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Paper Emperors

Paper Emperors

The rise of Australia's newspaper empires

By Sally Young

Paperback | ISBN 9781742234984

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*WINNER of the 2020 Colin Roderick Award*

*Longlisted for the 2020 Stella Prize*

'Prodigious research...illuminating detail.' - The Australian

'A tour de force.' - Professor Rodney Tiffen

Before
newspapers were ravaged by the digital age, they were a powerful force,
especially in Australia - a country of newspaper giants and kingmakers.

This
magisterial book reveals
who owned Australia's newspapers and how they used them to wield political
power. A corporate
and political history of Australian newspapers spanning 140 years, it explains
how Australia's media system came to be dominated by a handful of empires and
powerful family dynasties. Many are household names, even now: Murdoch,
Fairfax, Syme, Packer. Written with verve and insight and showing unparalleled
command of a vast range of sources, Sally Young shows how newspaper owners
influenced policy-making, lobbied and bullied politicians, and shaped internal
party politics.

The
book begins in 1803 with Australia's first newspaper owner - a convict who
became a wealthy bank owner - giving the industry a blend of notoriety, power
and wealth from the start.
Throughout the twentieth century, Australians were unaware that they were
reading newspapers owned by secret bankrupts and failed land boomers, powerful
mining magnates, Underbelly-style gangsters, bankers, and corporate titans. It
ends with the downfall of Menzies in 1941 and his conviction that a handful of
press barons brought him down. The intervening years are packed with political
drama, business machinations and a struggle for readers, all while the newspaper barons are peddling power and influence.

'Stunning.' - Dr Rachel Franks, The Dictionary of Sydney

An 'exceptional book...masterfully achieved.' - Inside Story

'An invaluable volume.' - The Age and Sydney Morning Herald

'Better than a crime novel or work of fiction.' - Blue Wolf Reviews

'The best narrative of the power of the press seen for a long time.' - Otago Daily Times

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BOOK DETAILS

Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781742234984
Publish/Release date:
Publisher: NewSouth Publishing
Number of pages: 672
Width (mm): 153
Height (mm): 234
Depth (mm):

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