Issue Details: First known date: 2023... 2023 ‘Nasty, Brutish, and Banal’ The Ploys of Media Moguls and Politicians
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'In 1968, Rupert Murdoch was one step from acquiring his first international media holding, in the British tabloid The News of the World. That Murdoch was so close was a personal coup, given that his press ownership had begun sixteen years earlier with a much-diminished inheritance, largely based in Adelaide. To pull off the News of the World acquisition, however, Murdoch needed government approval to transfer $10 million Australian offshore. Speed, secrecy, and surety were pivotal, and in search of all three Murdoch went to John McEwen, the deputy prime minister and leader of the Country Party. The two had an enduring bond: McEwen had helped Murdoch buy his grazing station and family bolthole, Cavan, and when McEwen was appointed acting prime minister after the death of Harold Holt in 1967, Murdoch had argued in The Australian that McEwen should be prime minister in his own right. Now, in 1968, McEwen took Murdoch to the prime minister, John Gorton, who was also familiar with the young press baron. Gorton had briefly been lined up to work for Murdoch’s father in the 1930s and owed something of his present job now to the influence Murdoch had wielded when it became clear that McEwen could not remain prime minister.' (Introduction)   

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon Australian Book Review no. 455 July 2023 26471652 2023 periodical issue 'Welcome to the July issue of ABR! This month ABR examines questions of politics, history, and immigration. Bain Attwood’s cover feature offers a nuanced examination of the Voice referendum from a historical perspective, drawing on the 1967 referendum on Aboriginal rights. Other major features include David Rolph on the Ben Roberts-Smith defamation case and the vindication of investigative journalism, Jack Corbett on sovereignty games in the Pacific Islands, and ABR Laureate’s fellow Ebony Nilsson on the ALP’s uneasy history with immigration. Sheila Fitzpatrick examines a new history of East Germany and Michael Hofmann reviews Anna Funder’s major repositioning of Eileen O’Shaugnessy, George Orwell’s first wife. Also in the issue, Helen Morse takes us backstage, Brenda Walker reviews a collection of essays from critic Helen Elliott, Geordie Williamson appraises a new short story collection from J.M. Coetzee, and Patrick Mullins looks at transformations in the Australian media.' 

    (Publication summary)

    2023
    pg. 15-16
Last amended 3 Jul 2023 09:21:45
15-16 https://www.australianbookreview.com.au/abr-online/archive/2023/july-2023-no-455/991-july-2023-no-455/10385-patrick-mullins-reviews-media-monsters-the-transformation-of-australia-s-newspaper-empires-by-sally-young ‘Nasty, Brutish, and Banal’ The Ploys of Media Moguls and Politicianssmall AustLit logo Australian Book Review
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