默多克的雜牌王國(guó)(《財(cái)富》經(jīng)典回顧,1984年)
????“手眼通天的掠奪者” — “邪惡力量”—“老海盜”—“蹩腳的冒牌貨,就像他的報(bào)紙一樣蹩腳”。這些都是魯伯特?默多克的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手送給他的綽號(hào),這其中包含了他們對(duì)全球最大,也是最古怪的報(bào)業(yè)公司老板魯伯特?默多克的恐懼和厭惡,甚至包含一點(diǎn)不情愿的敬畏。這位叛逆的澳大利亞人(默多克1985年加入美國(guó)籍——譯注)鄭重宣布,計(jì)劃把他年收入14億美元的出版業(yè)務(wù)——新聞集團(tuán)(News Corp.)打造成世界上最大的通信公司。默多克打算通過(guò)收購(gòu)和擴(kuò)張的增長(zhǎng)方式,打造新的通信業(yè)務(wù),主要目標(biāo)是美國(guó)。 |
????"A very able buccaneer" -- "a sinister force" -- "an old pirate" -- "schlock, just like his papers are schlock." These assorted epithets, offered by some of his competitors, suggest the fear and distaste, occasionally mixed with grudging awe, inspired by Rupert Murdoch, proprietor of one of the world's largest and oddest newspaper companies. The Australian rebel plans, in all seriousness, to build News Corp., his $1.4-billion-a-year publishing operation, into the biggest communications company in the world. Murdoch intends to grow mainly through acquisitions and expansion into new communications businesses, mostly in the U.S. |
澳洲“葛朗臺(tái)”——魯伯特?默多克 ????作為當(dāng)代最具爭(zhēng)議的出版商之一,他能夠做到嗎?答案取決于他外表掩飾下的內(nèi)心想法,取決于他是否有足夠大的金融神通和足夠強(qiáng)的意志力。默多克已經(jīng)控制了大部分澳洲媒體,因此,大宗收購(gòu)的機(jī)會(huì)已經(jīng)所剩無(wú)幾。英國(guó)是其主要的盈利來(lái)源,但是受制于反壟斷法規(guī),他也無(wú)法繼續(xù)在英國(guó)收購(gòu)更多的報(bào)紙?,F(xiàn)在,美國(guó)是唯一符合默多克胃口的英語(yǔ)市場(chǎng)。 ????默多克的巨大胃口不但讓他成為競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手的眼中釘,也讓他成了對(duì)手新聞專欄中的???,最近更是頻頻亮相。近期,他收購(gòu)了華納傳播公司(Warner Communications)6.7%的股份,這讓華納董事會(huì)主席史蒂夫?羅斯大為光火,為了挫敗默多克接管公司的企圖,他立馬出售了公司更大比例的份額。上個(gè)月,他對(duì)美國(guó)第九大日?qǐng)?bào)《芝加哥太陽(yáng)報(bào)》(Chicago Sun-Times)的收購(gòu)也引發(fā)了同樣激烈的風(fēng)暴。報(bào)紙的編輯、出版商、總經(jīng)理、銷售總監(jiān)和主要專欄作家集體提出了辭職。 ????新聞集團(tuán)已經(jīng)是英語(yǔ)國(guó)家最大的出版公司之一。其大部分增長(zhǎng)主要是在過(guò)去七年中通過(guò)收購(gòu)來(lái)實(shí)現(xiàn)的。默多克的行為是典型的“沖動(dòng)性收購(gòu)”,因?yàn)樗粦{借自己的主觀判斷和承擔(dān)風(fēng)險(xiǎn)的勇氣就做出收購(gòu)決定。他的一位業(yè)務(wù)合作伙伴表示:“我想,他每天都會(huì)有五分鐘是在偷著樂(lè)吧,因?yàn)槿藗円恢备悴磺宄降自谧鍪裁?。”默多克的賭博行為帶來(lái)的成果是喜憂參半的。盡管他本人一直處在媒體的聚光燈下,但鮮有人會(huì)注意其收購(gòu)行為的一些細(xì)節(jié)。他的部分報(bào)紙具有極高的盈利能力,但其他報(bào)紙卻常年虧損??傮w來(lái)說(shuō),在低級(jí)別的同行中,新聞集團(tuán)的盈利能力并不出眾。 ????默多克在規(guī)模、影響和權(quán)力方面取得了巨大的成功,他的合作伙伴認(rèn)為,這些對(duì)于他來(lái)說(shuō)非常重要。他經(jīng)常利用自己的報(bào)紙推動(dòng)自己的政治事業(yè)。他旗下的報(bào)紙一直是美國(guó)前總統(tǒng)里根和前紐約市市長(zhǎng)郭德華的堅(jiān)定支持者,而對(duì)于那些冒犯他的政客,他的報(bào)紙則成為最冷酷的攻擊武器,包括美國(guó)參議員愛(ài)德華?M?肯尼迪和紐約市布魯克林區(qū)地方檢察官伊利莎白?霍爾茲曼在內(nèi)的人無(wú)一幸免。 ????新聞集團(tuán)在英國(guó)、澳大利亞和美國(guó)擁有80多份報(bào)紙和雜志。集團(tuán)旗下的報(bào)紙包括發(fā)行時(shí)間最長(zhǎng)、最富盛名的英文日?qǐng)?bào)——倫敦《泰晤士報(bào)》(Times),發(fā)行量最大,也是倫敦東區(qū)聲望最高的英文報(bào)紙——倫敦《太陽(yáng)報(bào)》(Sun),以及澳大利亞發(fā)行量最大的午后報(bào)紙《每日鏡報(bào)》(Daily Mirror)。