Mc Knight's Murdoch

Readers outside Australia will scramble to buy this book about Rupert Murdoch. (David McKnight, Rupert Murdoch An Investigation of Politcal Power, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 2012)  It contains many insights that have previously not been revealed. It brings together a range of issues that offer a fresh new view of Murdoch. McKnight’s main thesis is that Murdoch is a larrikin who sees himself as an establishment outsider, in other words, an archetypal Australian.  The larrikin Australian is a flawed individual who tilts at windmills, is confused about what real power is and always wants to be on the side of angels. It is a useful way to think of Rupert Murdoch - an international nuisance who demands our attention simply because his media empire  is so powerful and so pervasive.  It needs to be observed that McKnight’s is a serious, well researched and documented book that will probably become a standard work for students of media power and of Murdoch himself.  There may even be a secret market amongst those hoping to survive within the News Limited workforce and amongst Murdoch’s minion editors who want to gain a historical perspective on Murdoch’s past and likely future crusades.
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