He shaped media and democracy worldwide in ways that have and will continue to affect every individual on Earth.
Now, at the age of 92, Rupert Murdoch is stepping down from the massive media behemoths of Fox and News Corp, following an announcement overnight.
From the 1960s, Murdoch has been expanding his media empire to the point of controlling two thirds of the mainstream media in Australia and influential newspapers and networks in the UK and United States. His legacy consists of a series of global consequences of the highest proportions that will continue well beyond his retirement.
Murdoch took control of an Adelaide-based newspaper after his father died in 1952, before amassing a network of titles across the country, then moving into New Zealand and into the UK in 1969, taking over News of The World — defunct following the phone hacking scandal, and then The Sun.
Over the past six decades, Murdoch has built New Corp into a business like no other, with tentacles spanning across the world via newspapers like the Wall Street Journal and the New York Post in the US, The Sun and The Sunday Times in the UK, and The Australian, Daily Telegraph, Herald Sun in Australia.
He has spanned into broadcast news, digital and entertainment, including Sky News and news.com.au in Australia and Fox News broadcasting channels. He has funded, provided audiences for, and built up some of the most controversial and powerful shock-jocks and alt-right, mega-microphoned influencers pushing their views on everything from climate denialism to the rejection of LGBTQI+ and women’s rights.
His sway has seen many political leaders fall at his feet, with domestic policies shaped by the media outlets he oversees. Meanwhile, his massive network of media has impacted international relations and negotiations. He has had more control over democracy than millions of people who actually vote.
A media innovator, Murdoch pushed into new forms of journalism. He turned the Sun into a tabloid in the UK, declaring “sex, sport and contests” would revive its struggling circulation — which worked, with the introduction of topless models and the infamous “Page 3”. He inspired his competitors to follow and push the boundaries of sensation, and the celebrity chase.
And individuals have been shaped and elevated, arguably at his behest: Roger Ailes, Tucker Carlson, Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity to name just a few.
His successful elevation of Donald Trump is absolute proof of his monstrous power. Trump, who was initially considered an almost laughable outsider in the presidential race, ended up forming a significant base from favourable and relentless Fox coverage. in the US.
Initially considered an outsider in Britain and the United States, Murdoch adeptly became the ultimate insider.
Murdoch’s influence has continued to be so profound in Australia that former prime minister Kevin Rudd called for a royal commission into his dominance of the country’s media in 2020. Rudd later told the media diversity inquiry in 2021 that Australian politicians are frightened of Rupert Murdoch, and worry about being the target of a “systematic campaign”. He also declared the “Murdoch mob” seek out “compliant politicians”.
Announcing his retirement overnight, Murdoch told his employees: “For my entire professional life, I have been engaged daily with news and ideas, and that will not change.”
That engagement has impacted every single one of us in different ways, depending on our circumstances. That engagement has changed the course of history.
Murdoch has been married and divorced four times. He has four grown children including Prudence, Elisabeth, Lachlan and James. It is Lachlan who wins in this long speculated Succession drama, with his father anointing him to take the helm of both News Corp and Fox.