此外,公司持有的資產(chǎn)還包括兩家澳大利亞電視臺(tái)、四家圖書(shū)出版社,在澳大利亞最大的私營(yíng)航線占有一半的股份,并在兩家石油與天然氣勘探財(cái)團(tuán)中占有股份。 ????默多克希望,新聞集團(tuán)未來(lái)的通信增長(zhǎng)之路能夠跳出出版業(yè)。正如他近期接受《財(cái)富》雜志采訪時(shí)所說(shuō):“我對(duì)電子時(shí)代的了解并不比其他人更透徹,它將把人類帶去何方?它將對(duì)大型報(bào)業(yè)公司造成什么影響?對(duì)此,我也知之有限。但有一點(diǎn)我很確定,它的影響是確定無(wú)疑的。為了做好準(zhǔn)備,也為了能在新行業(yè)中占據(jù)一席之地,我們當(dāng)然希望能成為娛樂(lè)節(jié)目制作領(lǐng)域擁的巨頭?!?/p> ????而華納公司恰好符合默多克追逐的目標(biāo)。華納公司擁有好萊塢最賺錢的電影與電視攝影棚,并擁有一家價(jià)值5億美元的大型電影資料館,同時(shí)旗下還有美國(guó)最大的唱片公司。爭(zhēng)奪華納的戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)充分展示了默多克無(wú)畏和好斗的個(gè)性。他為人冷酷無(wú)情,并且從不會(huì)臨陣脫逃。比如在一月底,他曾經(jīng)要求《紐約郵報(bào)》(New York Post)的記者調(diào)查華納公司史蒂夫?羅斯的糗事。 ????然而現(xiàn)在,默多克卻陷入了兩難境地。羅斯將公司19%的利益出讓給克里斯?克拉夫特產(chǎn)業(yè)公司(Chris-Craft Industries),以交換克里斯?克拉夫特的廣播業(yè)子公司。此外,克里斯?克拉夫特還額外買進(jìn)了華納公司的股票,使其總持股比例超過(guò)21%。默多克也增加了持股;到一月底,他持有的華納股份為7.1%。但除非他能夠說(shuō)服法院撤銷克里斯 – 克拉夫特的交易,否則他只能承認(rèn)失敗。因?yàn)榘凑杖A納公司章程的規(guī)定,未經(jīng)克里斯 – 克拉夫特的許可,默多克將無(wú)法進(jìn)行強(qiáng)制并購(gòu)或資產(chǎn)分拆。這是他連續(xù)第二次慘遭失敗。在去年對(duì)一家衛(wèi)星廣播公司的收購(gòu)中,他也未能獲得成功,只是那次收購(gòu)鮮為人知而已。 ????未來(lái),按照默多克的預(yù)想,娛樂(lè)與新聞之間的界限將日漸模糊。而他的批評(píng)者則認(rèn)為他從來(lái)都不明白兩者之間的區(qū)別?,F(xiàn)年52歲的默多克于1955年在澳洲阿德萊德市繼承了父親的小報(bào),從此開(kāi)始闖蕩報(bào)業(yè)界。他在之后收購(gòu)的大部分報(bào)紙中都采用了一種死板的分類準(zhǔn)則:丑聞、體育、消費(fèi)和犯罪。默多克的小報(bào)大肆渲染一個(gè)駭人聽(tīng)聞的世界——?dú)埲痰淖锓笟埡D女和兒童、邪惡的移民威嚇土著人,而大部分政府事務(wù)報(bào)道則過(guò)于沉悶乏味。1969年,他移民到英國(guó),收購(gòu)了星期日周報(bào)《世界新聞報(bào)》(News of the World),至此,默多克的澳大利亞公司已經(jīng)擁有約十二份報(bào)紙。大部分都是通過(guò)借貸,以低廉的價(jià)格購(gòu)入,而后通過(guò)狄更斯式的成本控制、鋪天蓋地的宣傳、博彩式的有獎(jiǎng)競(jìng)猜和小報(bào)式的風(fēng)格,最終都扭虧為盈。 ????年輕(當(dāng)時(shí)只有38歲)和默默無(wú)聞成為默多克最初的資本,憑借這些資本,他成功地以最劃算的價(jià)格完成了一生中最重要的一次收購(gòu),而此次收購(gòu)為未來(lái)的默多克帝國(guó)奠定了基礎(chǔ)。他用100萬(wàn)美元,輕取《太陽(yáng)報(bào)》。當(dāng)時(shí),《太陽(yáng)報(bào)》只是國(guó)際出版公司旗下一份垂死掙扎的社會(huì)主義日?qǐng)?bào)。默多克在《太陽(yáng)報(bào)》中實(shí)施了他的準(zhǔn)則,每天在“第三版”中刊登赤裸上身的女郎,重新定義了三版在新聞界的定義,并將社論移到了右側(cè)。《太陽(yáng)報(bào)》成為默多克帝國(guó)中最賺錢的報(bào)紙,去年的收入預(yù)計(jì)達(dá)到5,000萬(wàn)美元。 |
Tight-fisted Aussie, Rupert Murdoch ????Can he make it? The answer will rest on what lies behind the facade of one of the era's most controversial publishers -- on the might of his financial muscle and on the strength of his imposing will. Murdoch already controls so much of the Australian press that few significant acquisition opportunities are left there. Nor could he buy more newspapers in Britain, where he earns most of his profits, without bumping up against monopoly restrictions. That leaves the U.S. as the only English-speaking market equal to Murdoch's