Character | Murdoch: A person who transforms passion and dissatisfaction into money and power?
According to Xinhua News Agency, on September 21st, 92 year old media tycoon Rupert Murdoch announced that he will step down as chairman of Fox and News Corporation in November, becoming honorary chairmen of both companies.
Looking back at Murdoch's over 70 year career, he created a media empire spanning the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia through a series of major transactions, reshaping the news, entertainment, and even political landscape on both sides of the Atlantic, and making himself one of the most influential and controversial billionaires in the world.
Now, an era is coming to an end?
Embark on a journey of expansion
It is undeniable that the family legacy was the starting point of Murdoch's media career. He was born in 1931 into a well-known newspaper family in Melbourne, Australia. Father Murdoch used to be a war correspondent, but later invested in running a newspaper and founded his own news organization.
Under his influence, Murdoch showed interest in newspapers in his early years. During his studies at the University of Oxford, he worked as an assistant editor for the London Daily Express.
In the autumn of 1952, after his father passed away due to a heart attack, Murdoch hurriedly returned to his home country and took over the family newspaper industry, the two major newspapers in the southern Australian city of Adelaide - the News and the Sunday Post. That year, he was just 21 years old.
Murdoch learned quickly and displayed an unusual sensitivity. When competitors attempted to quietly buy newspapers from him, Murdoch put this news on the front page of the newspaper and accompanied it with an editorial angrily condemning the newspaper monopoly. When an indigenous person was accused of murder in suspicious evidence, Murdoch quickly wrote a defense for him. Under Murdoch's careful management, the two newspapers turned losses into profits.
In 1956, Murdoch set off from Adelaide and spent $400000 to acquire Perth Sunday, officially embarking on an adventure and expansion journey. Four years later, he advanced to Sydney again and spent $4 million to acquire the Sydney Daily Mirror and Sydney Daily, engaging in fierce competition with his competitor, the Australian Sun.
In 1964, Murdoch founded Australia's first national daily newspaper, The Australian, establishing his position as a leader in the Australian newspaper industry.
However, the 7.69 million square kilometers of Australia cannot accommodate all of Murdoch's ambitions.
In 1969, Murdoch ventured into the UK and successfully acquired News of the World and The Sun, reviving two long losing tabloids. The Sun is still the largest newspaper in circulation in the UK, targeting the middle and lower classes of society with a wide range of themes, making it a sought after imitator for street newspapers around the world.
Some comments suggest that Murdoch's dominance on the tabloid battlefield is due to his ideology. He has always advocated providing readers with authentic narratives rather than Platonic ideals. It brings tabloids back to posters, prizes, and various scandalous gossip.
After successfully testing the waters in the UK, Murdoch began to enter the US market. In 1973, he acquired a local newspaper in San Antonio. Three years later, he acquired The New York Post and The New York Magazine, warming up his long-term performance in the American media industry.
"What is truly cultivated is emotions"
In the 1980s, Murdoch ushered in a shining moment in his career, successively acquiring or creating iconic brands in the fields of publishing, television, and film.
In 1981, he seized the opportunity to acquire The Times, which symbolized the dignity and dignity of the British Empire and had a history of 200 years, further expanding the territory of the newspaper empire.
In 1985, he purchased 20th Century Fox Film Company and a group of television stations in the United States, applied his gossip skills to the entertainment and broadcasting fields, and began to establish a foothold in Hollywood.
One year later, he transformed an unknown small independent television station into a new commercial television network - Fox Broadcasting Company, thus changing the landscape of the American television industry.
Similar to Murdoch's tabloid style, Fox Broadcasting Company gives a refreshing feeling. At that time, most television programs attempted to show stability and solemnity, but Fox emitted a vibrant glow. It has the tone of a conservative talk show, full of the frenzy of television sports programs, and dazzling visuals.
In 1996, Murdoch made another move and co founded Fox News with former Republican advisors, allowing his journalism philosophy and conservative political beliefs to be fully expressed.
"This was a rather reckless idea, but we wanted to give it a try," he once recalled. To the surprise of most people, Fox News was warmly sought after by audiences, surpassing CNN in ratings within 6 years and occupying the top spot in the US ratings chart for 19 consecutive years.
