Editing Rupert Murdoch (section)

=== Business activities in the United Kingdom ===

[[File:Rupert Murdoch - WEF Davos 2007.jpg|thumb|upright|Murdoch – [[World Economic Forum]] Annual Meeting in [[Davos]], in 2007]]

In 1968, Murdoch entered the British newspaper market with his acquisition of the populist ''[[News of the World]]'', followed in 1969 with the purchase of the struggling daily ''[[The Sun (United Kingdom)|The Sun]]'' from [[IPC Media|IPC]].<ref name="Deals">{{cite web | url = https://www.theguardian.com/business/2007/jul/18/citynews.pressandpublishing | title = Rupert Murdoch – a lifetime of deals | date = 18 July 2007 | location = London | work = The Guardian | first = Chris | last = Tryhorn | access-date = 13 December 2016 | archive-date = 23 December 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161223141435/https://www.theguardian.com/business/2007/jul/18/citynews.pressandpublishing | url-status = live }}</ref> Murdoch turned ''The Sun'' into a [[Tabloid (newspaper format)|tabloid]] format and reduced costs by using the same printing press for both newspapers. On acquiring it, he appointed [[Larry Lamb (newspaper editor)|Albert 'Larry' Lamb]] as editor and – Lamb recalled later – told him: "I want a tearaway paper with lots of tits in it". In 1997 ''The Sun'' attracted 10 million daily readers.<ref name="Witzel" /> In 1981, Murdoch acquired the struggling ''[[The Times|Times]]'' and ''[[Sunday Times]]'' from Canadian newspaper publisher [[Kenneth Thomson, 2nd Baron Thomson of Fleet|Lord Thomson of Fleet]].<ref name="Deals" /> Ownership of ''The Times'' came to him through his relationship with Lord Thomson, who had grown tired of losing money on it as a result of an extended period of industrial action that stopped publication.<ref>Harold Evans, ''Good Times, Bad Times'', 1983</ref> In the light of success and expansion at ''The Sun'' the owners believed that Murdoch could turn the papers around. [[Harold Evans]], editor of the ''Sunday Times'' from 1967, was switched to the daily ''Times'', though he stayed only a year amid editorial conflict with Murdoch.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/481851.stm |title=Journalist legend calls it a day |work=BBC News |date=22 October 1999 |access-date=24 April 2012 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304093709/http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/480000/video/_481851_harold_vi.ram |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>"[Murdoch] guaranteed that editors would have control of the political policy of their newspapers … that the editors would not be subject to instruction from the proprietor on selection and balance of news and opinion … that instructions to journalists would be given only by their editor". [[Harold Evans]] ''Good Times, Bad Times''. 1984</ref>

