The biggest news of last week was Rupert Murdoch stepping down from his media and entertainment empire and handing over the reigns to his oldest son Lachlan (so I guess in our real life version of Succession, Kendall won). The 92 year old Australian-turned-American started his career with one newspaper in Adelaide and ended it as the most powerful figure in media.
Murdoch is so powerful that for the past couple of decades he was arguably the most influential person in the democracies of three countries – the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. Such power also saw him amass a net worth of $17 billion. He was truly an elite. Which is why it was quite ironic that his leaving memo to the staff at News Corporation was a giant rant against “the elites”.
Quartz have published Murdoch’s memo in full, with their own annotations for good measure. Here’s a a quote to give you a sense of what you’re in for:
Self-serving bureaucracies are seeking to silence those who would question their provenance and purpose. Elites have open contempt for those who are not members of their rarefied class. Most of the media is in cahoots with those elites, peddling political narratives rather than pursuing the truth.
In his memo, Murdoch makes clear that he’s not done yet. He still wants to play an active role in shaping the news, but plans to step down from the responsibilities of overseeing the company. So as Fox News grapples with its role in Republican politics and its somewhat strained relationship with Trump, Sky News campaigns against the Voice and News UK manages a Conservative Prime Minister with just a 24% approval rating, expect Murdoch to still be heavily involved in setting the agenda at the world’s most powerful news company.
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