Australian
Screen

Teacher’s notes

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This clip shows Ed Koch, the former mayor of New York, claiming that he was elected mayor in 1977 because media baron Rupert Murdoch supported his candidature through the New York Post. Koch, a rank outsider, tells how Murdoch held a conference during which he interviewed all the candidates running for mayor and asked them how they would deal with the unions in New York if they were elected. Murdoch later phoned Koch to say that the New York Post would endorse him. The clip includes narration, a still photograph of Koch with Murdoch, and footage of New York.

Educational value points

• The mainstream media is a major source of information about politics, and can shape opinions and the decisions of voters. A mass circulation newspaper such as the New York Post may influence the outcome of an election by providing a candidate with favourable coverage through its editorialising and general news stories while depicting other candidates in a negative light. The victory of Gough Whitlam and the Australian Labor Party in the 1972 federal election after 23 years in opposition has been partly attributed to the support of Murdoch newspapers.

• Media baron Rupert Murdoch, who is referred to in the clip, heads News Corporation, one of the largest global media organisations. The Australian-born Murdoch inherited the newspaper dynasty owned by his father, Keith Murdoch. In 1952 he started the Adelaide News, and today publishes 175 newspapers, including the New York Post and The Times of London. His media holdings in the USA include Twentieth Century Fox, the Fox Network, and 35 television stations that reach more than 40 per cent of the country, while his satellite television services reach five continents. He also has interests in book publishing and the internet. In 1985 he became a US citizen to comply with television ownership laws. This clip, from a 2001 program on the Murdochs, was part of the ABC’s television series Dynasties which profiles families who have had an impact on Australian society.

• In the clip Ed Koch suggests that he was elected as mayor in 1977 as a result of Murdoch’s support through the New York Post. Murdoch has been accused of running partisan media coverage for political parties that promote policies and decisions favouring his commercial interests. In 1997 his UK papers, which account for about 35 per cent of the newspaper market in Britain, endorsed the Labour leader, Tony Blair. After winning office, Blair’s government introduced legislation that loosened restrictions on foreign and cross-media ownership and favoured Murdoch’s business interests.

• The clip implies that Murdoch approved of Koch’s stance on unions. Murdoch has a history of confrontation with unions. In 1986 he used mass firings to crush the powerful British print-worker unions and transfer production of his newspapers to a non-union plant at Wapping, East London, a move London’s Evening Standard later described as 'the biggest union-busting operation in history’ (Foot, Beware the tiger that turns’, Evening Standard, 12 November 1998). In 1993 he used similar tactics against striking members of the Newspaper Guild at the New York Post, firing nearly 300 staff. Mayor Koch took tough measures to break a 1980 strike by New York’s transit workers.

• Koch’s story shows how media outlets can wage an unremitting campaign to promote the election of a particular candidate or party. There is evidence that the public is beginning to question the role of the media in election outcomes. For example, a 2006 Morgan Poll of 676 Australians found that 57 per cent believed the media had too much influence in determining how Australians voted, while 61 per cent said that media companies and owners had too much influence generally.

• The clip shows Ed Koch on New York radio station WEVD (1050). After serving as mayor of New York City from 1978 to 1989, Koch became a partner in the law firm Brian Cave, but also contributed to a number of newspapers and appeared on radio as a political commentator. He hosted a talk show on WEVD, a liberal-leaning public radio station that until 2001 broadcast a mix of talk, Jewish and ethnic programs. He went on to present a weekly show on Bloomsberg Radio (1130). A Democrat, Koch has attracted controversy for his outspokenness and for at times siding with the Republican Party.