Rupert Murdoch: A Reassessment

Rather than focusing on particular aspects of Rupert Murdoch’s personality or career, this comprehensive biography traces the whole of the Australian media tycoon’s business trajectory, the entrepreneurial strategies that led to his early successes, and his later exercises of monopolistic power. It examines the development and evolution of his business, political, and journalistic ideas over the six decades he has been running an increasingly powerful company, inquiring as to whether the trends and patterns in his behavior and beliefs have changed or remained the same. Where Murdoch’s political ideas specifically are concerned, the book dissects these, the relish with which he approaches political campaigning, and the way he has leveraged political support into policy outcomes that favor his business. In offering a well-rounded portrait of Rupert Murdoch, media scholar Rodney Tiffen argues that, at times, Murdoch’s influence has been overestimated.