Insights from the Moguls of Media Capitalism – A Review Essay

Abstract

In printed media, not only do newspapers play a key role but also its editors and, perhaps even more so, the owners of these newspapers. Those are the ones who Beecher calls media moguls. Among the handful of newspaper proprietors, Rupert Murdoch is not only the most infamous but also the most notorious. Beecher, who was once an editor for Murdoch, delivers an inside view of the internal affairs of Murdoch’s news empire. This includes not only Murdoch’s activities in the UK and Australia, but also in the USA. In the USA, for example, Fox has become a propaganda apparatus for Trump. Yet, long before Trump moved from being a sleazy TV host into politics and having received the support of Murdoch, Murdoch’s far right influence into politics were felt most sharply in Murdoch’s home country of Australia as well as the UK. Murdoch’s phone hacking, his relentless and tremendous support for UK Tories and Brexit are examples that explain the power triangle between Murdoch’s media, voters, and politics. Murdoch has created something that might best be called the Iron Triangle of Media Capitalism. How this works is explained here.

Eric Beecher. 2024. The Men Who Killed the News: The Inside Story of How Media Moguls Abused their Power, Manipulated the Truth and Distorted Democracy. Melbourne: Simon & Schuster. ISBN: 9781761428043, $ 16.99 (eBook), pp. 416 (pbk.), pp. 901 (eBook), notes and index.