The Business of Being a CEO
Rupert Murdoch and Donald Trump—The Odd Couple
June 2007 By Denny Hatch
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In the News
Murdoch Reaches Out for Even MoreIn the fall of 2003, a piece of Rupert Murdoch’s sprawling media empire was in jeopardy. Congress was on the verge of limiting any company from owning local television stations that reached more than 35 percent of American homes. Mr. Murdoch’s Fox stations reached nearly 39 percent, meaning he would have to sell some. A strike force of Mr. Murdoch’s lobbyists joined other media companies in working on the issue. The White House backed the industry, and in a late-night meeting just before Thanksgiving, Congressional leaders agreed to raise the limit—to 39 percent. One leader of the Congressional movement to limit ownership was Senator Trent Lott, Republican of Mississippi. But in the end, he, too, agreed to the compromise. It turns out he had a business connection to Mr. Murdoch. Months before, HarperCollins, Mr. Murdoch’s publishing house, had signed a $250,000 book deal to publish Mr. Lott’s memoir, “Herding Cats,” records and interviews show.
—Jo Becker, The New York Times, June 25, 2007
The gist of the Times’ Monday story is that Murdoch uses his newspapers and TV networks to further his own agenda. In addition, reports the Times, he has built his $68 billion empire by bribing important politicians with campaign contributions and juicy book contracts and they, in turn, pass legislation that bends the rules to his News Corporation’s advantage.
Tuesday’s story in the Times was all about the myriad ways Murdoch sucked-up to the Chinese in order expand his empire into that ballooning marketplace.
“News Corp. has consistently cooperated with The New York Times in its coverage of the company,” Murdoch fired back. “However, the agenda for this unprecedented series is so blatantly designed to further the Times’ commercial self interests—by undermining a direct competitor poised to become an even more formidable competitor—that it would be reckless of us to participate in their malicious assault. Ironically, The Times, by using its news pages to advance its own corporate business agenda, is doing the precise thing they accuse us of doing without any evidence.”
The Wall Street Journal staff and the Bancroft family that own the voting stock of Dow-Jones are terrified that if the paper is sold, no one in the company will have job ownership and will be forced either to dance to Murdoch’s ideological bent or leave. If enough people leave, it will become the Australian’s mouthpiece. According to the Times, this is Murdoch’s traditional Modus Operandi.
But Murdoch has apparently agreed to editorial hands-off, and the sale is in the end-game stages.
So what is leadership?
To use a circus analogy, is leadership being a diplomatic ringmaster like Warren Buffett, or a cruel lion tamer with a whip and a chair like corporate turnaround specialist “Chainsaw” Al Dunlap?
Does good leadership mean operating behind the scenes and creating jobs and making profits?
Or is it getting your name in the media?
Rupert Murdoch’s Management Style
Once or twice a week I venture out to a nearby sandwich joint for a bite of lunch and to pick up a copy of Murdoch’s New York Post (which, incidentally, was founded by Alexander Hamilton in 1801). It’s a gas, filled with celebrity gossip and marshmallow-fluff that allows me mentally to shift gears from the heavy lifting required for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and the 15 or so other publications I scan daily on the Web.
Takeaway Points to Consider:
• It can be intoxicating to see yourself covered in the media.• If you do get a lot of press coverage, remember that you will be in the company of Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, Kevin Federline and, of course, Donald Trump.
• In terms of leadership, I like “Six Steps for Finding It in Yourself” by Mike Staver, author of “Leadership Isn’t for Cowards—How to Lead Courageously in a Turbulent Age”:
-A: Accept Your Current Circumstances
-T: Take Responsibility
-T: Take Action
-A: Acknowledge Progress
-C: Commit to Lifelong Learning
-K: Kindle Relationships
• Innovative CEOs that built great companies and created wealth are more likely to be remembered with admiration and affection than deal-makers.
Web Sites Related to Today's Edition:
• Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporationhttp://www.newscorp.com/
• The New York Times on Rupert Murdoch, 1
http://tinyurl.com/3x5lsh
• The New York Times on Rupert Murdoch, 2
http://tinyurl.com/2obvzk
• The Plaza Hotel, Fifth Avenue and 59th Street
http://www.theplazaresidences.com/
• Trump University
http://www.trumpuniversity.com/
• “The Lady and the Tramp”—Trump’s New Reality Show for Fox
http://tinyurl.com/39bz4t
• “Leadership Isn’t for Cowards” by Michael Staver
http://www.thestavergroup.com/booklet.pdf
• The Staver Group
http://www.thestavergroup.com/
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