregory the Great by Pope John Paul II. The Pontifical Equestrian Order of St Gregory the Great was established on September 1, 1831 by Pope Gregory XVI, seven months after his election Pope

Beginnings

Early life and family

Rupert Murdoch in 1937 with his parents, Keith and Elisabeth Murdoch, and his sister, departing Melbourne for Britain, by sea.

Murdoch's father was a powerful Australian newspaper proprietor Sir Keith Arthur Murdoch and his mother is Dame Elisabeth Murdoch. Sir Keith Arthur Murdoch ( August 12, 1885 - October 4, 1952) was an Australian Journalist and the father of Rupert Dame Elisabeth Murdoch AC, DBE (born February 8 1909) Philanthropist, is the widow of Australian newspaper publisher He attended Geelong Grammar, one of Australia's most elite private schools and was reading philosophy, politics and economics at Worcester College, University of Oxford, England, when his father died in 1952. Geelong Church of England Grammar School is a independent, Anglican, Co-educational, boarding and Day school. For the film of this title see Private School (film. Private schools, or Independent schools are Schools not administered Philosophy Politics and Economics or Politics Philosophy and Economics (often abbreviated to PPE) is a popular Interdisciplinary degree which The University of Oxford (informally "Oxford University" or simply "Oxford" located in the city of Oxford, Oxfordshire, England is the

Before his death, Keith Murdoch had accumulated a great number of shares in newspaper companies, including some representing a controlling interest in News Limited, an Adelaide company publishing an afternoon newspaper called The News. Adelaide is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of South Australia, and is the fifth largest city in Australia with a The News was an afternoon daily Newspaper in the city of Adelaide, South Australia. He had appointed an experienced journalist named Rohan Rivett, a childhood friend and mentor of Rupert Murdoch, as editor of The News, with the hope that Rupert would enter a career in journalism and that Rivett would assist Rupert in learning the required skills. In his will, Keith Murdoch instructed his trustees that Rupert should begin his career at The News: "if they consider him worthy of support". At that time of his father's death, Murdoch had written articles for Oxford student newspapers and had worked for a number of newspapers in a junior capacity. Some thought he had little interest in journalism though and noted his enthusiasm for gambling and making money. ^[3] At the time of his death Keith Murdoch was heavily in debt, but possessed within a private family trust a considerable number of newspaper shares, some of which may have actually belonged to The Herald and Weekly Times Ltd. The Herald and Weekly Times Limited ( HWT) is a Newspaper publishing company based in Melbourne, Australia. ^[4] The trustees, in consultation with Keith's widow and Rupert's mother, Lady Murdoch, were forced to sell many of the shares and other property in order to repay debt and death duties (government taxes). Dame Elisabeth Murdoch AC, DBE (born February 8 1909) Philanthropist, is the widow of Australian newspaper publisher ^[3] Elisabeth was able to retain only the family home, Cruden Farm, and the shares in News Limited and its subsidiaries, a Melbourne magazine publishing company named Southdown Press and The Barrier Miner, a regional newspaper at Broken Hill, New South Wales. For the Local Government Area of Broken Hill see City of Broken Hill Broken Hill is an isolated Mining city and Local Government Area

Start of business career

Rupert Murdoch returned from Oxford to become managing director of News Limited in 1953. Through his leadership, the staff and the circulation and advertising revenue began to grow. He began to direct his attention to acquisition and expansion. He bought the Sunday Times in Perth, Western Australia and, using the tabloid techniques of Lord Northcliffe, made it a success. The Sunday Times is a News Corporation owned Sunday Tabloid newspaper distributed throughout Western Australia. Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. Alfred Charles William Harmsworth 1st Viscount Northcliffe ( 15 July[[ 865]] - 14 August[[ 922]] rose from childhood poverty to become a powerful British newspaper

In 1956, Murdoch began publishing Australia's first and most successful weekly television magazine, TV Week, at Southdown Press in Melbourne, which also published Australia's oldest women's magazine New Idea. TV WEEK is a weekly Television Magazine in Australia, first published as a Melbourne -only publication in 1957 (as New Idea is an Australian magazine published weekly by Pacific Magazines and aimed at women With the Perth paper, the TV magazine and a re-energised New Idea all providing a steady and improving cash flow he was able to obtain finance for more expansion from the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, a government-owned bank dedicated to supporting Australian business development.

A defining moment in Murdoch's life was the Stuart case in Adelaide when The News began a campaign to free Max Stuart, a young Aboriginal carnival worker, who had been convicted of the murder of a small girl on a beach near Ceduna, South Australia in late 1958. Rupert Maxwell (Max Stuart (c 1932 -) is an Australian Aborigine who was convicted of murder in 1959. Indigenous Australians are descendants of the first known human inhabitants of the Australian continent and its nearby islands. Ceduna ( is a small town in the West Coast region of South Australia. Stuart had been sentenced to death by hanging. Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death The News was openly critical of the case and investigated it extensively. The death penalty was eventually commuted to life imprisonment. Commutation of sentence involves the reduction of legal penalties, especially in terms of imprisonment. Life imprisonment or life incarceration is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime often for most

