Rupert Murdoch

Rupert Murdoch

Biography

 American entrepreneur of Australian origin, the founder and head of the media giant News Corporation, its Chief Executive Officer (since 1979) and Chairman of the Board of Directors (since 1991). Are under the control of Murdoch media, film companies and book publishers in the U.S., UK, Australia and other countries.

 Keith Rupert Murdoch (Keith Rupert Murdoch) was born March 11, 1931 in Melbourne. His father, Keith Murdoch (Keith Murdoch) was an Australian journalist and editor, and in 1933 he received the British knighthood. Rupert went to Oxford University. As a student, supported the Labour Party. At Oxford, received a master's degree.

Business story

 When in 1952, Murdoch Sr. died, Rupert returned to Australia. There, he inherited his father's losing provincial newspaper The Adelaide News and firmly took hold of its development. Murdoch soon began buying up small publications in other cities. A few years later he bought a large newspaper Sydney's Daily Mail, and in 1964 founded the first national newspaper in Australia - The Australian.

 Murdoch's business came to worldwide level at its disposal were newspapers, magazines and television channels. In 1968 he made the first significant purchase abroad: Murdoch acquired the London newspaper News of the World. By the mid-1970s, Murdoch-owned media have become a decisive force in the Australian market and became the conductor of the conservative political campaigning.

 Murdoch's company was consolidated in the corporation he founded News Corporation (News Corp.), Named in honor of his first newspaper. Since 1979, Murdoch has always been chief executive officer and member of the board of directors of her, and later, in 1991, also became chairman of the board of directors.

Overseas expansion continued in the 1970s, Murdoch acquired the U.S. newspaper The New York Post and the Journal New York Magazine. In the UK, under the control of Murdoch's newspapers were The Sun, The Times and The Sunday Times. Tycoon has a strict policy of recruitment and did not want to put up with the requirements of the trade unions. In the 1980s in Britain after modernization of the printing process, he fired a few thousand people, and as a result has become a hated figure to the British left.

 In 1980 Murdoch decided to enter the U.S. market television. Because U.S. law prohibits foreigners from owning local TV in 1985 Entrepreneur naturalized in the United States. After that, he bought the company Metromedia, which became the basis of his television network Fox Broadcasting. Later, in 1996, began working channel Fox News, covering news from the conservative positions.

 Murdoch's media have come to play a large role in politics. In the UK, they are actively supported by the conservative Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher and John Major, and then the "New Labour" of Tony Blair. In the United States since President Ronald Reagan they mostly campaigned for Republicans. According to critics, the political orientation of Murdoch-owned newspapers and TV channels were not caused by his personal views and motivated only by the interests of its games by a National stage. So, after the Republican defeat in the 2006 midterm elections in the U.S. has increased significantly the flow of subsidies News Corp. to the needs of the Democratic Party.

                                                                  Conclusion

 Many critics have argued that the commercial success of Murdoch was achieved through media degradation, replacement quality information sources for cheap vulgar products of mass consumption. In addition, at the end of the 1990s, the British publication drew attention to the fact that, despite its billions in profits, News Corp. paid close to zero minimum corporate tax. This has been possible due to the complicated structure of the international empire of Murdoch and the active use of off-shore.

 By 2007, Murdoch's personal fortune reached U.S. $ 9 billion. With this parameter it took 73rd place in traditional ranking of the richest people in the world, compiled by the magazine Forbes. In spring 2007, tycoon once again made ​​a name for himself, his corporation intends to acquire Dow Jones, publisher of the leading business newspaper The Wall Street Journal. Managed to make a deal at the end of July.