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The Sun King
Murdoch is an innovator who has re-shaped a media industry across continents, from Australia to the UK to the US. He is a disruptor who has changed the nature of our politics with a steadfast focus on giving the people what he believes they want. But to what extent has Murdoch shaped our modern world? Has he created new audiences, or given existing, under-served audiences a voice? And what motivates the media mogul? Money or power?
Broadcaster David Dimbleby, one of the UK’s most respected politics and current affairs journalists, has followed Murdoch’s career for more than five decades. In this series he charts the rise of the man they call The Sun King, beginning when the 38-year-old Australian newspaper executive arrived in London in 1968 and the two men met for the first time.
Dimbleby tells the story of how Murdoch turned The Sun from a serious and staid broadsheet into the UK’s most widely read tabloid newspaper, before moving to the US to take on the New York Post. He explores Murdoch’s war against the British print unions and how eventual victory helped him gain access to the highest echelons of power in Britain. But this is not just about Murdoch’s rise and rise, Dimbleby also investigates the media mogul’s lowest moment – the phone hacking scandal and how it almost brought his empire crashing down. Finally, he tells the story of the origins of Fox News in the US and how that TV channel helped create a president.
Talking to people who have worked with Murdoch and against him, David asks what Murdoch’s special insight is when it comes to building an audience. And how has that insight – the idea of giving people what they want – affected our politics? How influential is Murdoch really and what does that mean for us as a society? At a time when Murdoch’s relationship with Trump might leave him in his most powerful position yet, who is the man they call The Sun King?
©2019 Audible, Ltd. (P)2019 Audible, Ltd.
Broadcaster David Dimbleby, one of the UK’s most respected politics and current affairs journalists, has followed Murdoch’s career for more than five decades. In this series he charts the rise of the man they call The Sun King, beginning when the 38-year-old Australian newspaper executive arrived in London in 1968 and the two men met for the first time.
Dimbleby tells the story of how Murdoch turned The Sun from a serious and staid broadsheet into the UK’s most widely read tabloid newspaper, before moving to the US to take on the New York Post. He explores Murdoch’s war against the British print unions and how eventual victory helped him gain access to the highest echelons of power in Britain. But this is not just about Murdoch’s rise and rise, Dimbleby also investigates the media mogul’s lowest moment – the phone hacking scandal and how it almost brought his empire crashing down. Finally, he tells the story of the origins of Fox News in the US and how that TV channel helped create a president.
Talking to people who have worked with Murdoch and against him, David asks what Murdoch’s special insight is when it comes to building an audience. And how has that insight – the idea of giving people what they want – affected our politics? How influential is Murdoch really and what does that mean for us as a society? At a time when Murdoch’s relationship with Trump might leave him in his most powerful position yet, who is the man they call The Sun King?
©2019 Audible, Ltd. (P)2019 Audible, Ltd.
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Published November 18, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
January 25, 2020
An extremely well structured investigation into the empire built by Rupert Murdoch in UK and US. There are too many ways this documentary could have been constructed, too many biases that could have been induced - but the experienced journalist David Dimbleby gets it perfectly right - without idolising or vilifying.
I loved the six episode series! Each episode - an hour long - was complete in itself. The journey of the cocky Australian media baron to becoming the most powerful kingmaker in not one, but two countries (And the fall) has been told in a riveting manner. The book gave an interesting peek into the political climate of Thatcher's UK followed by Blairs and the evolution of newspaper publishing.
Give people what they want - the ends justify the means? The ethics of journalism was rewritten (or atleast debated heavily) by his power play. From the Sun's rise in UK as a salacious #1 to Unethical means to get front page content to deciding which candidate should win elections - the episodes are 'unputdownable'.
In the second last episode Dimbleby mentions "Murdoch always saw himself as someone who took on the establishment. As he liked to say, establishments were meant to be taken down. What he didn't realise was that he has now become the establishment" (or something to that effect)
After finishing the listen I read a couple of well written pieces by David Dimbleby on Brexit and have become a fan. One of the gems of audible originals.
