A journalist first, Rupert Murdoch leads by example

Stepping down after a seven-decade career that helped transform the global media landscape, Rupert Murdoch shows he has lost none of the passion for news, disdain for elites and connection with the concerns of ordinary people that have been the hallmarks of his remarkable success. These are the qualities that led to the creation of The Australian, the country’s first truly national newspaper, in July 1964 and breathed vigour into the business of news in Britain and the US in the decades that followed. As Mr Murdoch remarked on his decision to transition to the role of chairman emeritus at Fox and News Corp, the battle for freedom of speech and, ultimately, freedom of thought has never been more intense. His observation that self-serving bureaucracies are seeking to silence those who would question their provenance and purpose marks the defining challenge for a robust and inquiring media. It is a trait that defines the Murdoch family. In his Boyer Lecture in 2008, Mr Murdoch told how, as a young war correspondent, his father was outraged by the mismatch between Australian enthusiasm and British logistical incompetence at Gallipoli. He was outraged too by the censorship that allowed that incompetence to continue to go unpunished.

For Mr Murdoch, today’s challenge is shown by the fact elites have open contempt for those who are not members of their rarefied class. And that most of the media is in cahoots with those elites, peddling political narratives rather than pursuing the truth. These observations are as true for Australia as they are for the rest of the free world, which must maintain its vigilance against attempts by ever more authoritarian states to assert their coercive power. Efforts to censor the flow of information are growing and becoming more sophisticated, often by governments acting in self-interest rather than the interests of the public. As the potential for conflict escalates, the need for public understanding of the geopolitical forces at play has seldom been so great. On issues across a range of policy fronts, from energy to education, there is a risk that, without check, the interests of hardworking citizens will be exploited and their opportunities squandered by elites who have been blinded by selfish and utopian ideals.

Through hard work and calculated risk, Mr Murdoch has assembled a media empire that is able to speak for the interests of its audience and not be cowed by powerful figures and institutions. Starting from a single newspaper in South Australia, the News stable includes some of the world’s most authoritative and substantial titles – The Australian, The Wall Street Journal and The Times of London – as well as the premier US cable news network, Fox, and Sky News in Australia. Ownership of high-circulation tabloid newspapers such as The Sun, the New York Post, The Daily Telegraph, Melbourne’s Herald Sun and The Courier-Mail in Brisbane have ensured the company remains tightly linked to ordinary people as it expands further into the digital age. The scale and depth of management assembled by Mr Murdoch have allowed the company to take on the digital giants and win.

As editor-at-large Paul Kelly observed on Friday, there was never any silver bullet to explain Mr Murdoch’s success. “It was a function of a creative mind, a tenacious spirit and a massive work ethic. Murdoch was a natural journalist, a business entrepreneur and a media magnate with a near unrivalled skill at paying high for new assets and, by turning them into profitable and powerful concerns, showing he got a bargain.”

Mr Murdoch is hailed by leading business figures as the most consequential Australian businessman on the global stage. Political figures from across the spectrum paid tribute to his personal and professional success. British Chancellor Jeremy Hunt called Mr Murdoch a “formidable operator” and “one of the giants of his era”. Foreign Minister Penny Wong wished Mr Murdoch well for his retirement but said his papers might not exactly be cheerleaders of the Labor Party. The Australian has editorialised in support of Gough Whitlam, Bob Hawke and Kevin Rudd. Moving to his new role, Mr Murdoch said the companies were in robust health, as was he. “Our opportunities far exceed our commercial challenges,” he said. “We have every reason to be optimistic about the coming years.”

A journalist first, Mr Murdoch has led by example. That includes retaining an appreciation of the ordinary. He did not forget to thank the truck drivers, cleaners and others who enabled the news business but were never in the limelight. The example set by him is to be brave, to stand firm, to know there are always two sides to every story and that elite opinion does not deserve a protected status.

At The Australian, we hold our duty to readers as our greatest responsibility. Like Mr Murdoch, we owe no allegiance to any side of politics. Our duty is to challenge all comers with fidelity to the truth.