The campaign by The News raised the ire of the Premier of South Australia, Sir Thomas Playford. See Premiers of the Australian states for a description and history of the office of Premier Sir Thomas Playford, GCMG (5 July 1896 – 16 June 1981 was a South Australian politician and a well known farmer He established a royal commission, conducted by the state's Chief Justice, the same judge who had passed sentence on Stuart. The outcome was a confirmation of Stuart's guilt and a recommendation that News Ltd (of which Murdoch was managing director) and its editor be charged with nine counts of seditious libel, a form of treason based on medieval English law, and criminal libel. Seditious libel is a criminal offence under English Common law. Eight of the charges were thrown out, but the jury could not agree on the ninth, which the prosecution subsequently withdrew. This experience gave Murdoch a taste of the overwhelming power of popularly elected politicians and would shape the future policies of all his newspapers. (In 2002, he financed a motion picture Black and White, a fictionalised version of the Stuart story. Black and White is a 2002 Australian Film, directed by Craig Lahiff and starring Robert Carlyle, Charles Dance ) Shortly after the case, Murdoch replaced Rivett as editor of The News.

Over the next few years, Murdoch established himself in Australia as a dynamic business operator, expanding his holdings by acquiring suburban and provincial newspapers in New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and the Northern Territory. Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern corner of the mainland continent The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the center of the mainland continent as well as the central northern regions including the Sydney afternoon tabloid, The Daily Mirror, as well as a small Sydney-based recording company, Festival Records. Sydney (ˈsɪdniː is the most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 4 The Daily Mirror was an afternoon paper established by Ezra Norton in Sydney, Australia in 1941 gaining a licence from the Minister for Trade Festival Mushroom Records was an Australian music recording and publishing company which was founded in Sydney in 1952 and operated until 2005 His acquisition of the Daily Mirror allowed him to challenge two powerful rivals in Australia's biggest city and to outwit his afternoon rival in a long circulation war.

In 1964, Murdoch launched The Australian, Australia's first national daily newspaper, based first in Canberra and later in Sydney. The Australian, also referred to as The Oz, is a Broadsheet Newspaper published in Australia Monday through Saturday each Canberra ( is the capital city of Australia With a population of over 340000 it is Australia's largest inland City. Sydney (ˈsɪdniː is the most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 4 The Australian, a broadsheet, was intended to give Murdoch a new respectability as a 'quality' newspaper publisher and greater political influence. Broadsheet is the largest of the various Newspaper formats and is characterized by long vertical pages (typically 22 inches or more The paper had a rocky start, marked by publishing difficulties and a constantly changing succession of editors who found it impossible to deal with Murdoch's persistent interference. Promised as a serious journal of the affairs of the nation, the paper actually veered between tabloid sensationalism and intellectual tedium until Murdoch was able to find a compliant editor who could abide with his often unpredictable predilections.

The departure in 1966 of the Liberal Prime Minister Robert Menzies saw a chaotic six years of politics after Menzies' chosen successor Harold Holt drowned, to be replaced by John Gorton and then William McMahon. Sir Robert Gordon Menzies, KT, AK, CH, QC (20 December 1894 - 15 May 1978 Australian politician was the twelfth person to serve Harold Edward Holt, CH (5 August 1908 17 December 1967 was an Australian politician who became the 17th Prime Minister of Australia in 1966 Sir John Grey Gorton, GCMG, AC, CH (9 September 191119 May 2002 Australian politician was the 19th Prime Minister of Australia. Sir William "Billy" McMahon, GCMG, CH (23 February 1908 31 March 1988 was an Australian Liberal politician and the 20th Prime Minister of In 1972, Murdoch acquired the Sydney morning tabloid The Daily Telegraph. The Daily Telegraph is a Tabloid Newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, by Nationwide News, part of News In that year's election, Murdoch threw his growing power behind the Australian Labor Party under the leadership of Gough Whitlam and duly saw it win power. Edward Gough Whitlam, AC, QC (born 11 July 1916 known as Gough Whitlam (ˈɡɒf goff is an Australian former politician and 21st As the Whitlam government suffered a great loss of public support following its 1974 re-election, Murdoch soon turned against Whitlam and supported the Governor-General's dismissal of the Prime Minister.

During this period, Murdoch turned his attention overseas. His business success in Australia and his fastidious policy of prompt periodic repayments of his borrowings had placed him in good financial standing with the Commonwealth Bank and he obtained its support for his biggest venture yet, the takeover of a family company which owned The News of the World, the Sunday newspaper with the biggest circulation in Britain.

