Murdoch, (Keith) Rupert (1931– )

Australian-born US media magnate, founder and head of News Corporation, formed in 1979, with worldwide interests. In the USA, his company owns 20th Century Fox film studios (from 1985), and Fox Broadcasting (from 1987), one of the four leading US TV networks. He publishes the New York Post (bought in 1976), and the UK newspapers News of the World (1969), the Sun (1970), The Times and The Sunday Times (both 1981). He controls over 70% of newspapers sold in Australia. In 1990 he launched the UK's first satellite television service, British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB), and since then has had major interests in network, cable, and satellite television stations in the USA.

Murdoch was born in Melbourne, Australia, and educated at Geelong Grammar School. After graduating from Oxford University, Murdoch remained in England to work as a junior editor for the Daily Express. Returning to Australia in 1952 on the death of his father, Australian publisher Keith Murdoch, he inherited News Limited, producer of the ‘sleepy’ Adelaide News, and applied the formula of sensationalized headlines, which would become his trademark. He founded Australia's first national newspaper, the Australian, in 1964. After a series of acquisitions, his Australian empire was worth an estimated $50 million in 1968.

By the late 1980s, Murdoch had moved into other areas of the media industry. The Fox network was formed from six Metromedia television stations, and he had book publishing interests that were merged as HarperCollins in 1990. Other assets include Intermix Media Inc, which owns the popular networking web site MySpace.com, Australia's National Rugby League, and TV Guide.