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U4-p.40
Track 9
Murdoch made his name in his native Australia at the helm of his father’s newspaper firm, where he quickly established a pattern of increasing coverage of sports, entertainment and gossip. Another feature of his publications was the use of racy, controversial headlines. So successful was this format, that he had little difficulty transplanting it to Britain where he was to begin building his empire in earnest. On acquiring the News of the World in 1969, he reportedly told the editor that he wanted the struggling tabloid to focus on sex and scandal. He clearly knew what the public wanted as this formula quickly reversed the paper’s fortunes. Global acquisitions of satellite and cable channels, movie companies and a host of other media services followed.
U4-p.40
TFra Baidu bibliotekack 9
However, in recent years, Murdoch’s aura of invincibility has been shattered. Now, for the first time in his 60-plus-year career, he is supposedly on the ropes, reeling from a series of blows that have made him seem vulnerable. One of the first signs that all was not well was Murdoch’s failure in the emerging field of social media. In 2006, News International purchased the social network MySpace for US$580 million. A year later, Facebook was launched and MySpace was blown away. Then came a phone hacking scandal that resulted in the closure of the News of the World after nearly 170 years in print. Murdoch was also called to appear at an inquiry held by the U.K.’s Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee to explain the actions of the News of the World’s reporters, who had been illegally eavesdropping on the phone conversations of celebrities and public figures.
Before You Start
• What kind of news are you most interested in? Why? • How do you get most of your news? • What kinds of stories are popular in China?
4
Stop the Press!
Reading: Rupert Murdoch: Still Pulling the Strings Words to Know: Media; key word: hear Further Reading: Scoops and Scandals: Journalism that Matters
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Reading
Track 9
Rupert Murdoch: Still Pulling the Strings
Love him or loathe him (and for many people it’s the latter), Rupert Murdoch has undeniably helped shaped the course of modern media as we know it. The head of News International, a vast media empire, Murdoch is reputed to be worth more than US$13 billion dollars and is considered to be one of the world’s most powerful and influential figures. The tentacles of his empire extend so far that it’s said that politicians and entire governments fear to move without receiving the nod from the Australian-born kingpin.