Building the Empire

Acquisitions in Britain

Murdoch expanded to Britain in 1968. He succeeded in beating rival publisher Robert Maxwell in securing The News of the World, which had been the most popular English language newspaper in the world, claiming a peak circulation of 8,441,966 in 1950. Ian Robert Maxwell MC ( June 10, 1923 – November 5, 1991) was a Czechoslovakian born British Media proprietor The News of the World is a British Tabloid Newspaper published every Sunday By 1968, the circulation had dropped to around six million and a substantial number of its shares were offered for sale by a member of the Carr family, which had part-owned and managed the company for nearly seventy years. ^[5]

It was also the first time Murdoch risked the whole business he had already created on the outcome of a new venture, for he mortgaged the most valuable of his existing Australian properties to buy the paper with a promise that he would share control with the existing Carr management. Upon succeeding, Murdoch not only controlled News of the World but had then completely regained full ownership of all his Australian assets. ^[6]

When the daily newspaper The Sun entered the market in 1969, Murdoch acquired and converted it into a tabloid format, which by 2006 was selling three million copies per day. The Sun is a Tabloid daily newspaper published in the United Kingdom and Ireland with the highest circulation of any daily English-language A tabloid is a Newspaper industry term which refers to a smaller newspaper format per spread to a weekly or semi-weekly alternative newspaper that focuses on local-interest ^[7]

Murdoch acquired The Times (and The Sunday Times) in 1981, the paper his father's mentor, Viscount Northcliffe, had once owned. The Times is a daily national Newspaper published in the United Kingdom since 1785 when it was known as The Daily Universal Register. The Sunday Times is a Sunday Broadsheet Newspaper distributed in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. The title Viscount Northcliffe, of St Peter in the County of Kent was created in 1918 in the Peerage of the United Kingdom for the famous press baron Alfred Harmsworth The distinction of owning The Times came to him through his careful cultivation of the owner who had grown tired of losing money on the property.

During the 1980s and early 90s, Murdoch's publications were generally supportive of the UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Margaret Hilda Thatcher Baroness Thatcher LG, OM, PC, FRS (born 13 October 1925 ^[8]

At the end of the Thatcher/Major era, Murdoch switched his support to the Labour Party and the party's leader Tony Blair. The Labour Party is a Political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century it has been since the 1920s the principal party of the Anthony Charles Lynton "Tony" Blair (born 6 May 1953 is a British Politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to The closeness of his relationship with Blair and their secret meetings to discuss national policies was to become a political issue in Britain.

In 1986, Murdoch introduced electronic production processes to his newspapers in Australia, Britain, and the United States. This led to significant reductions in the number of employees involved in the printing process due to the greater role of automation. In England, the move aroused the anger of the print unions, resulting in a long and often violent dispute fought in London's docklands area of Wapping, where Murdoch had installed the very latest electronic newspaper publishing factory in an old warehouse. Wapping (pronounced 'Wopping' is a place in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets which forms part of the Docklands to the east of the City of London. ^[9] The unions had been led to assume that Murdoch intended to launch a new London evening newspaper from those premises, but he had kept as a surprise his intention to relocate all News titles there. Once the Wapping battle had ended, union opposition in Australia followed suit. Today, most newspapers around the world are produced using his method, with significant cost savings involved in the automation of the process.

News has subsidiaries in the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands, the Channel Islands and the Virgin Islands. The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an independent sovereign English -speaking country consisting of two thousand Cays and The Cayman Islands are a British overseas territory located in the western Caribbean Sea, comprising the islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac The Channel Islands ( Norman: Îles d'la Manche, French: Îles Anglo-Normandes or Îles de la Manche) are a group of Islands See also Culture of the Virgin Islands Music of the Virgin Islands Virgin Islands Creole From 1986 News Corporation's annual tax bill averaged around seven percent of profits. ^[10]

Moving into the United States

Murdoch made his first acquisition in the United States in 1973, when he purchased the San Antonio Express-News. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The San Antonio Express-News is the daily newspaper of San Antonio Texas. Soon afterwards, he founded Star, a supermarket tabloid, and in 1976, he purchased the New York Post. Star is a magazine specializing in celebrity gossip and scandals A tabloid is a Newspaper industry term which refers to a smaller newspaper format per spread to a weekly or semi-weekly alternative newspaper that focuses on local-interest The New York Post is the 13th-oldest Newspaper published in the United States and generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continually On September 4, 1985, Murdoch became a naturalized citizen, to satisfy the legal requirement that only US citizens could own American television stations. Events 476 - Romulus Augustus, last emperor of the Western Roman Empire, is deposed when Odoacer proclaims himself Year 1985 ( MCMLXXXV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays 1985 Gregorian calendar) Naturalization is the acquisition of Citizenship or Nationality by somebody who was not a citizen or national of that country when he or she was born In 1987, in Australia, he bought The Herald and Weekly Times Ltd. , the company that his father had once managed. By 1991, his Australian-based News Corp. had amassed huge debts, which forced Murdoch to sell many of the American magazine interests he had acquired in the mid-80s. Much of this debt came from his British-based satellite network Sky Television, which incurred massive losses in its early years of operation, which (like many of his business interests) was heavily subsidized with profits from his other holdings, until he was able to force rival satellite operator British Satellite Broadcasting to accept a merger on his terms in 1990. For other uses see Sky Television (disambiguation. Sky Television plc (1989-1990 was a four-channel satellite television service launched by Rupert British Satellite Broadcasting ( BSB) (1986-1990 was a company set up in 1986 to provide Direct broadcast satellite television services to the United Kingdom (The merged company, BSkyB, has dominated the British pay-TV market ever since. British Sky Broadcasting ( BSkyB — Sky Television and BSB) is a company that operates Sky Digital, a subscription television service in the )