During the 1980s and early 1990s, Murdoch's publications were generally supportive of Britain's Prime Minister [[Margaret Thatcher]].<ref>Page (2003) p. 3, pp. 253–419</ref> At the end of the [[Premiership of Margaret Thatcher|Thatcher]]/[[Premiership of John Major|Major]] era, Murdoch switched his support to the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] and its leader, [[Tony Blair]]. The closeness of his relationship with Blair and their secret meetings to discuss national policies was to become a political issue in Britain.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2006/jul/23/newscorporation.rupertmurdoch | work=The Observer | location=London | title=The PM, the mogul and the secret agenda | first=Gaby | last=Hinsliff | date=23 July 2006 | access-date=10 April 2010 | archive-date=23 October 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131023131000/http://www.theguardian.com/media/2006/jul/23/newscorporation.rupertmurdoch | url-status=live }}</ref> This later changed, with ''The Sun'', in its English editions, publicly renouncing the ruling Labour government and lending its support to [[David Cameron]]'s [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]], which soon afterwards formed a coalition government. In Scotland, where the Conservatives had suffered a complete annihilation in 1997, the paper began to endorse the [[Scottish National Party]] (though not yet its flagship policy of independence), which soon after came to form the first-ever outright majority in the proportionally elected Scottish Parliament. Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown's official spokesman said in November 2009 that Brown and Murdoch "were in regular communication" and that "there is nothing unusual in the prime minister talking to Rupert Murdoch".<ref>{{Cite news|last=Mulholland|first=Hélène|title=Gordon Brown spoke to Rupert Murdoch after misspelling row|newspaper=The Guardian|date=12 November 2009|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2009/nov/12/gordon-brown-rupert-murdoch-misspelling|location=London|access-date=13 December 2016|archive-date=8 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160308205151/http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2009/nov/12/gordon-brown-rupert-murdoch-misspelling|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1986, Murdoch introduced electronic production processes to his newspapers in Australia, Britain and the United States. The greater degree of automation led to significant reductions in the number of employees involved in the printing process. In England, the move roused the anger of the print unions, resulting in a long and often violent dispute that played out in [[Wapping]], one of London's docklands areas, where Murdoch had installed the very latest electronic newspaper purpose-built publishing facility in an old warehouse.<ref>Page (2003), pp. 368–93</ref> The bitter [[Wapping dispute]] started with the dismissal of 6,000 employees who had gone on strike and resulted in street battles and demonstrations. Many on the political left in Britain alleged the collusion of Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government with Murdoch in the Wapping affair, as a way of damaging the [[British trade union movement]].<ref>{{cite web | work = The Guardian | location = London | url = https://www.theguardian.com/media/2004/oct/12/rupertmurdoch.citynews1?INTCMP=SRCH | title = Fortress Wapping: A history | date = 12 October 2004 | first = Dominic | last = Timms | access-date = 13 December 2016 | archive-date = 27 September 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160927200019/https://www.theguardian.com/media/2004/oct/12/rupertmurdoch.citynews1?INTCMP=SRCH | url-status = live }}</ref><ref>Rt. Hon. Tony Benn cited in ''Hansard'', 8 May 1986. 'The mounted police advanced out of the plant exactly as the tactical options manual says that they should. They ran into the crowd. They were covered by riot police who did several things. First, they ran indiscriminately into the crowd and battered people who had had nothing whatsoever to do with any stones that might have been thrown ... They surrounded the bus that was acting as an ambulance. One man had a heart attack and I appealed over the loudspeaker for the police to withdraw to allow an ambulance to come. None was allowed for 30 minutes. When the man was put on a trestle a police horse jostled it and the man nearly fell off as he was carried out to the ambulance. The police surrounded the park where the meeting took place. They surrounded the area so that people could not escape.'</ref><ref>{{Cite news | url = http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-newscorp-wapping-idUKTRE7675GM20110708 | title = Murdoch protests come full circle 25 years on | work = Reuters | date = 8 July 2011 | place = UK | access-date = 19 July 2011 | archive-date = 11 July 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110711053349/http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/07/08/uk-newscorp-wapping-idUKTRE7675GM20110708 | url-status = dead }}</ref> In 1987, the dismissed workers accepted a settlement of £60 million.<ref name="Witzel" />

In 1998, Murdoch made an attempt to buy the football club [[Manchester United F.C.]],<ref>{{Cite news | url = https://www.independent.co.uk/news/murdochs-man-utd-bid-blocked-1086123.html | title = Murdoch's Man Utd bid blocked | date = 10 April 1999 | work = The Independent | location = London | first1 = Peter | last1 = Thal Larsen | first2 = Andrew | last2 = Grice | access-date = 22 August 2017 | archive-date = 19 August 2017 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170819141521/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/murdochs-man-utd-bid-blocked-1086123.html | url-status = live }}</ref> with an offer of £625&nbsp;million, but this failed. It was the largest amount ever offered for a sports club. It was blocked by the [[Competition Commission|United Kingdom's Competition Commission]], which stated that the acquisition would have "hurt competition in the broadcast industry and the quality of British football".

