Murdoch's World (47 page)
Authors: David Folkenflik
Jenkins, Simon.
The Market for Glory
. Faber & Faber, 1987.
Johnson, Graham.
Hack: Sex, Drugs, and Scandal from Inside the Tabloid Jungle
. Simon & Schuster, 2012.
Keneally, Thomas.
Australians: Eureka to the Diggers
. Allen & Unwin, 2012.
âââ.
A Commonwealth of Thieves: The Improbable Birth of Australia
. Nan A. Talese, 2006.
Kiernan, Thomas.
Citizen Murdoch
. Dodd Mead, 1986.
Leigh, David, and Luke Harding.
Wikileaks: Inside Julian Assange's War on Secrecy
. PublicAffairs, 2011.
Leveson Inquiry. Documents and Final Report.
LevesonInquiry.org.uk
.
Mahmood, Mazher.
Confessions of a Fake Sheik: The King of the Sting Reveals All
. HarperCollins, 2008.
Manne, Robert.
Bad News
. Quarterly Essay, 2011.
McKnight, David.
Rupert Murdoch: An Investigation of Power
. Allen & Unwin, 2012.
Milbank, Dana.
Tears of a Clown: Glenn Beck and the Teabagging of America
. Doubleday, 2010.
Morgan, Piers.
The Insider: The Private Diaries of a Scandalous Decade
. Ebury Press, 2005.
News International and Phone-hacking
. Eleventh Report, House of Commons, Culture, Media, and Sport Committee, May 1, 2012.
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201012/cmselect/cmcumeds/903/903i.pdf
.
Nissenson, Marilyn.
The Lady Upstairs: Dorothy Schiff and the New York Post
. St. Martin's Press, 2007.
O'Shea, James.
The Deal from Hell: How Moguls and Wall Street Plundered Great American Newspapers
. PublicAffairs, 2011.
Price, Lance.
The Spin Doctor's Diary: Inside Number 10 with New Labour
. Hodder & Stoughton, 2005.
âââ.
Where Power Lies: Prime Ministers v. the Media
. Simon & Schuster, 2000.
Shawcross, William.
Murdoch: The Making of a Media Empire
. Touchstone Books, 1997.
Tifft, Susan E., and Alex S. Jones.
The Patriarch: The Rise and Fall of the Bingham Dynasty
. Summit Books, 1991.
âââ.
The Trust: The Private and Powerful Family Behind the New York Times
. Little, Brown, 1999.
Tofel, Richard J.
Restless Genius: Barney Kilgore, the Wall Street Journal, and the Invention of Modern Journalism
. St. Martin's Press, 2009.
Watson, Tom, and Martin Hickman.
Dial M for Murdoch
. Allen Lane, 2012.
Williams, Juan.
Muzzled: The Assault on Honest Debate
. Crown, 2011.
Wolff, Michael.
The Man Who Owns the News
. Bodley Head, 2008.
Chapter 1
Page 1
The man at the center of the maelstrom:
The account of the meeting between Rupert Murdoch and the Dowler family in this chapter is based in significant part on my interviews with two sources who had a contemporaneous knowledge of the events that occurred, plus ensuing public statements and testimony.
Page 1
He was tanned and reasonably fit:
From photographs and video taken that day. For example, from the
Independent
:
www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/rupert-murdoch-pays-dowlers-3m-for-phone-hacking-2357471.html
.
Page 1
the luxury hotel One Aldwych:
Author's visit to hotel in November 2011.
Page 2
His company served millions of readers and viewers on five continents:
List of News Corp assets contained in company's 2011 10K Annual Report:
http://investor.newscorp.com/secfiling.cfm?filingID=1193125â11â221637
.
Page 2
an imposing presence, and an impassive expression:
July 15, 2011. Video footage of Dowler family lawyer Mark Lewis making a press statement after meeting with Murdoch,
www.youtube.com/watch?v=HE0agejrdIA
.
Page 2
She was a saxophone fan:
Dowler family home video released by Surrey police in 2008, as posted online by the
Telegraph:
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/8505692/Milly-Dowler-police-video.html
.
Page 2
dressed in classic British school uniform:
Much of this reconstruction is based on Colette McBeth, “Court Sees CCTV Footage of Milly Dowler's Last Journey,” BBC News, May 11, 2011,
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13367711
.
Page 3
For most of 2002, Milly's parents and sister had no idea:
Ben Taylor, “Nightmare for Milly's Sister,”
Daily Mail
(UK),
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-109162/Nightmare-Millys-sister.html
.
Page 3
poring through Milly's journal writings:
Caroline Gammell, “Levi Bellfield Trial: Pornography Made Milly Dowler's Father First Suspect,”
Telegraph
, May 16, 2011.
Page 3
Milly's bones were found months later:
“Bones Gave No Clues to Milly Dowler Killing,”
Sun
, June 14, 2011.
Page 3
The Dowlers' pain and anger were heightened:
Nick Davies and Amelia Hill, “Missing Milly Dowler's Voicemail Was Hacked by News of the World,”
Guardian
, July 4, 2011, as well as subsequent coverage that month in the British press.
Page 3
people working for Murdoch's
News of the World: Shenai Raif, “Hackers Jailed for Royal Tap,”
Daily Mirror
, January 27, 2007.