appetite. ????Murdoch's appetite has put him on competitors' minds -- and in their news columns -- a lot lately. His recent purchase of 6.7% of Warner Communications so rattled Warner Chairman Steven Ross that he rushed to sell off a much bigger piece of the company to thwart a Murdoch takeover. The Aussie's purchase last month of the Chicago Sun-Times, the ninth-largest daily in the U.S., summoned up a similar storm. The paper's editor, publisher, general manager, sales director, and leading columnist all resigned. ????News Corp. already is one of the largest publishing companies in the English-speaking world. Most of its growth came in the last seven years, largely through acquisitions. Murdoch bought impulsively, guided by little more than an eye for a bargain and a willingness to take risks. Says a business associate: "I think he spends five minutes a day giggling at the fact that everyone is trying to figure out what he's doing." Murdoch's impulsive gambling has produced widely mixed results, which despite all the attention he gets are not often examined in detail. Some of his newspapers are fabulously profitable while others are perennial losers. Overall, News Corp.'s profitability is unspectacular, in the lower tier of his publishing peers. ????Murdoch had greater success achieving size, reach, and power -- things that associates say matter a lot to him. He routinely uses his newspapers to promote his political causes. His papers have been strident supporters of President Reagan and New York Mayor Edward Koch, and relentless attackers of politicians who offend his sensibilities, including Senator Edward M. Kennedy and Brooklyn District Attorney Elizabeth Holtzman. ????News Corp. publishes more than 80 newspapers and magazines in Britain, Australia, and the U.S. The newspapers include the Times of London, the oldest and one of the most prestigious English-language dailies, the Sun of London, the largest and one of the east prestigious English-language dailies, and the Daily Mirror, the largest afternoon paper in Australia. The company's other holdings include two Australian TV stations, four book publishers, a half interest in Australia's largest private airline, and parts in two oil and gas exploration consortiums. ????Murdoch expects much of News Corp.'s future communications growth to come outside publishing. As he told FORTUNE recently: "I don't know any better than anyone else where the electronic age is taking us, or how it will affect a large newspaper company. But I do know it's going to have an impact. To prepare for that, and to have a position in that new industry, you want to be a