Media mogul vs President: How Murdoch built an empire too big to bully
4 Min Read
Rupert Murdoch's media empire covers all the conservative bases, and that's exactly why he can afford to defy US President Donald Trump.
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Rupert Murdoch, Chairman of Fox News Channel, speaks at a dinner in New York on May 4, 2017. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
The relationship between US President Donald Trump and media magnate Rupert Murdoch has reached a critical juncture following the Wall Street Journal's controversial report linking Trump to Jeffrey Epstein. According to The Guardian's media editor, Michael Savage, the fallout included "a lawsuit. Angry calls to editors. Public denunciations."
Despite direct intervention from Trump, who reportedly contacted the Journal's British editor Emma Tucker to suppress the piece, the publication moved forward. Savage states that Trump even "approached Murdoch himself to stop publication," underscoring the seriousness of the conflict.
Michael Savage argues that Murdoch is "taking a different approach to Trump's return than some of his fellow billionaire moguls." The Journal has offered consistent criticism of Trump from an economically conservative standpoint, particularly on issues such as:
- His unconditional pardons for January 6 Capitol rioters
- Suspending TikTok's ByteDance divestiture law
- Launching new family cryptocurrency tokens
- Tariff policies labeled "the dumbest trade war in history"
Fox News: A MAGA stronghold
In contrast, Fox News' Trump coverage has remained supportive. As Savage observes, "Murdoch's Fox News, the cash cow of his media businesses and a powerhouse in the MAGA world, continues to provide supportive content." Notably, the Epstein story received only minor attention in the form of an opinion piece on Fox's website.
Savage interprets Murdoch's actions as a calculated business strategy: "a media empire on the right with all bases covered." The Wall Street Journal speaks to fiscally conservative Trump skeptics, while Fox remains embedded in the MAGA base. This dual approach reflects Murdoch's understanding of right-wing media segmentation and audience targeting.
Veteran media analyst Ben Smith, quoted by Savage, explains that Murdoch is impervious to political bullying: "If you want to be a mogul, as the Murdochs have learned over the decades, you can't make yourself quite that easy to bully."
Internal tensions in Trump-friendly media
The Epstein controversy has also exposed fractures within the Trump-aligned media ecosystem. Savage notes that "influential pro-Trump personalities, most notably Tucker Carlson and Laura Loomer, have protested at the lack of action around releasing all documentation relating to Epstein."
These protests suggest internal divisions and "pressures... pulling at the threads of big players in the MAGA media" just months into Trump's second term, highlighting the fragile cohesion within right-wing media circles.
Savage concludes that Rupert Murdoch is playing the long game. The report explains that the Trump Murdoch lawsuit is not necessarily a final break, but part of a complex media chessboard. His decisions, Savage notes, are "driven by business," not ideology, illustrating how modern media moguls like Murdoch must balance political influence, audience alignment, and corporate independence.
A primer on the Murdoch media empire
Understanding the Trump-Murdoch dynamic also requires appreciating the sheer scale of the Murdoch media empire. Operated through News Corp and Fox Corporation, the empire is among the most concentrated media ownership structures in "democratic" nations.
Core holdings
News Corp owns major publications such as the Wall Street Journal, New York Post, The Times, The Sun, and The Australian, along with HarperCollins Publishers, one of the world’s five largest English-language publishers. In Australia, it controls around 150 newspapers.
Alternatively, Fox Corporation dominates US television with Fox News (reaching 200 million people monthly), Fox Business, 29 owned-and-operated TV stations, and the streaming platform Tubi, home to over 48,000 titles.
Strategic market position
Savage noted that in several key markets, Murdoch's outlets hold near-monopolistic status. He added that in Australia, they control two-thirds of metropolitan print circulation and dominate cable news via Sky News Australia. In the UK, three of his newspapers command more than 30% of weekly circulation.
This unmatched reach allows Murdoch to maintain divergent editorial lines across platforms, supporting both Fox News' Trump coverage and conservative critiques simultaneously, while preserving centralized family control through the Murdoch Family Trust.
