The Stick-Up: holding Google and Facebook to ransom

The Stick-Up: holding Google and Facebook to ransom
Rupert Murdoch didn't get where he is today by playing nice. (Image: Getty)
Peter Winter
Back when I was running around New York pretending to know a whole lot more than I did, I consulted to News Corp. Well, okay, to Rupert Murdoch himself. Often over a beer on a Friday night, I found myself listening with rapt attention as people who had worked with him for years exchanged stories about his misadventures. To us, he walked on water.  My favourite story concerned the time he somehow secured authorisation to buy a television station in Adelaide while also owning the largest newspaper in town. There was some objec...

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