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After having successfully revived The News, Murdoch began looking for other daily and local newspapers to acquire. In little time, Murdoch had gained control of most of the newspapers in Australia’s capital cities, including Sydney’s The Daily Mirror. With this, he was able to begin offering the larger competitors in Sydney a real challenge. His papers were soon becoming known for their exciting stories about sex and mayhem.
In 1964, he followed this up with the establishment of The Australian, the country’s first national daily newspaper. Initially based out of Canberra, Murdoch moved The Australian to Sydney, after which his reputation as a serious newsman began to develop. A more serious publication than his others, The Australian never grew particularly large in circulation, but did generate an elite readership and lent itself to Murdoch’s influence among the powers that be. In 1972, Murdoch acquired Sydney’s The Daily Telegraph, which made him one of the three largest newspaper proprietors in the country.
By 1968, Murdoch’s holdings in Australia were worth nearly $50 million, but he wanted to go global. After learning that London’s News of the World was up for sale, he engaged in a bidding war and finally won out in buying 40% of the paper’s shares. The next year, Murdoch purchased London’s The Sun, which was losing $5 million per year. He turned the paper into a tabloid and began publishing half-naked pictures of women who became known as Page 3 Girls. Circulation quickly rose from 600,000 to four million and for the first time in years, The Sun was turning a profit. He also later acquired The Times and The Sunday Times.
As Murdoch’s reputation of being a ruthless and shrew businessman was being cemented across England and Australia, Murdoch decided to take his operations to America. In 1973, Murdoch purchased the San Antonio Express-News, revamping it with more pictures, sex and dirt in traditional Murdoch style, and later also established the Star, a national tabloid. In 1976, Murdoch purchased the New York Post for $50 million, through which he began expressing his rightward leaning political views. His list of acquisitions continued to grow through the New York Magazine Company and the Chicago Sun-Times.
By 1984, Murdoch’s holding company News Corporation owned over 80 newspapers and magazines. He had also begun to break into different media, namely the television market and record industry. He purchased the Australian Festival Records as well as television stations in both Australia and England.
In 1985, Murdoch purchased TCF Holdings, the parent company of 20th Century Fox, for $250 million. He subsequently began buying independent television stations throughout the U.S., which became known as the Fox Television Stations Group. Wanting to compete with the bigger boys – ABC, CBS and NBC – Murdoch announced that he would start his own television system, Fox Broadcasting Company. When it launched, its first show, The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers, was broadcast to over 80% of American households. Soon, Fox had lined up over 90 affiliates of formerly independent stations.
Over the next fifteen years, Fox would spawn a wide range of successful television shows, including Married…with Children, America’s Most Wanted, COPS, Beverly Hills 90210, Melrose Place, The X-Files, In Living Color, The Simpsons, 24, The O.C., and American Idol. With the establishment of Fox News Channel in 1996, a 24-hour cable news station that has since eroded CNN’s market dominance, Murdoch’s achievements were cemented.
Murdoch continued to expand his holdings with the purchase of HarperCollins, New World Communications, DirecTV, and several stations from Chris-Craft Industries. He purchased the rights to broadcast the National Football League, as well as buying the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team, the International Family Entertainment religious cable network, Heritage Media and part ownership of the New York Knicks and New York Rangers as well as Manchester United for $1.5 billion. He also recently purchased Intermix Media Inc., owner of MySpace.com, the world’s fourth most popular English-language website.
By 2002, Murdoch had a controlling interest in over 750 businesses around the world. With its newly moved headquarters from Australia to the New York City, News Corp. continues to expand its global media dominance. It currently earns almost $25 billion in yearly revenues, not including the revenues of companies in which it only has a minority stake. With a personal net worth of $6.7 billion, Murdoch continues his reign as one of the world’s most successful media magnates in history.
“I'm a catalyst for change,” says Murdoch. “You can't be an outsider and be successful over 30 years without leaving a certain amount of scar tissue around the place.”
“I think we’ve been an agent for change, everywhere, and I think change frightens people,” says Murdoch. “They’re going nicely in what seems like a settled industry, and someone comes in and says, ‘I can do this bet...
Reflecting upon his success, Murdoch commented, “I feel proud but it’s been a long and bumpy ride.” It was not a ride that Murdoch took alone. From his early days working on Adelaide’s The News to his current positi...
He took a small-town newspaper and turned it into a billion dollar operation, gaining control of the information flow to nearly half the world in the process. He is loved by some, hated by many and even feared, but ...
Rupert Murdoch Video - An hour with News Corp. Chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch. He talks about global media, politics, technology, the future of entertainment, and more.
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“I'm a catalyst for change,” says Murdoch. “You can't be an outsider and be successful over 30 years without leaving a certain amount of scar tissue around the place.”
