What Rupert wrought

Rupert Murdoch bought the New York Post in 1976. It was there, according to New York Magazine, that he perfected the mix of hard conservative politics and unapologetic tabloidism with which his name has become synonymous.

Murdoch’s editors built stories out of the thinnest shreds of news, jammed them together in unwieldy packages, and shamelessly plugged the results. And while Murdoch wasn’t the first newsman to realize news could make spectacular entertainment (see Hearst, William Randolph), he mastered the art of news hysteria, which would prove irresistable to television. That was no accident either, since Murdoch’s Fox network led the way there, too.

- New York Magazine