born March 11, 1931, Melbourne, Vic., Austl.
Australian-U.S. newspaper publisher and media entrepreneur.
Son of a famous Australian war correspondent and publisher, he inherited two Adelaide newspapers in 1954 and boosted their circulation by emphasizing crime, sex, scandal, sports, and human interest stories, while taking an outspokenly conservative editorial stance. He used this approach with soaring success with papers bought in Australia, Britain, and the U.S. by his global media holding company, The News Corporation Ltd. He also acquired conventional and respected publications, including The Times of London. In the 1980s and '90s he expanded into book and electronic publishing, television broadcasting, and film and video production. His holdings include the New York Post ; Fox, Inc. (see Fox Broadcasting Co .); HarperCollins Publishers; British Sky Broadcasting; Star TV, a pan-Asian television service; and the Los Angeles Dodgers.