SUCCESSION (THE RISE OF THE MURDOCH DYNASTY)

 

As 'The Rise of the Murdoch Dynasty' came to the end of its three episode run, the Belfast journalist Keith Baker amusingly tweeted: "That Murdoch series was quite something. Was it based on 'Succession'?"

It is a spot on observation.

Fans of the Emmy nominated HBO drama have always noted similarities between the fictional Roy family and the Murdochs.

However, while watching the three part BBC2 documentary series 'The Rise of the Murdoch Dynasty', they will find themselves taking many mental notes.

While 'Succession' is a well written, impeccably researched and terrifically acted, it is still a TV drama.

'The Rise of the Murdoch Dynasty' is a different proposition as it is peppered with the uncomfortable reality that the events it depicts actually did happen.

Allies and admirers of the Aussie media magnate Rupert Murdoch will dismiss the programme as a BBC hatchet job.

But others will see the show as proof of just how corrosive Murdoch's media empire has been for British, American and Australian journalistic ethics and for civilised democratic debate.

Directed by Jamie Roberts, the series is a compelling watch - even if it seems a bit too much in thrall to drawing comparisons with 'Succession'.

The glossy, bombastic opening credits sequence, with its aerial shots of London and private jets could easily be ripped from the HBO series or a 007 movie.

Roberts and his team devote a lot of time - probably too much - to working out which child is Rupert's heir apparent, with Elisabeth, Lachlan and James Murdoch acting as real life surrogates for Shiv, Roman and Kendall Roy.

Chronicling Murdoch's emergence as a power player outside of his native Australia, the series documents his strategy in Australia, the UK and the US of acquiring tabloids, then more prestigious newspaper titles and flexing his muscles through the might of broadcasting.

 

It rams home his eagerness to his use his media empire to wield influence over world leaders.

More disturbingly, it shows the desperation of politicians to be puppets in those power games.

Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, David Cameron, Boris Johnson and Donald Trump all woo Murdoch at various stages and placate him.

But that endorsement always comes at a big price. 

The media mogul's influence and the willingness of politicians to be manipulated by him is strikingly illustrated in one brief moment in the series when a gushing Nigel Farage, the Brexit Party leader and former UKIP chief, confesses to the filmmakers while getting mic-ed up that he sought Murdoch's permission to participate in the programme.

So even when he is not prepared to go before the cameras to argue his case, he has his political pawns to do it for him.

Tony Blair's Downing Street spin doctor Alistair Campbell is interviewed and is asked to recall a visit to a gathering of News Corp executives on an Australian island which was pivotal in securing Murdoch and the Sun's backing for the British Labour Party in the 1997 General Election.

Campbell says before meeting Murdoch, Blair was advised by the former Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating that the News International owner was a "hard bastard" who they would need to develop a strategy for.

However that strategy appears to be securing his support at a grave price, resulting in Blair committing to a referendum on the Euro and later in his premiership aligning himself closely to President George W Bush's White House over the invasion of Iraq in return for positive coverage.

The documentary portrays Murdoch as a key broker between the British and American administrations and in one memorable sequence, former Sun deputy editor Neil Wallis describes how the owner took personal charge of the coverage of Labour in the 1997 General Election to ensure it was positive enough.

The series also makes clear if a politician steps out of line with Murdoch and his business interests, he will discard you for the next suitor - as John Major, Gordon Brown and David Cameron discovered to their cost.

The second episode is unquestionably the strongest of the three, showing how, drunk on their influence over successive British Governments and their access to them, Murdoch's tabloids ran amok until the News of the World phone hacking scandal was exposed.

Former Murdoch employees Piers Morgan, David Yelland and Andrew Neill speak admiringly in the series of his business nous and of Rebekah Brooks' ruthless ambition.

However the hacking scandal and particularly the hacking of teenage murder victim Millie Dowler's phone remains the biggest black mark of all and the one moment when the empire looked vulnerable.

Faced with determined opposition from wealthy public figures like Max Mosley and Hugh Grant and also the assiduous journalism of Nick Davies who exposed the scandal through The Guardian newspaper, 'The Rise of the Murdoch Dynasty' shows how the affair ultimately undermined James Murdoch's bid to inherit his father's throne.

It also shows how his father's ruthless jettisoning of the News of the World brand and its staff was a savvy move, throwing his critics enough meat while limiting the lasting damage to his empire.

 

When faced with another scandal in the US over the sexual harassment at Fox News, Lachlan Murdoch has no hesitation in getting rid of the CEO at the centre of the scandal, Roger Ailes and in throwing money at the problem.

It is that ability to survive two huge scandals that might have sunk other news companies and cast his newspaper and broadcasting arms as the authentic voice of the people is his smartest attribute.

That savvy has helped Murdoch remain possibly the biggest influence in British and US politics.

Roberts credits Murdoch's support for Brexit and his consistent demonisation of Brussels as being a significant factor in creating the conditions for the UK's withdrawal from the European Union - a point underscored by former Conservative minister, Lord Heseltine.

But such is his influence in the US, we learn in another telling moment that when Murdoch sold most of his empire to Disney including Sky News and 20th Century Fox, one of the first calls he receives is from President Donald Trump seeking assurance that he is not offloading Fox News.

Murdoch, as portrayed in Roberts' documentary, is pure Logan Roy - tough as old boots, ruthless, power hungry and always willing to play one of his children against another.

James' subsequent denouncement of his father's news organisations' coverage of climate change issues in the wake of this year's extensive bush fires in Australia and Elisabeth's thinly veiled criticism of the phone hacking scandal ultimately see them fall down the pecking order and move away from the boardroom.

And just like Logan, Murdoch is ruthless in his private life - ending his 28 year marriage to his second wife Anna and his subsequent 14 year marriage to Wendi Deng only to take Mick Jagger's ex, Jerry Hall as his fourth wife. 

The overall impression is of a wily and fierce operator who understands how to wield power and manipulate public opinion.

Even when he initially misjudges public opinion, as during the rise of Donald Trump during the race for the Republican Presidential nomination, Steve Bannon notes how he changes tack and gets behind Trump for ratings purposes.

Roberts and his team regard Murdoch as a puppet master par excellence.

But if there is one quote that stays with you after watching this gripping series, it comes from an adversary in the phone hacking scandal, the journalist Nick Davies.

"The phone hacking saga never really was about reporters breaking the law," he observes.

"It was always a story about power and the fear that people have of that power."

It still is.

Bear that quote in mind as Fox News covers the US Elections and over the next three to four years of Brexit and the run up to the next British General Election.

As always, it's advantage Murdoch.

('The Rise of the Murdoch Dynasty' was broadcast on BBC2 from July 14-28, 2020)