In 1995, Murdoch's Fox Network became the object of scrutiny from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), when it was alleged that News Ltd. 's Australian base made Murdoch's ownership of Fox illegal. The FCC, however, ruled in Murdoch's favor, stating that his ownership of Fox was in the public's best interests. In the same year, Murdoch announced a deal with MCI Communications to develop a major news website, as well as funding a conservative magazine, The Weekly Standard. MCI Communications Corp was an American Telecommunications company that was instrumental in legal and regulatory changes that led to the breakup of the AT&T The Weekly Standard is an American opinion Magazine published 48 times per year In the same year, News Corp. launched the Foxtel pay television network in Australia, in a partnership with Telstra. Foxtel is an Australian Pay television company formed through a joint venture between Telstra, News Corporation and Consolidated Media Telstra or Telstra Corporation (often abbreviated as Telstra Corp) () is an Australian Telecommunications and media company formerly

In 1996, Murdoch chose to enter the world of cable news with the Fox News Channel, a 24-hour cable news station. News broadcasting (also known as newscast or newsbreak) is the Broadcasting of various news events and other Information via Following its launch, the heavily-funded Fox News consistently eroded CNN's market share, and eventually proclaimed itself as "the most-watched cable news channel. Cable News Network, usually referred to by its Initialism CNN, is a major English language Television network founded in 1980 by Ted Turner " This is due in part to recent ratings studies, released in the fourth quarter of 2004, showing that the network had nine of the top ten programs in the "Cable News" category. However, in recent years, its ratings have begun to decline. ^[11][12]

In 1999, Murdoch significantly expanded his music holdings in Australia by acquiring the controlling share in a leading Australian independent label, Michael Gudinski's Mushroom Records; he merged that with Festival Records and the result was Festival Mushroom Records (FMR). Michael Solomon Gudinski AM (born August 22, 1950) is a Melbourne -based entrepreneur and businessman who is a leading figure in the Australian Mushroom Records is an Australian Record company formed by Michael Gudinski and Ray Evans in 1972. Festival Mushroom Records was an Australian music recording and publishing company which was founded in Sydney in 1952 and operated until 2005 Festival Mushroom Records was an Australian music recording and publishing company which was founded in Sydney in 1952 and operated until 2005 Both Festival and FMR were managed by Murdoch's son James Murdoch for several years. James Murdoch (born 13 December 1972 in United Kingdom) is the Chairman and Chief Executive of News Corporation, Europe and Asia including the British Newspapers

Expansion in Asia

Murdoch acquired Star TV from a Hong Kong company in 1993 (Souchou, 2000:28) STAR TV (Asia) and created offices for it throughout Asia, including Singapore, China, India, Pakistan, Vietnam, etc. Pakistan () officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located in South Asia, Southwest Asia, Middle East and It is one of the biggest satellite TV networks in Asia. The strategy failed. Murdoch has now retreated from China after losing at least $US1billion.

Recent activities

In late 2003, Murdoch acquired a 34 percent stake in Hughes Electronics, operator of the largest American satellite TV system, DirecTV, from General Motors for $6 billion (USD). Hughes Aircraft Company was a major aerospace and defense company founded by Howard Hughes. DirecTV (trademarked as "DIREC' TV' " is a Direct broadcast satellite (DBS service based in El Segundo California, USA, that was founded General Motors Corporation ( GM) ( is a multinational automobile manufacturer founded in 1908 and headquartered in the United States.

In 2004, Murdoch announced that he was moving News Corp. 's headquarters from Adelaide, Australia to the United States. Choosing a US domicile was designed to ensure that American fund managers could purchase shares in the company in circumstances where many chose not to buy shares in non-US companies. Some analysts believed that News Corp's Australian domicile was leading to the company being undervalued compared with its peers.

On July 20, 2005, News Corp. Events 1304 - Wars of Scottish Independence: Fall of Stirling Castle - King Edward I of England takes the last rebel stronghold Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. bought Intermix Media Inc., which held MySpace. Intermix Media Inc ( AMX symbol MIX formerly eUniverse) was a Los Angeles -based Internet marketing company which owned the MySpace website MySpace is a popular social networking Website offering an interactive user-submitted network of friends personal profiles blogs groups photos music and com and other popular social networking-themed websites for $580 million USD. A social network is a Social structure made of nodes (which are generally individuals or organizations that are tied by one or more specific types of interdependency such as On September 11, 2005, News Corp announced that it would buy IGN Entertainment for $650 million (USD). Events 9 - The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest ends 506 - The Bishops of Visigothic Gaul Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. IGN (abbreviated and formerly known as I magine G ames N etwork is a multimedia news and reviews Website that focuses heavily on Video ^[13]

Rupert Murdoch and Ted Turner have been competitors for quite some time. Robert Edward "Ted" Turner III (born November 19, 1938) is an American Media proprietor and philanthropist. In 1996 Murdoch launched the Fox News Channel to compete against Turner's CNN. Cable News Network, usually referred to by its Initialism CNN, is a major English language Television network founded in 1980 by Ted Turner ^[14]

