How to Start a Media Empire Like Rupert Murdoch

Rupert Murdoch stands out as the most powerful media business force of the twentieth century. From his humble beginnings as a managing director in South Australia, Murdoch’s meteoric rise has taken him to the top of international media consortiums. In case you'd like to start your own, use the following steps and find out how Murdoch managed to create his media empire.

Instructions

Difficulty: Challenging

1. Gain a foothold in the media business. Murdoch’s father, Keith Murdoch, owned shares in a number of Australian newspapers and used his connections to get his son the managing director position at News Limited. From there Murdoch used his considerable talents to expand the company’s publications circulation, revenue and staff.
2. Leverage your assets to make early acquisitions. Murdoch aggressively pursued acquisitions in the beginning of his career, securing loans from the Australian Commonwealth Bank by using his existing media assets as collateral. By always promptly paying his initial loans off, Murdoch ensured that the bank was willing to support bigger and bigger acquisitions. When Murdoch made his move into the UK market with his acquisition of News of the World, he staked his entire worth on the venture. The gamble paid off in the billions.
3. Pay attention to the fundamentals. Murdoch has always focused on building revenue and circulation in the long term. By staying profitable, he’s always had the freedom to do as he pleases with no opposition from shareholders.
4. Cultivate your political allies carefully. Murdoch’s early, troubling experiences with the Premier of South Australia, Sir Thomas Playford, who persecuted Murdoch on a political vendetta, convinced him to carefully cultivate political allies throughout his career. Murdoch has had personal connections to Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair, Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II. Though he is personally conservative, Murdoch is an opportunist who will try to curry favor with the politician in power, a trait that has served him well in the highly-regulated media industry.
5. Expand across all areas of media. Murdoch was an early pioneer of television news magazines in Australia. He eagerly expanded into satellite news services, and his acquisition of the social networking site MySpace made headlines in 2005.