TRANSCRIPT
There have been mixed reactions to the news that Australian media magnate Rupert Murdoch has announced his retirement.
Rod Tiffen is an Emeritus Professor in government and international relations at the University of Sydney.
He says Rupert Murdoch has had an impressive career.
"In the media I mean, it's a very spectacular and unique career that he built from the small base of an afternoon newspaper in Adelaide to a global multimedia empire. And he took on radio establishments in Australia, in Britain and in America, and in that sense, it's just a story of unparalleled growth and success."
Rupert Murdoch has sent a note to employees indicating he will remain engaged with the company’s editorial production as chairman emeritus of both FOX News and News Corporation.
52-year-old Lachlan Murdoch is taking over as chairman of News Corp and continuing as chief executive of Fox.
Communications Minister Michelle Rowland has told Sky News Mr Murdoch's retirement was extraordinary, but to be expected after seven decades in the industry.
"This is a process that would have been thought about I think for some time. (I) congratulate Mr Murdoch for his many years in the sector. Of course, he is a major global player, not only in Australia but throughout the world."
Margaret Simons is an Honorary Principal Fellow at the University of Melbourne's Centre for Advancing Journalism.
She believes Rupert Murdoch's stepping aside could be an important moment in the media landscape.
"A recent biography of Lachlan Murdoch by Paddy Manning suggested that he is much more driven by profit rather than by politics. Others suggest that he's even more right wing than his father. We'll have to see."
The Murdoch business spans three continents, with interests in Australia but also in the U-S and the U-K.
Mr Murdoch’s entry into the media business began in his 20s when he inherited a small newspaper from his father, with Rupert expanding the print business in Australia before taking on the British market.
News Corp now owns Sky News Australia and 65 per cent of Foxtel and owns over half of the country's newspapers.
But his business activities have attracted their share of criticism, with claims the Murdoch empire was a monopoly.
Margaret Simons says Mr Murdoch has had a heavy influence in media and politics around the world.
"I think that the overall influence of News Corporation has been anti-democratic and has helped to create the instability that we see in democracy in the United States. And has had a different impact in Australia but has largely been about articulating the points of view of the far right."
Australia's Ambassador to the United States Kevin Rudd, as well as former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, have both called for a royal commission into the news empire's dominion in the media and political space.
Mr Turnbull has told ABC News he is not impressed by Mr Murdoch's legacy.
"He’s built a vast global media empire, and no doubt the business pages will give him credit for that. But he has done enormous damage to the democratic world. Murdoch has been the largest voice in the English-speaking world – or the loudest voice, at any rate – to deny the reality of global warming and delay action to address it."
Rod Tiffen says he believes Rupert Murdoch has defied ethical rules throughout his long career.
"He's had the phone hacking scandals in Britain with the news of the world and so on, which is been going on and off for over 10 years. And in Australia, and in the other countries, he has very often crossed the line in terms of what is professionally acceptable, and what is beyond the pay up. Supposing invasions of privacy and in political involvements, and in sort of going more for propaganda than for professional reporting.”
But Foreign Minister Penny Wong says Mr Murdoch's influence in Australian politics is not unusual.
"Any fair-minded observer might say that some of the News Limited papers might not exactly be cheerleaders of the Labor Party. But that's what happens in a democracy. I wish him well for his retirement."
