Illustration by Riccardo Vecchio

Rupert Murdoch
WHO: Chairman and CEO
WHAT: News Corp.
As the owner of The Wall Street Journal and the New York Post, Rupert Murdoch can claim more readers than Sulzberger and Zuckerman. But his clout can’t be measured in mere circulation numbers. Murdoch specializes in tabloid news that touches the exposed nerve. The stories are colored by Murdoch’s libertarian, free-market lens and his desire to get the city talking. The Post hits harder than the other papers in the city and takes itself less seriously. Murdoch has lost millions on the paper, but with the help of his Fox network, he has a live wire twisting around the city’s media, real-estate, financial, and political Establishments. Or at least most of it. Murdoch gets along with Bloomberg, a fellow billionaire media tycoon, and has a soft spot for pols on the ascendant. The Post endorsed Spitzer for governor, Clinton for Senate, and Obama for president in the primary. Which hasn’t stopped the news pages from subsequently whacking them mercilessly. The only constant is the Australian-born magnate’s business needs.

Additional reporting by Erica Orden.

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• Archive: “Cover Story”
• Articles by Jacob Gershman | Chris Smith
• Table of Contents: Oct 26, 2009 issue of New York | Subscribe!