Page 4
Murdoch controlled roughly 40 percent:
“Murdoch Sells Voting Shares in News Corp. Worth About $40 Million,”
Dow Jones Business News
, February 15, 2013. Other elements of this paragraph about Murdoch's holdings and his aspirations for his family are based on my interviews with current and former executives for News Corp in the US, UK, and Australia.
Page 4
What to do about the CEO of Murdoch's British properties:
Jon Ungoed-Thomas, “Cracks in the Titan,”
Sunday Times
, July 17, 2011, supplemented by my contemporaneous interviews with a News International official and a News Corp official.
Page 5
the company's $14 billion takeover:
David Folkenflik, “It's the End of the âWorld' but the Story Isn't Over,”
Weekend Edition Sunday
, July 10, 2011, and similar coverage elsewhere.
Page 5
Everyone at that meeting with the Dowlers knew:
Exchange between Murdoch and the Dowlers is based on my interviews with two people who had contemporaneous knowledge of the meeting. Additionally, public statements from Dowler family lawyer Mark Lewis on July 15, 2011, as above.
Page 6
an echo of old battles:
Shawcross,
Murdoch
, pp. 20â29.
Page 6
New allegations claimed that his reporters:
“Phone Hacking: 9/11 Victims âMay Have Had Mobiles Tapped by News of the World Reporters,'”
Daily Mirror
, July 11, 2011.
Page 7
Gemma Dowler spoke directly to Murdoch:
Sally Dowler, testimony at Leveson Inquiry, November 21, 2011, p. 11.
Page 7
blinking into the July sunlight:
“History for London, United Kingdom,” Friday, July 15, 2011,
www.wunderground.com/history/airport/EGLL/2011/7/15/DailyHistory.html?req_city=NA&req_state=NA&req_statename=NA
.
Page 7
Murdoch was confronted:
Shown in footage contained in David Bowden, “Milly Dowler Family Set for 2 Million Pound Hacking Payout,” Sky News, September 19, 2011.
Chapter 2
Page 9
the idea of Australia:
Multiple current and former Murdoch editors, executives, and confidants, interview by author.
Page 9
Robert Thomson, born in a small town:
Mark Baker, “Rupert Has Got a Crush on You,”
The Age
, March 23, 2013; several current and former Thomson colleagues, interviews by author.
Page 9
Col Allan, from the tiny agrarian town:
Lloyd Grove, “Rupe's Attack Dog Gets Bitten, Keeps Barking,”
New York Magazine
, September 10, 2007.
Page 9
The British-born Les Hinton:
James Robinson, “Les Hinton: Murdoch Consigliere Who Smoothed Waters After Goodman Case,”
Guardian
, July 8, 2009.
Page 10
David Hill, an Aussie who ran sports:
Joe Flint, “Fox Sports' David Hill Superimposes His Will on TV,”
Los Angeles Times
, March 25, 2010.
Page 10
“The story of our company is the stuff of legend”:
David Folkenflik, “Murdoch Confronts Critics at News Corp Meeting,”
All Things Considered
, October 21, 2011.
Page 10
“Adelaide is irrelevant”:
Graeme Samuel, interview by author, Melbourne.
Page 10
An infant born in Melbourne:
Information taken from institutional websites, including
Newscorp.com
,
Newsspace.com.au
, various not-for-profit organizations in Australia.
Page 11
Stephen Mayne, formerly an editor:
Description of Mayne derived from author's interviews of Stephen Mayne; a former News Corp official; and an associate of Lachlan Murdoch. All subsequent Mayne quotes in this chapter are taken from author's interviews with Mayne.
Page 11
much of what his father had written didn't stand up:
Shawcross,
Murdoch
, pp. 21â22.
Page 12
The son adopted radical leftist politics:
Shawcross,
Murdoch
, pp. 32, 38.
Page 12
publicity manager of the Cherwell:
Chris Baraniuk, “Who Guards the Guardians,”
Oxford Today
, October 15, 2012.
Page 13
“I don't know of any son of any prominent media family”: Dynasties: The Murdochs,
ABC (Australia), 2001. Subsequent quotes from Dame Elisabeth are also derived from this documentary.
Page 13
He married young and had a daughter:
Kiernan,
Citizen Murdoch
, pp. 55â56, 81â82.
Page 14
News Corp was granted waterfront property:
Paola Totaro, “Auditor Attacks Showground Deal for Murdoch,”
Sydney Morning Herald
, December 9, 1997.
Page 15
“He's a big, bad bastard”:
Paul Keating to Tony Blair, July 16, 1995, from Alistair Campbell's diaries, as cited by Leveson Inquiry lead lawyer Robert Jay in question to Blair. From Leveson transcripts, May 28, 2012, Blair testimony, pp. 60â61.
Page 15
“I don't want to pretend this is a guy”:
Andrew Jaspan, interviews by author, for this and subsequent quotations.
Page 15
John Hartigan, then CEO and chairman of News Ltd:
Leigh Sales, interview, July 14, 2011, ABC (Australia),
www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2011/s3269880.htm
.
Page 16
he informed Hartigan it was time:
Andrew Crook, “Farewell Big Harto: News Ltd CEO John Hartigan Resigns,”
Crikey.com.au
, November 9, 2011.
Page 16
“Long time in newspapers”:
Tom Baxter, interview by author.