The outside world is attempting to crack the success codes of Fox News and Murdoch.
Some comments suggest that Murdoch promised to provide news, but what truly nurtured was emotions. On Fox News, News is a series full of heroes and enemies, victories and dangers. Make the audience feel angry, betrayed, threatened, and willing to sit in front of the TV for a few hours. This is one of Fox's most successful bets.
Critics point out that although Fox News ranks as "fair and balanced," its handling of news and public opinion has led to the vulgarization of American political discourse and deepening public disagreements.
Playing with politicians at the hands of shareholders?
After decades of struggle, Murdoch holds one of the largest media empires in the world today, controlling the newspaper, television, and film industries on three continents, with a footprint covering more than one-third of the world's population.
As the business landscape continues to expand, Murdoch's position is soaring. However, he still claims to be an outsider and a stand out individual who confronts authorities on both sides of the Atlantic, whether in the fields of broadcasting, news, or pay TV distribution.
"I have no choice but to become a catalyst for change," he once said in a speech at the National News Club in Washington, "You may sometimes be seen as a skunk at a tea party, but this is the fate of those who challenge the status quo."
To this day, he has been warning his employees that the struggle around freedom of speech and thought is still ongoing, and most media outlets collude with elites, selling political narratives and no longer pursuing the truth.
But ironically, in the eyes of the outside world, Murdoch is also a prominent figure in the political arena of many countries, playing with politicians in power. The reason is simple: the media can influence public opinion, and public opinion can drive votes. Politicians have to bow down to media giants for the sake of votes.
"Everyone is afraid of Murdoch. There is a culture of terror throughout the country," former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd once exclaimed.
"Murdoch has surpassed British law more than once," American historian Harold Evans pointed out, as Margaret Thatcher supported him.
Insiders say that Murdoch used the New York Post, which he acquired in 1976, to endorse Reagan in the 1980 election.
In the past few years, Murdoch and Trump have had a close personal relationship, which has become an "open secret" in American politics. Trump is a loyal audience and long-term guest of Fox Television, who often stands in line with Trump's controversial policies.
However, according to well-known American investigative journalist and best-selling author Michael Wolf, "Murdoch is very disgusted with Trump." It has been noted that after Trump's failure in the 2020 election, Fox was also in trouble and had to pay a settlement fee of $787.5 million to settle the lawsuit caused by his report on "election results being stolen.".
Some comments suggest that this is the price that Murdoch and Fox TV should pay. They have been stirring up passion and dissatisfaction, and converting it into money and power.
The constantly experiencing bumps
Since entering his later years, Murdoch has remained active in the public eye. But the media empire he controls is also constantly undergoing changes and turbulence.
In 2007, he acquired Dow Jones, the parent company of The Wall Street Journal, for $5 billion, a 67% premium on the stock price before his public tender offer.
In 2013, Murdoch spun off his business, retaining the company's original name as News Corporation for publishing assets and transferring entertainment assets to the newly established 21st Century Fox.
In 2018, he agreed to sell most of the equity of 21st Century Fox to Disney for $71 billion, and the remaining assets formed the new Fox Company. The latter is a much smaller company focused on news and sports.
"We are returning to our first love, which is news and sports - things that happen in real time," Murdoch said at the time. Many media executives have stated that the above transaction is foresight given the difficulties experienced by entertainment giants thereafter.
Last autumn, Murdoch proposed a restructuring plan between News Corporation and Fox. But he gave up his thoughts in January this year, stating that the idea at the time was not ideal.
Industry insiders believe that both wings of Murdoch's media empire are facing increasingly severe challenges. Fox is working hard to cope with the profound impact of cable TV cable cuts and streaming growth. News Corporation, which owns publications such as The Wall Street Journal and The London Times, is striving to find a growth path in the battle for subscription users and advertising revenue.
Under the changing circumstances, it is widely believed that Murdoch's resignation does not mean a complete departure, and he will still leave his mark on the media and political stage in his own way. According to American journalist Wolf, "There are no rules in Murdoch's world."