The subject of Murdoch's alleged anti-competitive business practices resurfaced in September 2005. Australian media proprietor Kerry Stokes, owner of the Seven Network, instituted legal action against News Corporation and the PBL organization, headed by Kerry Packer. Kerry Matthew Stokes AC is an Australian businessman He holds business interests in a diverse range of industries including electronic and print media property mining and The Seven Network is an Australian television network, owned by the Seven Media Group. Kerry Francis Bullmore Packer, AC (17 December 1937 &ndash 26 December 2005 son of Sir Frank Packer, was an Australian publishing media and gaming tycoon The suit stems from the 2002 collapse of Stokes' planned cable television channel C7 Sport, which would have been a direct competitor to the other major Australian cable provider, Foxtel, in which News and PBL have major stakes. C7 Sport was a pay-TV service in Australia owned and run by Kerry Stokes ' Seven Network. Foxtel is an Australian Pay television company formed through a joint venture between Telstra, News Corporation and Consolidated Media

Stokes claims that News Corp. and PBL (along with several other media organizations) colluded to force C7 out of business by using undue influence to prevent C7 from gaining vital broadcast rights to major sporting events. In evidence given to the court on 26 September, Stokes alleged that PBL executive James Packer came to his home in December 2000 and warned him that PBL and News Limited were "getting together" to prevent the AFL rights being granted to C7. James Douglas Packer (born 8 September, 1967 in Sydney, Australia) is an Australian Businessman and currently Australia The Australian Football League (AFL is both the professional Australian national competition in the Sport of Australian Rules Football and its highest

Recently, Murdoch has bought out the Turkish TV channel, TGRT, which was previously confiscated by the Turkish Board of Banking Regulations, TMSF. Newspapers report that Murdoch has bought TGRT in a partnership with Turkish recording mogul, Ahmet Ertegün and there are alleged reports that Murdoch has acquired Turkish citizenship to overcome the current obligations against capital sales to foreigners. Ahmet Ertegün ( July 31, 1923 &ndash December 14, 2006) was the Turkish American co-founder and executive of Atlantic

Political activities

Australia

Murdoch's shattering experience with Thomas Playford in South Australia (see above: "Start of Business Career") and his early political activities in Australia were to set the pattern he would continue to use around the world. Sir Thomas Playford, GCMG (5 July 1896 – 16 June 1981 was a South Australian politician and a well known farmer ^[15]

Murdoch found a political ally in John McEwen, leader of the Australian Country Party and governing in coalition with the larger Menzies-Holt Liberal Party. From the very first issue of The Australian Murdoch began taking McEwen's side in every issue that divided the long-serving coalition partners. (The Australian, July 15, 1964, first edition front page: “Strain in Cabinet, Liberal-CP row flares. ”) It was an issue that threatened to split the coalition government and open the way for the stronger Australian Labor Party to dominate Australian politics. It was the beginning of a long campaign that served McEwen well. ^[16]

McEwen repaid Murdoch's support later by aiding him to buy his valuable rural property Cavan and then arranged a clever subterfuge by which Murdoch was able to transfer a large sum of money from Australia to England to complete the purchase of The News of the World without obtaining the required authority from the Australian Treasury.

After McEwen and Menzies retired, Murdoch transferred his support to the newly elected Leader of the Australian Labor Party, Gough Whitlam, who was elected in 1972 on a social platform that included universal free health care, free education for all Australians to tertiary level, recognition of the People's Republic of China and public ownership of Australia's oil, gas and mineral resources. Edward Gough Whitlam, AC, QC (born 11 July 1916 known as Gough Whitlam (ˈɡɒf goff is an Australian former politician and 21st

Rupert Murdoch's flirtation with Whitlam turned out to be brief. He had already started his short lived National Star^[16] newspaper in America and was seeking to strengthen his political contacts there. ^[17]

Asked about the Australian federal election, 2007, at the News Corporation annual general meeting in New York on 19 October 2007, its chairman Rupert Murdoch, once an Australian and now a citizen of the USA said, "I am not commenting on anything to do with Australian politics, I'm sorry. Federal elections for the Parliament of Australia were held on Saturday 24 November 2007 after a 6-week campaign in which 13 News Corporation (often abbreviated to News Corp) (,,) is one of the world's largest media conglomerate companies by Market capitalisation Events 202 BCE - The Battle of Zama results in the defeat of Carthage and Hannibal. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The Politics of Australia take place within the framework of parliamentary democracy. I always get into trouble when I do that. " Pressed whether he believed Prime Minister John Howard should be re-elected he said: "I have nothing further to say. The Prime Minister of Australia is the Head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia, holding office on commission from the Governor-General. See also Howard Government John Winston Howard AC (born 26 July 1939 was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia from 11 March I'm sorry. Read our editorials in the papers. An editorial, leader (UK or leading article (UK is an article in a Newspaper or Magazine that expresses the opinion of the Editor News Corporation (often abbreviated to News Corp) (,,) is one of the world's largest media conglomerate companies by Market capitalisation It'll be the journalists who decide that - the editors. A journalist (also called a newspaperman) is a person who practices Journalism, the gathering and dissemination of information about current events trends A literary editor is an editor in a Newspaper or similar publication who deals with aspects concerning Literature and Books especially reviews "^[18]

United States of America

Murdoch's publications worldwide tend to adopt conservative views. During the buildup to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, all 175 Murdoch-owned newspapers worldwide editorialized in favor of the war. The 2003 invasion of Iraq, from March 20 to May 1 2003 was spearheaded by the United States, backed by British forces and smaller contingents from Australia ^[19] Murdoch also served on the board of directors of the libertarian Cato Institute. Libertarianism is a term used by a broad spectrum of political philosophies which prioritize individual Liberty and seek to minimize or even abolish the The Cato Institute is a Libertarian Think tank headquartered in Washington D News Corp-owned Fox News is often criticized for a strong conservative and anti-liberal bias.

