Resources

CJR's guide to what the major media companies own.

Select a media company below to begin.

News Corporation: 10000 Santa Monica Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90067; Voice (310) 369-7540; www.newscorp.com

1915: William Fox leads successful fight against Thomas Edison's Motion Pictures Patents Company. The Patents Company is dissolved in the face of anti-trust legislation.
1931 (March 11): Rupert Keith Murdoch is born in Australia. Father, Keith Murdoch, is an established newspaper man in the country
1935: Century Pictures and Fox Film merge to form 20th Century-Fox
1952: Murdoch inherits Adelaide News, an Australian mid-size daily, and the Adelaide Sunday Mail
1960: Murdoch's Australian newspaper holdings increase with the acquisition of Cumberland Newspapers, and Mirror Newspapers, Ltd., publishers of Sydney's Daily and Sunday Mirror
1964: Murdoch launches The Australian as the first national newspaper
1969: Murdoch takes over News of the World and launches London Sun
1972: Murdoch purchases Sydney Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph
1973: Murdoch purchases his first newspaper in the U.S.; San Antonio Express and News
1974: Enters the supermarket tabloid business by launching The National Star
1977: Murdoch buys New York Post for $30 million from liberal socialite Dorothy Schiff. He continues his New York buying spree by purchasing New York magazine, Village Voice and New West from Clay Felker
1979: Diversifies by acquiring Ansett Transport Industries which owns Melbourne TV station, Channel 10. Australia modifies media ownership laws to allow the deal. Critics call the move "The Murdoch Amendments"
1980: News Corp. forms
1981: Takes over Times and Sunday Times in London
1982: Buys the Boston Herald-American and changes the name to Boston Herald. News Corp. also buys Australian book publisher Angus & Robertson
1983: Sky, the first satellite TV channel launches. News Corp. buys Chicago Sun Times for $90 million
1984: Murdoch and News Corp. make take over bid of Warner Brothers but are thwarted
1985: Murdoch becomes United States citizen in order to purchase more American media outlets. Sells Village Voice. News Corp. buys TCF Holdings Inc., parent company of Twentieth Century Fox Film. In a related deal, News Corp. purchases seven television stations from Metromedia for $1.55 billion (WNEW-TV, New York; KTTV-TV, Los Angeles; WFLD-TV, Chicago; WTTG-TV, Washington, DC; KNBN-TV, Dallas; KRIV-TV, Houston, WFXT-TV in Boston. These stations reach 22% of all television households in the United States. These two deals help to form backbone of a new broadcast television network
1986: Fox Broadcasting Company is established. News Corp. moves its UK newspaper printing operations to new plant in Wapping. A protracted labor strike ensues. Murdoch sells Chicago Sun-Times
1987: Takes control Melbourne Herald and Weekly Times, Australia's largest media group. News Corp. becomes world's largest newspaper publisher. News Corp. also purchases the South China Morning Post, UK newspaper Today and United States book publisher Harper and Row. Murdoch now controlled approximately sixty percent of Australian newspapers and thirty-five percent of UK newspapers
1988: Purchases Triangle Publications (main holding TV Guide) from Walter Annenberg for $3 billion. Sells off New York Post
1989: Harper Collins is formed after newly acquired William Collins Publishing is merged with Harper and Row. The Simpsons becomes Fox Network's first hit program. Satellite television provider Sky TV is launched.
1990: - BSkyB is formed after Sky merges with British Satellite Broadcasting. Accumulation of large debts leads News Corp. down the road to bankruptcy. Citibank, the company's prime lender, takes active role in saving News Corp.
1991: News Corp. undergoes massive sell off to help lower corporate debt. The properties sold off include: New York, Seventeen, Soap Opera Digest, Soap Opera Weekly, Premiere, and Daily Racing Form
1992: Buys broadcasting rights for the Premier League, an Australian rugby league, for $300 million
1993: Gains controlling interest in Asian satellite television service, Star TV. Acquires the right to broadcast NFL games. The move shakes up American sports television as it leaves the NBC network without football coverage. Obtaining the NFL broadcasting rights costs over $1 billion but seen as a necessary investment to help promote fledging Fox Network. News Corp. reacquires New York Post
1996: HarperCollins sells its education unit to Pearson
1997: Acquires Los Angeles Dodgers and Dodgers stadium from the O'Malley family for $311 million
1998: Orders HarperCollins to squash the memoirs of Chris Patten, Hong Kong's last governor and vocal critic of the Communist China government
1999: Acquires William Morrow and Avon Books in a deal with Hearst
2001: Sells stake in Fox Family Network to Disney. Duopolies established in Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Washington D.C., and Houston
2002: Duopolies established in Chicago and Orlando
2003: Puts LA Dodgers up for sale. Spends $6.6 billion for stake in Hughes Electronic, the parent company of DirecTV
2004: Los Angeles Dodgers sold to real estate developer Frank McCourt for $430 million

