Rupert Murdoch

The way News Corp operates must be traced to Rupert Murdoch himself for he has told us that ‘for better or worse (News Corp) is a reflection of my own thinking, my character and my values’. Let me give some examples of how News Corp operates. Ken Cowley was a very senior and loyal executive of News Corp for many years. He was my production manager in Sydney at News Ltd. Unwisely, three years ago Cowley told the Australian Financial Review that [Rupert’s son] Lachlan Murdoch was not particularly smart and that The Australian ‘is pathetic’. People were wheeled out within 24 hours to defend Lachlan. Cowley was brought to heel. The Australian extracted the following from him: ‘‘The Australian has always been good, the Editor in Chief has been doing an excellent job… I have great respect for Lachlan Murdoch.”