On May 8, 2006, the Financial Times[3] reported that Murdoch would be hosting a fundraiser for Senator Hillary Clinton's (D-New York) Senate reelection campaign. Events 589 - Reccared summons the Third Council of Toledo 1450 - Jack Cade's Rebellion: Kentishmen Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. The Financial Times ( FT) is a British international business Newspaper. Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton (born October 26 1947 is the junior United States Senator from Murdoch's New York Post newspaper opposed Clinton's Senate run in 2000. The New York Post is the 13th-oldest Newspaper published in the United States and generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continually

In May 2007, Murdoch made a $5 billion offer to purchase Dow Jones, owner of the Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company is an American publishing and financial information firm At the time, the Bancroft family, who controlled 64% of the shares, outspokenly declined the offer, opposing Murdoch's often-used strategy of large employee cuts and "gutting" pre-existing systems. The Bancroft family are the former owners of Dow Jones & Company &mdash publishers of Inter alia The Wall Street Journal &mdash which is now Later, the Bancroft family confirmed a willingness to consider a sale--aside from Murdoch, the Associated Press reported that supermarket billionaire Ron Burkle and Internet entrepreneur Brad Greenspan were among other interested parties. The Associated Press ( AP) is an American News agency. The AP is a Cooperative owned by its contributing Newspapers radio Ronald Wayne Burkle (born November 12, 1952 in Pomona California) is an American Business magnate. Brad Greenspan is an internet entrepreneur who has been involved in the founding and proliferation of web properties including MySpace. ^[20] On August 1, 2007, the BBC's "News and World Report"^[21] and NPR's Marketplace^[22] radio programs reported that Murdoch bought Dow Jones; the news was received with mixed reactions.

In a 2008 interview with Walt Mossberg, Murdoch was asked whether he had "anything to do with the New York Post's endorsement of [ Barack Obama ]. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Walter S Mossberg (born March 27 1947) is an American Journalist who is the principal technology columnist for the Wall Street Journal The New York Post is the 13th-oldest Newspaper published in the United States and generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continually " Without hesitation, Murdoch replied, "Yeah. " "He is a rock star. It's fantastic" "I love what he is saying about education. " "I don't think he will win Florida. . . . . but he will win in Ohio and the election". "I am anxious to meet him. " "I want to see if he will walk the walk. " ^{[23] [24]}

United Kingdom

In Britain, he formed a close alliance with Margaret Thatcher, and The Sun credited itself with helping John Major win an unexpected election victory in the 1992 general election. Margaret Hilda Thatcher Baroness Thatcher LG, OM, PC, FRS (born 13 October 1925 Sir John Major KG CH ACIB (born 29 March 1943 is a British Politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Results |} The turnout was 33514074 from an Electorate of 43275316 voting in a total of 651 seats ^[25] However, in the general elections of 1997, 2001 and 2005, Murdoch's papers were either neutral or supported Labour under Tony Blair. Results The election was fought under new boundaries with a net increase of eight seats compared to the 1992 election Results |} Total votes cast 26368204 All parties with more than 500 votes shown Results Overview For events leading up to the date of the election see article Pre-election day events of the United Kingdom general The Labour Party is a Political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century it has been since the 1920s the principal party of the Anthony Charles Lynton "Tony" Blair (born 6 May 1953 is a British Politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to This has led some critics to argue that Murdoch simply supports the incumbent parties (or those who seem most likely to win an upcoming election) in the hope of influencing government decisions that may affect his businesses. The Labour Party under Blair had moved significantly to the Right on many economic issues prior to 1997. Murdoch identifies himself as a libertarian. Libertarianism is a term used by a broad spectrum of political philosophies which prioritize individual Liberty and seek to minimize or even abolish the ^[26]

In a speech in New York, Rupert Murdoch said that the UK Prime Minister Tony Blair said the BBC coverage of the Hurricane Katrina disaster was full of hatred of America. Anthony Charles Lynton "Tony" Blair (born 6 May 1953 is a British Politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was the costliest hurricane, as well as one of the five deadliest in the history of the United States Murdoch is a strong critic of the BBC, which he believes has a left wing bias.

In 1998, Rupert Murdoch made a failed attempt to buy footballing power Manchester United FC. He offered £625 million. It was the largest amount of money anyone had offered for a sports club. It was rejected by the United Kingdom's Competition Commission, citing that the acquisition would have "hurt competition in the broadcast industry and the quality of British football". The Competition Commission is an independent body responsible for investigating Mergers market shares and conditions and the regulation of firms under United Kingdom

On June 28, 2006 the BBC reported that Murdoch and News Corporation are flirting with idea of backing Conservative leader David Cameron at the next General Election. Events 1098 - Fighters of the First Crusade defeat Kerbogha of Mosul. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Leaders of the UK Conservative Party since 1834 Background Until 1922 there was no formal "Leader of the Conservative Party" David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966 is a British Politician and the current leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of Her Majesty's ^[27] However in a recent interview, when asked what he thought of the new Conservative leader, Murdoch replied "Not much".

