press review : Rupert Murdoch the media mogul

Claire GENTIL

L3 Information communication

PRESS REVIEW

Topic : Rupert Murdoch, the media mogul

Rupert Murdoch is an Australian. He was born in 1931. He started by buying tabloids. In 1964, he launched the firts national Australian newspaper. This event gave him a political influence and also a name in the world of the serious press. He went on to the US and Great Britain where he bought the Times, The Wall Street Journal and the Sun amoung other. He now owns almoste 200 papers all over the world as well as numerous TV channels, football clubs and radio stations. He owns Fox News in the USA.

He is the second most powerfull in business now after Steve Jobs from Apple (the second on twenty-five people in all the USA).

News Corp. is a global force across the board - film, television, print, and even online (it owns the social networking site MySpace).

Murdoch wanted more, and he got it with the $5 billion acquisition of Dow Jones. It was the crowning achievement of a career that started in 1953.

A man in the news media

20th Century Fox has inked a massive promotional deal with McDonald's, in which the fast food giant will promote many of the studio's upcoming family-friendly titles such as Night at the Museum, Battle of the Smithsonian and Ice Age, Dawn of the Dinosaurs.

For those movies, McDonald's will offer themed Happy Meals with custom toys and create original TV ads for Fox's movies.

So why didn't concerns about childhood obesity keep Fox from inking this deal with McDonald's? Well, a source close to the situation points out that McDonald's menu has changed. McDonald's now offers the option of getting milk or juice instead of soda and apple slices instead of french fries with Happy Meals. But, the original high-calorie, high-fat Happy Meals remain. As far as we know, Fox didn't specify that their toys only be offered with the healthier Happy Meals. (Fox has also done fast-food deals to promote teen-targeted titles like The Simpsons Movie and Fantastic Four.)

A man with influence

The world’s most powerful media mogul and owner of Fox News and the Wall Street Journal, the hard-line conservative Rupert Murdoch last night admitted he had told one of his publications to back Democratic candidate Barack Obama. Could this be the start of a home run for Obama? Last night, speaking at a technology conference supported by the Wall Street Journal, the media tycoon praised Barack Obama, calling him a “star”. After being Hillary's biggest fan since the beginning, Murdoch's New York Post made a turnaround on January 30 this year, publicly endorsing Obama.

Links to the articles :
http://observers.france24.com/en/content/20080530-murdoch-praises-obama
http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/fortune/0711/gallery.power_25.fortune/2.html
http://www.businessinsider.com/rupert-murdoch-wants-your-kids-to-be-fat-2009-5