Murdoch's British-based satellite network, [[Sky Television plc|Sky Television]], incurred massive losses in its early years of operation. As with many of his other business interests, Sky was heavily subsidised by the profits generated by his other holdings, but convinced rival satellite operator [[British Satellite Broadcasting]] to accept a merger on his terms in 1990.<ref name="Witzel" /> The merged company, [[BSkyB]], has dominated the British pay-TV market ever since, pursuing [[Direct-broadcast satellite|direct to home (DTH)]] satellite broadcasting.<ref>{{Cite web | publisher = OFTEL | place = UK | title = Submission to the ITC on competition issues arising from the award of digital terrestrial television multiplex licences | date = 16 September 2016 | quote = The OFT has already found BSkyB to be dominant in the wholesale market for premium programming content (particularly certain sports and movie rights). BSkyB also currently controls the satellite network for direct to the home (DTH) pay television in the UK. Given its control of premium programming content, it also controls a vital input into the cable companies transmission and programme activities | url = http://www.ofcom.org.uk/static/archive/oftel/ind_info/broadcasting/dtt.htm | archive-date = 4 July 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110704204335/http://www.ofcom.org.uk/static/archive/oftel/ind_info/broadcasting/dtt.htm | url-status = bot: unknown | access-date = 10 July 2011 }}</ref> By 1996, BSkyB had more than 3.6 million subscribers, triple the number of cable customers in the UK.<ref name="Witzel" />

Murdoch has a seat on the Strategic Advisory Board of [[Genie Energy|Genie Oil and Gas]], having jointly invested with [[Jacob Rothschild, 4th Baron Rothschild|Lord Rothschild]] in a 5.5% stake in the company which conducted shale gas and oil exploration in [[Colorado]], [[Mongolia]], [[Israel]], and the occupied [[Golan Heights]].<ref>{{cite web|url= http://ir.idt.net/profiles/investor/ResLibraryView.asp?ResLibraryID=41777&GoTopage=1&Category=30&BzID=566&t=1697&G=752|title= Business and Financial Leaders Lord Rothschild and Rupert Murdoch Invest in Genie Oil & Gas|publisher= [[IDT Corporation]]|date= 15 November 2010|access-date= 9 April 2016|archive-date= 28 July 2020|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200728132535/http://ir.idt.net/profiles/investor/ResLibraryView.asp?ResLibraryID=41777&GoTopage=1&Category=30&BzID=566&t=1697&G=752|url-status= live}}</ref>

In response to print media's decline and the increasing influence of online journalism during the 2000s, Murdoch proclaimed his support of the [[micropayments]] model for obtaining revenue from online news,<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2009/may/07/rupert-murdoch-charging-websites | work=The Guardian | location=London | title=News Corp will charge for newspaper websites, says Rupert Murdoch | first=Andrew | last=Clark | date=7 May 2009 | access-date=10 April 2010 | archive-date=3 November 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131103195200/http://www.theguardian.com/media/2009/may/07/rupert-murdoch-charging-websites | url-status=live }}</ref> although this has been criticised by some.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.shirky.com/weblog/2009/03/newspapers-and-thinking-the-unthinkable/ |title=Newspapers and Thinking the Unthinkable |last=Shirky |first=Clay |website=Shirky.com |date=13 March 2009 |access-date=25 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100506202546/http://www.shirky.com/weblog/2009/03/newspapers-and-thinking-the-unthinkable/ |archive-date=6 May 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In January 2018, the [[Competition and Markets Authority|CMA]] blocked Murdoch from taking over the remaining 61% of [[BSkyB]] he did not already own, over fear of market dominance that could potentialise censorship of the media. His bid for BSkyB was later approved by the CMA as long as he sold [[Sky News]] to [[the Walt Disney Company]], which was already set to acquire 21st Century Fox. However, it was [[Comcast]] who won control of BSkyB in a blind auction ordered by the CMA. Murdoch ultimately sold his 39% of BSkyB to Comcast.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.politicshome.com/news/article/competition-watchdog-blocks-rupert-murdochs-sky-takeover-bid|title=Competition watchdog blocks Rupert Murdoch's Sky takeover bid |last=Ashmore |first=John |website=PoliticsHome |date=23 January 2018 |access-date=20 January 2022}}</ref>

News Corporation has subsidiaries in the [[Bahamas]], the [[Cayman Islands]], the [[Channel Islands]] and the [[Virgin Islands]]. From 1986, News Corporation's annual tax bill averaged around seven percent of its profits.<ref>Chenoweth (2001) pp. 300–303, 87–90, 177</ref>