In 2006, the UK’s Independent newspaper reported that Murdoch was to offer Tony Blair a senior role in his global media company News Corp. The Independent is a British compact Newspaper published by Tony O'Reilly 's Independent News & Media. when the UK prime minister stood down from office. ^[28]

He is also accused by former Solidarity MSP Tommy Sheridan having a personal vendetta against him and of conspiring with MI5 to produce a video of him confessing to having affairs - allegations which Sheridan had previously sued News International over and won. Tommy Sheridan (born 7 March 1964 in Glasgow) is a Scottish Socialist Politician. ^[29] On being arrested for perjury following the case Sheridan claimed that the charges were "orchestrated and influenced by the powerful reach of the Murdoch empire"^[30]

Personal life

Murdoch has been married three times. Perjury, also known as forswearing, is the act of lying or making verifiably false statements on a material matter under Oath or Affirmation in a In 1956 he married Patricia Booker, a former shop assistant and air hostess from Melbourne, with whom he had his first child, a daughter Prudence Murdoch, born in 1958. Pat did not like Adelaide with its extremes of weather and where she had few friends and Rupert was frequently away building the foundations of his future empire. Adelaide is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of South Australia, and is the fifth largest city in Australia with a ^[31] They divorced in 1967. In the same year, he married Anna Tõrv, an Estonian-born cadet journalist working for his Sydney newspaper The Daily Telegraph. The Daily Telegraph is a Tabloid Newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, by Nationwide News, part of News

Tõrv and Murdoch had three children: Elisabeth Murdoch (born in Sydney, Australia August 22, 1968), Lachlan Murdoch (born in London, UK September 8, 1971), and James Murdoch, (born in Wimbledon, UK December 13, 1972). Elisabeth Murdoch (born in Sydney, Australia on August 22 1968) is a business executive in the British television industry and a daughter Events 392 - Arbogast has Eugenius elected Western Roman Emperor. Year 1968 ( MCMLXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Lachlan Keith Murdoch (born September 8, 1971) is the elder son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch and the former Anna Torv Events 70 - Roman forces under Titus sack Jerusalem. 1264 - The Statute of Kalisz Year 1971 ( MCMLXXI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the 1971 Gregorian calendar. James Murdoch (born 13 December 1972 in United Kingdom) is the Chairman and Chief Executive of News Corporation, Europe and Asia including the British Newspapers Wimbledon is a Suburb of London, part of the London Borough of Merton and located south west of Charing Cross. Events 1294 - Saint Celestine V abdicates the papacy after only five months Celestine hoped to return to his previous life Year 1972 ( MCMLXXII) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Murdoch's companies published two novels by his then wife: Family Business (1988) and Coming to Terms (1991); both were seen as being vanity publications. Anna and Rupert divorced acrimoniously in June, 1999.

Wendi Deng Murdoch

Anna Murdoch received a settlement of US$ 1. 2 Billion assets. ^[32] Seventeen days after the divorce, on June 25, 1999, Murdoch, then 68, married Chinese born Deng Wendi, later changed to Wendi Deng. Events 524 - Battle of Vézeronce, the Franks defeat the Burgundians Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar) Wendi Murdoch (née Deng) ( Simplified Chinese: 邓[[wikt 文|文]] 迪; Pinyin: Dèng Wéndí originally 邓[[wikt 文|文]] She was then 30, a recent Yale School of Management graduate and newly appointed vice-president of STAR TV. Anna Murdoch was also remarried, in October 1999, to William Mann.

Murdoch has since had two children with Deng: Grace (born in New York November 19, 2001) and Chloe (born in New York July 17, 2003). Events 1095 - The Council of Clermont, called by Pope Urban II to discuss sending the First Crusade to the Holy Land Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. Events 180 - Twelve inhabitants of Scillium in North Africa are executed for being Christians Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar.

Murdoch's eldest son Lachlan, formerly the deputy chief operating officer at the News Corporation and the publisher of the New York Post, was Murdoch's heir apparent before resigning from his executive posts at the global media company at the end of July 2005. The New York Post is the 13th-oldest Newspaper published in the United States and generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continually An heir apparent is an Heir who (short of a fundamental change in the situation cannot be displaced from inheriting the term is used in contrast to Heir presumptive Lachlan's departure left James, chief executive of the satellite television service British Sky Broadcasting since November 2003, as the only Murdoch scion still directly involved with the company's operations, though Lachlan has agreed to remain on the News Corporation's board. British Sky Broadcasting ( BSkyB — Sky Television and BSB) is a company that operates Sky Digital, a subscription television service in the

After graduating from Vassar College and marrying classmate Elkin Kwesi Pianim (the son of Ghanaian financial and political mogul Kwame Pianim) in 1993, Murdoch's daughter Elisabeth, along with her husband, purchased a pair of NBC-affiliate television stations KSBW and KSBY in California on a $35 million loan from her father. Vassar College is a private Coeducational, liberal arts college situated in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York, USA. Kwame Pianim is a celebrated Ghanaian business economist and investment consultant KSBW is a Television station in the United States and is the NBC affiliate for the Monterey - Salinas - Santa Cruz California By quickly re-organizing and re-selling them at a $12 million profit, Elisabeth emerged in 1995 as an unexpected rival to her brothers for eventual leadership of the publishing dynasty's empire. But after quarreling publicly with her assigned mentor Sam Chisholm at BSkyB, she veered out on her own as a television and film producer in London, where she has enjoyed independent success in conjunction with her second husband, Matthew Freud. Matthew Freud (born 1963 is head of Freud Communications an international Public relations firm in the United Kingdom.

