Rupert Murdoch’s clout in Britain and the United States might have diminished, but in Australia he dominates the media landscape, playing a prominent role in undermining Kevin Rudd’s dream of retaining power, analysts say.
While the ruling Labor party has long trailed the Tony Abbott-led conservative opposition in opinion polls, Rudd’s ousting of Julia Gillard to re-take the prime ministership in June reignited hopes that he could pull off an unlikely upset in the September 7 general election.
But Rudd quickly found that he was battling not only undecided voters but also Murdoch, who controls about two-thirds of the press in the country where he established his powerful global media empire.
Few other countries have media concentrated in such a way and the day after Rudd announced the election date, Murdoch’s Sydney tabloid The Daily Telegraph made clear its stance, running a picture of Rudd on its front page under the headline “Kick This Mob Out”.
Around the country, publications under News Corp - which backed Rudd during his successful 2007 election -- have launched a series of scathing headlines with Murdoch himself taking to Twitter to attack Labor and throw his support behind Abbott.
To ram home the point, The Sunday Telegraph at the weekend splashed a picture of Abbott on its front page under the headline “Australia Needs Tony”, less than a week away from polling day.