Unhesitatingly - 5 Stars!
I loved the six episode series! Each episode - an hour long - was complete in itself. The journey of the cocky Australian media baron to becoming the most powerful kingmaker in not one, but two countries (And the fall) has been told in a riveting manner. The book gave an interesting peek into the political climate of Thatcher's UK followed by Blairs and the evolution of newspaper publishing.
Give people what they want - the ends justify the means? The ethics of journalism was rewritten (or atleast debated heavily) by his power play. From the Sun's rise in UK as a salacious #1 to Unethical means to get front page content to deciding which candidate should win elections - the episodes are 'unputdownable'.
In the second last episode Dimbleby mentions "Murdoch always saw himself as someone who took on the establishment. As he liked to say, establishments were meant to be taken down. What he didn't realise was that he has now become the establishment" (or something to that effect)
After finishing the listen I read a couple of well written pieces by David Dimbleby on Brexit and have become a fan. One of the gems of audible originals.
Unhesitatingly - 5 Stars!
December 5, 2019
In this fascinating and sprawling six-part investigation David Dimbleby examines the facts and fiction surrounding life of Rupert Murdoch. It follows and highs and lows of Murdoch's career. In doing so he reveals the man behind the headlines.
The podcast follows Murdoch to America. There he took on the New York Post. Dimbleby then explores his controversial war against the British print unions at Wapping. His continued media dominance under Thatcher went on to gain him unparalleled access to power. Dimbleby also uncovers the media mogul’s lowest moment: the phone-hacking scandal. It also examines the origins of Fox News in 1996. Plus its part in supporting the rise of Donald Trump.
All in all a fascinating, and concerning story of the pervasive influence of media in our lives.
The podcast follows Murdoch to America. There he took on the New York Post. Dimbleby then explores his controversial war against the British print unions at Wapping. His continued media dominance under Thatcher went on to gain him unparalleled access to power. Dimbleby also uncovers the media mogul’s lowest moment: the phone-hacking scandal. It also examines the origins of Fox News in 1996. Plus its part in supporting the rise of Donald Trump.
All in all a fascinating, and concerning story of the pervasive influence of media in our lives.
March 7, 2020
Joe Sykes and Peggy Sutton have achieved a rare thing with this series: a balanced view on a hugely divisive figure, which inspires both revulsion and empathy. The team take care to present both sides of the argument - Murdoch as the inspirational disruptor and innovator, versus Murdoch as the sinister political influencer and creator of fake news. Dimbleby brings an extra dimension as the narrator, due to his personal experience in the media industry and in meeting the man himself on several occasions. I certainly learned a lot about Murdoch’s career and the markets in which he operates, namely the UK, Australia and US. Personally I find it a challenge to be generous with Murdoch as a man who clearly puts profit before morality and, frankly, democracy. But perhaps he is the ultimate expression of democracy and capitalism; plus, it is impossible not to have a grudging respect for all that he has achieved and the massive impact he has had on our cultural and political landscape. The central question persists though - did Murdoch identify and serve a disaffected audience, or did he create them? And what will be the lasting effect of this on the world in which we all live? An equally fascinating and terrifying study of a mercurial man.
April 10, 2020
A 6-episode podcast series by David Dimbleby (most famous for BBC's Question Time), the Sun King charts Rupert Murdoch's most controversial acts as a newspaper tycoon. (Though Murdoch's News Corporation owned many other media businesses, including, at one time, 20th Century Fox, the series focuses mainly on his power-wielding deeds in his newspaper businesses.)
