So farewell news baron Rupert Murdoch – a controversial and world-renowned entrepreneur -who has given up the chair at the head of the boardroom table after a staggering 70 years in charge.
A career driven by acquisition and daring. He started out as a young editor, in Australia at the age of 22. He was, by all accounts, a thorough journalist, following his father Keith – who was a distinguished war correspondent.
How the Murdoch Empire was Built
The only problem was, in his eyes, that the family didn’t own anything. He set forth, from London to New York, to sort that out in the days when newspapers were a licence to print money.
Murdoch made a stunning string of acquisitions including the Sunday Times in London – a pillar of the British establishment. All along, he had to fight the resistance and resentment that came part and parcel with his image as a brash outsider.
Yet he achieved his aim, making a billionaire fortune along the way.
A Far-Reaching Influence on Journalism
It used to be said there were two types of journalists in the world. Those who worked for Murdoch and those who were going to work for Murdoch.
I too worked for Murdoch at Sky News in London, in 1989, in its very early days. There is little doubt that Murdoch took a huge risk to pioneer satellite television when everyone else said it couldn’t work.
On the Sky newsroom floor, we had next to nothing in those days. Few crews, inexperienced producers, and even fewer resources.
We were up against the well-resourced BBC and ITN who had everything.
“What is the difference between Sky News and the Loch Ness Monster?” they used to say.
“More people have seen the Loch Ness monster!”
The minority Sky News channel dug itself out from under the pile of ridicule to make a place for itself in the British news landscape that it holds until this day.
Move to the US
Many people in the business didn’t like Murdoch; he could be ruthless and a bully. When the proud Aussie found out he couldn’t own media in the United States without being a citizen – he had no hesitation in ditching his Australian passport.
As an entrepreneur, Murdoch was a founder of companies with nerves of steel who could spot openings in the market.
His greatest dream though, did not come to pass. He wanted to create a world newspaper that proved a dream too far.
Fair enough, although any proposal with the words new and newspaper in it is unlikely to fly these days.
