28 Facts About Keith Murdoch

Sir Keith Arthur Murdoch was an Australian journalist and media proprietor who was the founder of the Murdoch media empire.

Keith Murdoch amassed significant media holdings in Australia which after his death were expanded globally by his son Rupert.

Keith Murdoch began his journalism career with The Age in 1903, eventually becoming a parliamentary reporter.

Keith Murdoch became a confidant of Australian prime minister Billy Hughes, although they fell out by the end of the war.

In 1921, Keith Murdoch returned to Melbourne as chief editor of The Herald, beginning a long association with its holding company, the Herald and Weekly Times Ltd.

Keith Murdoch would become managing director in 1928 and chairman in 1942, overseeing a significant expansion of the company into interstate newspaper markets and commercial radio.

Keith Murdoch established a monopoly in the Adelaide newspaper market in 1931 and in 1933 established The Courier-Mail as Brisbane's daily newspaper; he controlled The West Australian for several years.

Keith Murdoch co-founded the Australian Associated Press in 1935 and was the inaugural chairman of Australian Newsprint Mills.

Outside of his business activities Keith Murdoch was an art collector, serving as chairman of the National Gallery of Victoria and endowing a chair of fine arts at the University of Melbourne.

Keith Murdoch had four children with his wife Elisabeth, a prominent philanthropist.

Keith Murdoch retired in 1949, dying of cancer in 1952.

Keith Murdoch was born in Melbourne in 1885, the son of Annie and the Rev Patrick John Keith Murdoch, who had married in 1882 and migrated from Cruden, Scotland, to Victoria, Australia, with his family in 1884.

Keith Murdoch's paternal grandfather was a minister with the Free Church of Scotland, and his maternal grandfather was a Presbyterian minister.

Keith Murdoch was educated at his uncle Walter's short-lived school, then at Camberwell Grammar School, where he became dux in 1903, despite extreme shyness and stammering.

Keith Murdoch decided not to go straight to university but to try a career in journalism, so family friend David Syme of The Age agreed to employ him as district correspondent for nearby Malvern.

Keith Murdoch's stammer became manageable, but shortly after it cost him a job with the Pall Mall Gazette.

In September 1909, Keith Murdoch returned home to resume work for The Age, now as a parliamentary reporter, in which capacity he strengthened the family's relationships with politicians such as Andrew Fisher, in some cases entertaining them at his aunt's country guest house.

Keith Murdoch travelled to New Zealand in January 1915 with Prime Minister Andrew Fisher, and two other MPs, the Hon.

Keith Murdoch, initially alarmed that Northcliffe's staff had obtained a copy of his private letter, soon became a friend of the newspaper tycoon.

The subsequent outcome of the Hamel assault closed the question of Monash's suitability but later in the same year Keith Murdoch attempted again to convince Hughes that Monash should not control the repatriation of Australian troops.

Keith Murdoch acquired the nickname "Lord Southcliffe" and in 1928 became managing director of the company, by which time the Sun was on its way to becoming Australia's highest-selling newspaper.

Keith Murdoch became Mrs Elisabeth Murdoch in June 1928, honeymooning on his Cruden Farm estate at Langwarrin.

Keith Murdoch had been investing in newspapers on his own account, notably in Brisbane, where he bought shares in the Daily Mail and which was merged with the rival Courier.

Keith Murdoch kept pace with new technology, and by 1935 the Herald was involved with 11 radio stations.

Keith Murdoch led both the merger of rival cable services to form Australian Associated Press Ltd in 1935, and a project to build a paper-mill in Tasmania.

Keith Murdoch received a knighthood in July 1933, and being an art connoisseur with an appreciation of modern work, became a trustee of Victoria's museums and galleries.

Keith Murdoch later had some regrets about his support for the strong-willed Lyons, stating in 1936, "I put him there and I'll put him out".

In June 1940, Keith Murdoch was appointed to a newly created Australian Government post, Director-General of Information, and on 18 July he obtained authorisation to compel all news media to publish Government statements as and when necessary.