The Highlights In The Life Of The Australian Media Mogul Rupert Murdoch
From inheriting his first newspaper in 1954 to currently owning a total of 175 newspapers worldwide, form obtaining his first Television station in 1958 to currently controlling at least 40 television stations globally, from purchasing his first cable channel in 1981 to managing at least 100 cable channels to this day, and finally form buying his first politician in 1972 to becoming the key factor in the course of modern day politics. For some Rupert Murdoch is considered a media revolutionary and for many a tyrant, either way there is no denying that the Australian media mogul has built himself an empire that shaped media relations during the second half of the 20th century (Greenwald, 2004 ).
With a current Net worth of 8.5 billion dollars, the 87-year-old self-made billionaire still controls a media empire that puppeteers some of today’s most influential cable channels in the English-speaking world including Fox News, The Times and The Wall Street Journal, thus making him not only one of the richest men alive but also one of the most powerful and influential one as well (Forbes Media LLC, 2018).
One of the main characteristics that helped extend his influence and power for almost a century was his transformation of the news industry. He is in fact given the attribution by British newspaper The Economist for inventing the “modern tabloid”, turning around the conventional approach of delivering news and directing it towards more social and scandalous themed headings to entertain his readers in a post-world war era, also known as “the Murdoch era”.
Another highlight in this man’s life apart from his media enterprise is his manifestation in political affairs not only in Australia but also across the UK and the US. He has sown, un many occasions to have used his public sphere of influence to promote and support various Australian, American and British political leaders throughout his career. Some of these prominent personas include John McEwen (Australian Country Party), and Gough Whitlam (Australian Labor Party) in Australia, Margaret Thatcher (The Conservative party) in the UK, and in the US, we have Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush and, currently Donald Trump, all whom which represent the Republican Party (Anset, 2011) .
However, with great power comes great reasonability, something Murdoch seemed to struggle with, as he was often seen in the eye of the hurricane. A series of scandals took place throughout his career that threatened to crumble everything he built. Form the well-known News of the World phone-hacking scandal, to being accused of contaminating the political and public spheres in the UK, US and Australia.
