What does Rupert Murdoch believe in? From battling, and breaking, the print unions in Britain, to setting up the definitive mouthpiece for America’s alt-right, Murdoch has loomed over the worlds of politics and entertainment for decades. Everything from The Simpsons to MySpace owes its success, or failure, to the Australia-born media magnate. As do the likes of Donald Trump, Tony Blair, Barack Obama, Margaret Thatcher and Alex Salmond, all of whom have, at one time or another, received the backing of a Murdoch outlet. For Murdoch, elections are a spectator sport, much like horse races. And just like tipping the ponies, you want to pick the winner.
But it’s the first name on that list that is causing Murdoch his current headaches and precipitating valedictory messages around the world. The fiery right-wing polemicists at Fox News, who backed the Trump campaign even when all looked (and, in fact, was) lost, have, in the past few weeks, cost Murdoch the best part of a billion dollars and a large chunk of his credibility. “Farewell to Rupert Murdoch,” wrote the i newspaper, “and the era of the big, powerful media conglomerate.” Across the pond, meanwhile, the Los Angeles Times referred to a “crisis in Rupert Murdoch’s empire”. So why, after decades of surmounting controversies through a combination of bullying, lobbying and firefighting, is 2023 shaping up to be Murdoch’s annus horribilis?
