The Murdoch Mission: The Digital Transformation of a Media Empire - Hardcover

Rohm, Wendy Goldman

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0471383600 ISBN 13: 9780471383604

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, 2001

Synopsis

A dramatic narrative by a top journalist about the transformation of one of the world's greatest media empires. The Murdoch Mission gets inside Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. and documents the media mogul's strategic forays in digital media and broadcasting and new Internet-based businesses. Among other giant highlights is the creation of his new $40 billion company, the mammoth Sky Global Networks. Wendy Rohm provides an up-close look at how Murdoch's youngest son, James Murdoch, is changing his father's fortune in the megamarket of China and other world markets. She shows the impact these forays will have on international trade and the media world at large. Based on her personal time with James in Hong Kong and Beijing, interviews with Rupert Murdoch himself as well as Murdoch's corporate officers, senior executives, colleagues, confidants, and competitors, Rohm provides a larger-than-life, colorful account of how one of the most powerful media lords on the planet leads his global corporation into the digital age. The Murdoch Mission delves into Murdoch's successes as well as his disasters while also providing a glimpse into the impact he and his company are having on the cultural and media landscape of the world. Wendy Goldman Rohm (Chicago, IL) is the bestselling author of The Microsoft File, a Business Week, Barnes & Noble, and New York Times bestseller. A prolific writer, she has been a correspondent for many publications, including Wired magazine, Upside, the New York Times Syndicate International, Chicago Tribune, Red Herring, the Los Angeles Times, and others.

About this title

About the Author

WENDY GOLDMAN ROHM is an award-winning journalist and bestselling author of The Microsoft File: The Secret Case Against Bill Gates. She has served as correspondent for numerous national and international publications, including Talk magazine; the Financial Times (UK); Wired; the New York Times Syndicate International; the Chicago Tribune; the Boston Globe; Los Angeles Times; Interactive Week; and PC Week. Rohm has also appeared on numerous national television and radio broadcasts, including the Today show, CNN, CNBC, BBC Radio, NPR's Marketplace, and more. Rohm lives with her daughter in Evanston, Illinois. She welcomes correspondence at: wwendyrohm@cs.com

From the Back Cover

Raves for The Murdoch Mission

"Wendy Goldman Rohm's exciting new book sheds light on one of the world's most powerful, yet enigmatic figures-- Rupert Murdoch. Given unparalleled access to Murdoch and his sprawling media empire, Rohm has drawn a detailed portrait of the man who single-handedly created one of the largest media companies on the planet. It's an epic story not to be missed." --Eric Nee, Senior Writer, Fortune magazine

"Wendy Goldman Rohm has written a fascinating account of how Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. is fighting the battle for access to the world's audiences and advertisers. The Murdoch Mission is a must read for anyone who wants to understand the people and forces shaping the future of the global media and entertainment business." --Michael J. Wolf, Senior Partner & Director, McKinsey & Company

"Presenting the man behind the media mogul, The Murdoch Mission aims to dispel much of the mythology about Rupert Murdoch. Author Wendy Goldman Rohm has been given rare access to the man himself, the Murdoch family dynasty, and the top executives who make up his inner sanctum. The Murdoch Mission gives an insight into the driving force behind Murdoch's global media ambitions for the new millennium and looks at his high- risk strategies in several world markets." --Eve Conway, Producer/Reporter, BBC News

"A compelling book that takes the reader deep inside Rupert Murdoch's empire, a region few have successfully explored before. Those who read this wonderful book can find out how Rupert continues to forge unorthodox paths in new media that no other media barons have yet had the stamina to explore, never mind weather the risks involved. Author Rohm has managed to get in-depth access to the mogul as well as his sons and top executives, a rare accomplishment for any journalist. The Murdoch Mission provides a unique look at a man and an empire at their maturity-- and at the turning point of digital media in a new century." --Daniel Jeffreys, London Daily Mail

"Rupert Murdoch's vision transcends media-- and the technology required for its dissemination-- to impact the creation and dissemination of ideas across the planet in a way that even the Internet does not yet do. Wendy Goldman Rohm's The Murdoch Mission provides a fascinating insider's view on how the man and his empire, armed with the expertise and knowledge acquired in previous high-stakes ventures, plan to carry out the interactive revolution." --Tim Grace, Vice President, The Financial Relations Board/BSMG Worldwide (Chicago)

From the Inside Flap

A true legend in his own time, media baron Rupert Murdoch is one of the world's most visible and controversial figures in business. Infamous for his high-risk ventures, Murdoch has proven skeptics wrong many times over as his investments and unlikely gambles more often than not have brought him both influence and fortune. And there's no indication Murdoch's going to slow down any time soon, as he continues to shape his News Corp.-- one of the most powerful media companies in the world-- for the global challenges of the new millennium.

The Murdoch Mission is an unprecedented inside account of Murdoch's headline-making efforts to transform his empire for the digital age-- assisted by his young sons Lachlan and James, who have been placed in leadership positions by their father. Award-winning journalist Wendy Goldman Rohm presents a dramatic narrative of the Murdoch family and News Corp.'s strategic forays into digital media and broadcasting, new Internet-based businesses, and the creation of the biggest enterprise of Murdoch's career: the multibillion mammoth Sky Global Networks.

Through interviews with Murdoch, his sons, corporate officers, senior executives, and business partners, Rohm documents how Murdoch changed the rules in the most difficult media markets-- and how he made enemies as his bold ventures sparked fear, jealousy, and even paranoia. Among the highlights, Rohm provides fly-on-the-wall accounts of:
* Murdoch's battles to wrest control of DirecTV, the U.S. satellite TV giant, from General Motors' Hughes Electronics
* The forging of News Corp.'s delicate relationship with Microsoft and a multibillion-dollar partnership between Rupert Murdoch and Bill Gates
* How Murdoch effects the equivalent of continental shifts--implementing technology throughout the world that pushes new media into new arenas
* News Corp.'s exploration of the next phase of the digital revolution, driven by Murdoch's intuitive talent at forging intimate, direct connections to consumers
* The real relationships between the Murdoch brothers and the rest of the Murdoch family--based on the author's direct observations and interviews versus rampant mythology about this fascinating clan
* James and Lachlan Murdoch's roles in some of their father's most critical business endeavors
* Murdoch's rationale and philosophy in scaling back overinflated Internet ventures while continuing to pump investments in new interactive platforms via the television set

Rohm also presents an insightful portrait of the man behind the maneuverings, dispelling the myths and unveiling the complexity, drive-- and an unusual form of ruthlessness mixed with joie de vivre-- that make up one of the most influential business leaders ever to step into a boardroom. She explores what lies in store for News Corp., providing an exclusive look into the expected turnover of the empire to the Murdoch heirs, with Murdoch keeping a careful eye on the legacy he will leave behind.

Edition details

• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0471383600
• ISBN 13: 9780471383604
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 304