Television: Fox Broadcasting Company; Fox Television Stations; WNYW - New York City; WWOR - New York City; KTTV - Los Angeles; KCOP - Los Angeles; WFLD - Chicago; WPWR - Chicago; KMSP - Minneapolis; WFTC - Minneapolis; WTXF - Philadelphia; WFXT - Boston; WTTG - Washington D.C.; WDCA - Washington D.C.; KDFW - Dallas; KDFI - Dallas; WJBK - Detroit; KUTP - Phoenix; KSAZ - Phoenix; WUTB - Baltimore; WRBW - Orlando; WOFL - Orlando; WOGX - Ocala; WAGA - Atlanta; KRIV - Houston; KTXH - Houston; WTVT - Tampa; WHBQ - Memphis; KTBC - Austin; DBS & Cable; FOXTEL; BSkyB; Sky Italia; Fox News Channel; Fox Movie Channel; FX; FUEL; National Geographic Channel; SPEED Channel

Fox Sports Net; FSN New England (50%); FSN Ohio; FSN Florida; National Advertising Partners; Fox College Sports; Fox Soccer Channel; Stats, Inc.
Film: 20th Century Fox Español; 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment; 20th Century Fox International; 20th Century Fox Television; Fox Studios Australia; Fox Studios Baja; Fox Studios LA; 20th Century Fox; Fox Searchlight Pictures; Fox Television Studios; Blue Sky Studios
Newspapers: United States; New York Post; The Wall St. Journal; Dow Jones; United Kingdom; News International; News of the World; The Sun; The Sunday Times; The Times; Times Literary Supplement; Australasia; Daily Telegraph; Fiji Times; Gold Coast Bulletin; Herald Sun; Newsphotos; Newspix; Newstext; NT News; Post-Courier; Sunday Herald Sun; Sunday Mail; Sunday Tasmanian; Sunday Territorian; Sunday Times; The Advertiser; The Australian; The Courier-Mail; The Mercury; The Sunday Telegraph; Weekly Times
Magazines: InsideOut; donna hay; SmartSource; The Weekly Standard; Big League; ALPHA
Books: HarperMorrow Publishers; HarperMorrow; General Books Group; Amistad; Caedmon; Avon; Avon A; Avon Inspire; Avon Red; Collins; Collins Design; Ecco; Eos; Fourth Estate; Harper Mass Market; Harper Pakerbacks; HarperAudio; HarperBusiness; HarperCollins; Perennial; Perennial Modern Classics; HarperCollins e-Books; HarperLuxe; Rayo; William Morrow; William Morrow Cookbooks
Children's Books Group: Amistad; Greenwillow Books; Joanna Cotler Books; Eos; Laura Geringer Books; HarperAudio; HarperCollins Children's Books; HarperFestival; HarperTeen; Katherine Tegen Books; Julie Andrews Books; Rayo; Trophy
HarperCollins International: HarperCollins Canada; HarperCollins Australia; HarperCollins UK; HarperCollins India; HarperCollins New Zealand; Zondervan
Other: Los Angeles Kings (NHL, 40% option); Los Angeles Lakers (NBA, 9.8% option); Staples Center (40% owned by Fox/Liberty); News Interactive; Fox Sports Radio Network; Broadsystem; Classic FM; Festival Records; Fox Interactive; IGN Entertainment; Mushroom Records; MySpace.com; National Rugby League; NDS; News Outdoor; Scout Media; Rotten Tomatoes; AskMen; FoxSports.net; WhatIfSports; kSolo; Fox.com; AmericanIdol.com; Spring Widgets; News Digital Media; News.com.au; FoxSports.com.au; CARSguide.com.au; Careerone.com.au; Truelocal.com.au; last updated 08/07/08