LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Rupert Murdoch: Newspapers
built 288 days ago
In 1985 Murdoch instituted sweeping production changes in all of his London newspapers. He wanted to change from double keystroking (wherein an editor creates a page, and then a printer resets it) to single keystroking (wherein a computer is used, and the typesetting is done entirely by the editor), which would cut labor costs. British labor unions had long enjoyed special privileges at London newspapers. For instance, whenever a newspaper introduced new technology, the union printers would be paid as if there were more printers than there actually were; at the Times, it was possible for 10 workers to be paid the wages of 17. In secret, Murdoch built huge printing plants in Wapping and Glasgow, and on January 25, 1986, he began printing all his London newspapers in these plants. A long, violent strike ensued, featuring a pair of riots in Wapping.
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Murdoch's publications worldwide tend to adopt conservative views. During the buildup to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, all 175 Murdoch-owned newspapers worldwide editorialized in favor of the war.[18] Murdoch ... served on the board of directors of the libertarian Cato Institute. News Corp-owned Fox News is often criticized for a strong conservative and anti-liberal bias.
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Murdoch's accustomed to getting what he wants and rarely encounters opposition. A few years back, he was granted a variance from the FCC and Justice Department, allowing News Corp to own a newspaper, the New York Post, and TV station, WYNY (FOX5) in America's largest city. Murdoch's megacorp ... owns 20th Century Fox films and book publisher Harper-Collins.
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Murdoch uses his newspapers in a similar manner. His publications worked diligently to bolster former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's career, attacking her opponents. Thatcher ... received at least $3 million from HarperCollins for her memoirs. In addition, ex-British Prime Minister John Major is believed to have accepted a seven-figure advance from Murdoch for his memoirs, and there is talk of an attempt by a coalition of publishers to outbid Murdoch for the rights to the future memoirs of current Prime Minister Tony Blair.
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In 1986, Murdoch introduced electronic production processes to his newspapers in Australia, Britain, and the United States. This led to significant reductions in the number of employees involved in the printing process due to the greater role of automation. In England, the move aroused the anger of the print unions, resulting in a long and often violent dispute fought in London's docklands area of Wapping, where Murdoch had installed the very latest electronic newspaper publishing factory in an old warehouse.[8] The unions had been led to assume that Murdoch intended to launch a new London evening newspaper from those premises, but he had kept as a surprise his intention to relocate all News titles there.
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The hatred of Murdoch is, at its core, aesthetic. Murdoch's in-your-face conservatism is alienating. His newspapers and TV shows exaggerate and distort for the sake of sensationalism. They deny the very existence of good taste and propriety.
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