Making Murdoch: The Rise Of The Media Mogul
For over 60 years, Rupert Murdoch has dominated the media industry. From film studios to newspapers, it seems he owns them all. Here is his story.
From Oxford to Oz: Beginning the story
Rupert Murdoch’s story starts 64 years ago when his father passed away in 1953. A 21-year-old Murdoch returned from Oxford University to take over his father’s company, News Limited (now News Corp. Australia). His time in England had also seen him take up a brief apprenticeship under Lord Beaverbrook, press baron and then owner of the Daily Express.
As the video below shows, the next few decades would take him and his rapidly growing media empire across the world:
The 1960s: Growing the Business
The majority of the ‘60s saw Murdoch take over titles in Australia such as the Sunday Times in Perth and the first national daily title in Australia, named “The Australian”. However, his most notable acquisition in this decade would undoubtedly be the now defunct, News of the World paper in 1968.
Just a year later Murdoch would take the Sun Newspaper, then a struggling title, and turn it into one of the top 5 most read publications in the UK. Murdoch is generally credited with introducing the most controversial aspect of the paper, the infamous page 3 girls.
The 1970s: USA Calling
Following his successful acquisitions in the UK, Rupert Murdoch bought up the first of his US titles in 1973, the Texan San Antonio News. Just 12 months later he set up a US national paper called The Star and by 1976 the New York Post was under his ownership too.
Three years after acquiring the New York Post, Murdoch set up what would become known as News Corp, a holding company for his vastly expanding media empire.
1981: London
From the 1980s to the 1990s, Rupert Murdoch would rapidly take over news outlets across the globe. In 1981 he took over UK titles, The Times Newspaper and its sister paper The Sunday Times in a merger which whilst controversial with some, saved both papers from collapse.
It was under Murdoch’s ownership that The Times switched from being a broadsheet to a compact title in 2004. This move was aimed at bringing in younger readers and allowing for reading on public transport.
1985: Murdoch and the movies
In the mid-1980s, Murdoch decided to move into the entertainment industry by purchasing iconic film company 20th Century Fox. At around this time, he also bought up smaller, independent companies and merged them to make Fox Inc. which is itself now a popular TV network.
1990–2007: the empire grows
In 1990, Murdoch moved into the Asian market where he set up Star TV, a television company based in Hong Kong which broadcasts to continental Asia. That same year he purchased multiple publishing companies from the USA and the UK and formed the publishing giant HarperCollins. The arrival of the 21st century didn’t stop him adding to his now global media empire. In 2005 Murdoch bought Intermix media, the owners of the social media site MySpace. Just two years later he bought up Dow Jones, the owner of the Wall Street Journal.
2007- the future:
Recently, Rupert Murdoch’s company 21st Century Fox announced a takeover bid of Sky TV. The decision is still pending as it has been referred to Ofcom.
Controversies of the Murdoch Empire:
As with any media empire, Murdoch’s name doesn’t come without some controversy attached. Here is a run-through of some of the most controversial moments in the Murdoch empire’s history:
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