major player in the production of entertainment programming." ????Warner would fit the scope of Murdoch's ambition. It operates one of the most consistently profitable movie and TV studios in Hollywood, owns a vast film library worth more than $500 million, and has one of the largest record companies in the U.S. A battle for Warner would show off Murdoch's defiantly competitive ways. His instincts are brute and he hardly ever bolts from a row. In late January, for instance, he had reporters at the New York Post searching for dirt about Steve Ross of Warner. ????For now, though, Murdoch is stymied. Ross handed a 19% interest in the company to Chris-Craft Industries in exchange for an interest in a ChrisCraft broadcasting subsidiary. ChrisCraft has bought additional shares, raising its total to more than 21% of Warner. So has Murdoch; by late January he held 7.1%. But unless he can persuade the courts to undo the ChrisCraft deal, Murdoch looks like a loser. Warner's bylaws make it impossible for him to force a merger or a spinoff of assets without Chris-Craft's assent. That would make two defeats in a row. He was notably unsuccessful in another, less publicized foray into satellite broadcasting last year. ????In the future envisioned by Murdoch, the line between entertainment and news will increasingly blur. His critics claim he's never known the difference anyway. Murdoch, 52, started in 1955 with a tired daily inherited from his father in the Australian city of Adelaide. He has applied a rigid formula of scandal, sports, cheesecake, and crime to most of the papers acquired since. Murdoch's tabloids luridly depict a world in which fiendish criminals prey on women and children, evil immigrants menace the natives, and most government affairs are too tedious to note. By the time he moved into England in 1969 to buy the Sunday News of the World, Murdoch's Australian company owned nearly a dozen papers. Most had been bought on the cheap with borrowed money and turned around with Dickensian cost controls, strident promotion, bingolike contests, and the tabloid formula. ????Being young (38 at the time) and comparatively unknown helped Murdoch get the biggest bargain of his life and the one on which today's empire rests. For $1 million, he bought the Sun, then a moribund socialist daily, from International Publications Corp. Murdoch applied his formula to the Sun, gave "page 3" a new meaning among journalists by publishing pictures of bare-breasted women there every day, and swung its editorials to the right. The Sun has become the most profitable piece of the empire, earning an estimated $50 million last year. |