The early episodes were a little slow going and the pace picks up significantly from Episode 3, an intriguing inside look at how Murdoch dealt with the Fleet St printers strikes and his secret project to relocate the printing of all his 4 UK newspapers to the Wapping complex overnight, triggering a violent year long labour dispute. Dimbleby focused the remaining episodes on the ruthlessness with which the Murdochs chose to prioritise circulation over journalistic integrity, even if it meant systematic campaigns targeting individuals just to prove the power he wielded with his newspapers. (Sharon Shoesmith - the Council Director of Child Services scapegoated for the Baby P affair - was truly heartbreaking.) Episode 5 deals exclusively with the phone hacking scandal which culminated in Murdoch's testimony at a parliamentary select committee inquiry, ultimately leading to News International's admission of liability.
The early episodes were a little slow going and the pace picks up significantly from Episode 3, an intriguing inside look at how Murdoch dealt with the Fleet St printers strikes and his secret project to relocate the printing of all his 4 UK newspapers to the Wapping complex overnight, triggering a violent year long labour dispute. Dimbleby focused the remaining episodes on the ruthlessness with which the Murdochs chose to prioritise circulation over journalistic integrity, even if it meant systematic campaigns targeting individuals just to prove the power he wielded with his newspapers. (Sharon Shoesmith - the Council Director of Child Services scapegoated for the Baby P affair - was truly heartbreaking.) Episode 5 deals exclusively with the phone hacking scandal which culminated in Murdoch's testimony at a parliamentary select committee inquiry, ultimately leading to News International's admission of liability.
March 15, 2020
An audioshow from Audible, The Sun King’s episodes follow David Dimbleby as he explores the rise of the Murdoch empire through the highs and the lows. It was interesting to listen to and the commentary came across as fairly balanced, although with much more of a focus on Murdoch’s UK empire and only touching on the US side of it. The audioshow did feel a touch short and I thought could have gone into more detail, but that may be due to how interesting the content was and the high production standard, and it did encourage me to go and find out more information once I finished the series. Definitely worth listening to if you’re an Audible subscriber.
December 21, 2022
This audible originals podcast is about Rupert Murdoch. The six part series covers an unbiased account of how he built his empire in US and in the UK. Each part in the series is independent and is about an hour long. David Dimbleby has done exhaustive research for this series and he has interviewed a lot of people during this process including Rupert Murdoch and his wife. This has given a good insight into the Murdoch empire in the Australia, UK and US. As is possible with such a popular figure, there are various angles of the story showing Murdoch as innovator, disruptor, political influencer and creator of fake news. Its quite difficult to strike a balance and present a neutral view point, but Dimbleby has done a nice job.
January 8, 2020
Many will know of Rebecca Brooks, the phone hacking scandal, etc, but the whole story of Rupert Murdoch told here is fascinating, and expertly narrated by David Dimbleby. It summarises what most would already know but the influence of the Sun and more recently Fox News over the 'forgotten masses' is what the 'Liberal elite' continue to underestimate when it comes to policy and votes. Well worth a listen.
December 15, 2019
Interesting podcast based around Rupert Murdoch and how from the 60's to the present day he and the people he surrounds himself with have manipulated and potentially harmed lots of people with their type of news.
December 23, 2020
Its a short account of rise of Rupert Murdoch but it doesn't do justice as a biography or as a collection of anecdotes.
It covers only a glimpse of the internals of journalism so not a profound experience reading it.
It covers only a glimpse of the internals of journalism so not a profound experience reading it.
December 3, 2019
Very interesting!
January 30, 2020
A fascinating account of Rupert Murdoch’s rise and implementation as media puppet master of the anglophone world.
June 5, 2020
An essential investigation into Rupert Murdoch and the empire he has built. One of the better audible freebies, some proper journalism here.
June 14, 2020
Simply put. Fascinating.
June 19, 2020
Fascinating story, and very timely. A lot to think about.
Another podcast format, well produced.
Another podcast format, well produced.
October 24, 2020
Equally fascinating and terrifying.
Read
December 16, 2020It's difficult to build an empire.
It's more difficult to keep it.
It's more difficult to keep it.
June 28, 2022
A outsider view of Rupert Murdoch by David Dimberley
January 12, 2020
[Audiobook] A brilliant production, down with Murdoch.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews