How media mogul Rupert Murdoch built his empire
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Transcript
00:00 When Rupert Murdoch became editor of a small newspaper in Australia as a young man, few
00:06 would have imagined how far and wide his influence would extend in the decades that followed.
00:11 A media empire that would eventually span the world, including television networks,
00:17 a publishing house, and a major Hollywood movie studio.
00:22 Observers say that at the helm of that empire, Murdoch achieved the ability to change the
00:26 course of history, an influence he did not shy away from using.
00:31 I'm not hiding behind an editor and saying, "No, I had nothing to do with the policy or
00:35 whatever."
00:36 I do get involved in it, and I don't make a secret of it.
00:40 In his native Australia, Murdoch's News Corp now controls about two-thirds of the country's
00:46 print media and some of the nation's most popular websites, along with the TV channel
00:51 Sky News.
00:52 And he's used that influence to target politicians he's disagreed with, and in 2014, his outlets
00:58 led a successful effort to repeal the country's carbon tax.
01:04 When he expanded his empire to the U.K., taking over the British newspapers The Sun and The
01:09 Times, he also promoted conservative and nationalist causes.
01:14 Most recently, The Sun pushed Brexit, helping to drive the country out of the European Union.
01:21 But in 2011, Murdoch's empire came under scrutiny when his British newspapers faced accusations
01:27 of hacking the phones of politicians, celebrities and even the royal family.
01:32 The case ended in millions of dollars in settlements for the victims, led to the closure of his
01:38 News of the World, and it brought Murdoch and his son James before the British Parliament.
01:43 I would just like to say one sentence.
01:46 This is the most humble day of my life.
01:49 Thank you.
01:50 Murdoch used the same approach of championing conservative causes in the U.S.
01:56 As head of The New York Post, Ronald Reagan's campaign credited Murdoch with delivering
02:00 the Republican candidate a victory in New York in the 1980 election.
02:06 Reagan's White House would push deregulation, paving the way for Murdoch's empire to expand.
02:13 Decades later, Fox News would become a sort of kingmaker in Republican politics.
02:18 The network giving Donald Trump an unprecedented platform, helping him win the White House
02:23 in 2016.
02:24 In the wake of his election loss four years later, the network would repeat Trump's lies
02:29 about a rigged vote and faulty voting machines, and would end in Fox News ordered to pay a
02:35 settlement of $787 million to Dominion Voting Systems, the largest publicly known payout
02:42 struck by an American media company.
02:44 [BLANK_AUDIO]