Posing as a truth-telling outsider, the Fox mogul paved the way for the rhetoric of Trump, the ‘alt right’ and even Russell Brand
It’s too soon to write the obituary. Rupert Murdoch’s announcement that he is transitioning – an unlikely combination of words, I grant you – to the role of “chairman emeritus” of Fox and News Corp, handing control to his eldest son, should not be the cue to speak of him in the past tense. As former employee and onetime Sun editor Kelvin MacKenzie put it: “He’s going to be sitting in the back seat of the car while Lachlan drives the damn thing, and I should think it’ll be a pain in the backside.”
Indeed, in his letter to staff, Murdoch Sr sought to dry the tears of any premature mourners with a reassuring promise: “When I visit your countries and companies, you can expect to see me in the office late on a Friday afternoon” – a pledge that carried no hint of menace at all.
Jonathan Freedland is a Guardian columnist
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