The Rise and Fall of Rupert Murdoch: From Power to Scandal

Rupert Murdoch, the retiring leader of Fox and News Corporation, built a powerful media empire by tapping into passion and grievance, turning it into money and power. His tabloids and Fox News ran on the idea of catering to readers' desires and emotions, rather than adhering to a higher journalistic ideal. Murdoch's conservative politics and news philosophy were fully expressed in Fox News, which used flashy aesthetics and a conservative bias to attract and engage viewers. However, the success of Fox News also led to contradictions within Murdoch's media empire, as the entertainment wing produced content that clashed with the commentators of the news wing. Ultimately, Murdoch's creation played a significant role in the rise of Donald Trump, who used Fox News as a platform and capitalized on its viewers' desires for a more extreme version of its content. As Fox News faced backlash and competition from more extreme right-wing networks, it struggled to control the passion and fury it had once encouraged.