Former journalist and publisher, Eric Beecher, is certainly the right person to write this book – for two reasons.

Firstly, he’s a longtime industry insider, having been the youngest ever editor of The Sydney Morning Herald during the 1980s and working in or adjacent to the news media ever since. He now owns and runs satirical news site Crikey, and had a foray into book publishing (he co-founded Text Publishing with partner Diana Gribble). Secondly, as an Australian, he has a unique perspective on how pivotal Australia has been in the global news business because of the influence of Murdoch.

His thesis is that press barons like Murdoch and his contemporaries from Hearst right through to Musk have constantly and brazenly used their power to manipulate politics and the tastes of the public for their own financial ends.

Even though he agrees the fourth estate should in principle be protected because of its ability to hold power to account, it’s caused an industry of runaway economic and political abuse that’s ruined careers, industries and lives. He references the News of the World phone hacking scandal extensively.

The details of the stories and anecdotes he references to tell that story are all here: from the infamously colourful Fleet Street editors, the easy access media proprietors have in the corridors of power, to the Murdochs suing Crikey.

Some chapters collect those tidbits and anecdotes according to general themes like Fox News, populism vs public service, the illicit – borderline criminal – muckraking methods. But at times Beecher jumps from one big name and historical epoch to the next without a real sense of cohesive assembly.

None of which means this isn’t worth reading. If you’re interested in the history of the news business and the men (seldom women) who’ve shaped it and continue to use it as a bludgeon for their self-interest, it’s essential reading.

Reviewed by Drew Turney

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Eric Beecher is Chair of two influential media groups – Private Media, which publishes Crikey, The Mandarin and Smart Company, and Solstice Media, which publishes The New Daily and InDaily.

He started in newspapers as a journalist on The Age newspaper in Melbourne and later worked at The Sunday Times and The Observer in London and The Washington Post in the US. In 1984, at age 33, he became the youngest- ever editor of the Sydney Morning Herald and in 1987 was appointed Editor-in-Chief of the Herald and Weekly Times newspaper group.

In 1990, Eric became a founder, CEO and major shareholder in The Text Media Group, a public company that produced newspapers, magazines and books. Text Media was acquired by Fairfax Media in 2003 and Eric formed Private Media Partners, which acquired crikey.com.au in 2005. Since then he has been a founding shareholder and chairman of Eureka Report and Business Spectator.

Eric was Chair of The Wheeler Centre from 2008 until 2017. In 2000, he delivered the annual Andrew Olle Media Lecture and in 2007 was awarded the Walkley Award for Journalistic Leadership.