It is unknown whether Murdoch will remain as News Corp's CEO indefinitely. The American cable television entrepreneur John Malone was for a time the second largest voting shareholder in News Corporation after Murdoch himself potentially undermining the family's control. John C Malone (born March 7 1941 in Milford, Connecticut) is the current chairman of Liberty Media and CEO of In 2007, the company announced that it would sell certain assets and provide cash to Malone's company in exchange for the cancellation of their stock. Murdoch in 2007 issued his older children with equal voting stock perhaps to test their individual interest and ability to run the company according to standards he has set.

Portrayal on television and film

Rupert Murdoch has been portrayed by Barry Humphries in the 1991 mini-series Selling Hitler, Hugh Laurie in a parody of It's a Wonderful Life in A Bit of Fry and Laurie, Ben Mendelsohn in Black and White, Paul Elder in The Late Shift and by himself on The Simpsons. John Barry Humphries, AO, CBE (born 17 February 1934, Kew, Melbourne, Victoria) is an Australian James Hugh Calum Laurie, OBE (born June 11, 1959) is an English Actor, Comedian, Writer and Musician It's a Wonderful Life is a 1946 American Film produced and directed by Frank Capra and based on the short story " The Greatest A Bit of Fry and Laurie, commonly known as ABOFAL was a British Television series starring former Cambridge Footlights members Stephen Ben Mendelsohn ( April 3, 1969) is an Australian actor and musician Black and White is a 2002 Australian Film, directed by Craig Lahiff and starring Robert Carlyle, Charles Dance The Late Shift is a 1996 American TV movie produced by HBO based on the book by Bill Carter

Criticism and controversy

In 1999, The Economist reported that Newscorp Investments had made £1. The Economist is an English-language weekly news and International affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd and edited in London 4 billion ($2. 1 billion) in profits over the previous 11 years but had paid no net corporation tax. It further reported, after an examination of what was available of the accounts, that Newscorp would normally have expected to pay a corporate tax of approximately $350 million. The article explained that the corporation's complex structure, international scope and use of offshore havens allowed News Corporation to avoid tax. ^[33][34]

Rupert Murdoch's Fox News Channel has been criticized for being politically conservative and advocating conservative policies and candidates. Conservatism in the United States includes a variety of political ideologies including Fiscal conservatism, Supply-side economics, Social conservatism Conservatism in the United States includes a variety of political ideologies including Fiscal conservatism, Supply-side economics, Social conservatism The network is criticised in the 2004 documentary Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism, which was produced and directed by Robert Greenwald. Documentary film is a broad category of visual expression that is based on the attempt in one fashion or another to " Document " reality Outfoxed Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism is a 2004 Documentary film by progressive Filmmaker Robert Greenwald Robert Greenwald (born August 28, 1945) is an American Film director, Film producer, and Political activist, noted in the An article by Professor Roy Greenslade in Guardian Unlimited pointed out that elsewhere in Murdoch's media empire all 175 newspapers owned by him editorialized in favour of the Iraq war. Roy Greenslade is Professor of Journalism at London’s City University and has been a media commentator since 1992 most notably for guardiancouk, formerly known as Guardian Unlimited, is a British website owned by the Guardian Media Group. ^[35]

See also

• List of assets owned by News Corporation
• News Corporation
• News Limited
• Keith Murdoch
• Elisabeth Murdoch
• Robert Maxwell
• Outfoxed

Notes

References

• Chenoweth, Neil (2001). "Rupert Murdoch, the untold story of the world's greatest media wizard". New York: Random House.  
• Shawcross, William (1997). Murdoch: the making of a media empire. New York: Simon and Schuster.  
• Page, Bruce (2003). The Murdoch Archipelago. Simon and Schuster UK.  
• Souchou, Yao (2000). "House of Glass - Culture, Modernity, and the State in Southeast Asia". Bangkok: White Lotus.  
• Conrad, Mark (1999-04-25), Murdoch Stymied in Purchase of 'United', <http://www.sportslawnews.com/archive/articles%201999/Murdoch.html>. Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar) Events 1607 - Eighty Years' War: The Dutch fleet destroys the anchored Spanish fleet at Gibraltar. Retrieved on 23 June 2007 
• Bruce Dover's book, Rupert's Adventures in China:How Murdoch Lost A Fortune And Found A Wife (Mainstream Publishing).

External links

• Murdoch Family tree
• Review of Bruce Page's "The Murdoch Archipelago", by Godfrey Hodgson
• Guardian Unlimited - Rupert Murdoch ongoing special report
• http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/06292007/watch4.html