And then he springs it: the Murdoch Moment.
Writing of Luce’s death in 1967, Keller observes, “that consensus had been torn asunder, and today there is no vehicle, no voice with the coherent power of Luce’s magazines in their heyday. The last of his breed of media tycoon is a 79-year-old Australian billionaire whose impact has been more corrosive than cohesive.”
Translation: Murdoch is no Luce.
Peter Kadzis can be reached at pkadzis@phx.com.
Related:
Through a glass darkly, Is Murdoch’s WSJ being snubbed?, Murdoch mishegoss, More 
- Through a glass darkly
Predicting a Super Bowl winner doesn't make you a genius: after all, given a pool of 32 teams, one of them is bound to capture the trophy. But predicting the future for an industry that's been buffeted by new technologies and economic vicissitudes, and sometimes seems to have all the substance and staying power of sea foam? That's an accomplishment.
- Is Murdoch’s WSJ being snubbed?
This year’s Pulitzer Prize box score has the Washington Post taking four prizes (international reporting, feature writing, commentary, and criticism) and the New York Times snagging three (explanatory, national, and investigative reporting).
- Murdoch mishegoss
Never mind that Rupert Murdoch is shelling out better than $2 billion to buy Metromedia’s seven TV stations. Never mind that he’s then turning around and reselling Boston’s WCVB-TV, Channel 5 to the Hearst Corporation for an astounding $450 million.
- Meet Evan Thomas
Narrative is the throughline in the professional life of Evan Thomas.
- Harper's Magazine, 1850-1980
It seems but a moment ago that the sound of Dylan and Baez, the Beatles and the Stones reverberated through a world bent on catastrophe. Has it been almost 20 years?
- New magazine tells Boston’s war stories
It’s not too surprising that Kung-Fu Video owners James Bennett and Aaron Crawford are venturing into another retail niche that is largely considered commercially destitute.
- Stop the Quinn-sanity!
The year is still young, but when the time comes to look back at 2010's media lowlights, the embarrassing demise of Sally Quinn's Washington Post column, "The Party," will almost certainly rank near the top of the list.
- Haiti troubles
What can we learn from the Portland Press Herald's month-long-and-counting series following the beleaguered Sea Hunter ship carrying relief supplies from Portland to Haiti? Quite a bit, but more about the Press Herald's commitment to skeptical observing and detached reporting than anything else.
- The Phoenix cleans up at NENPA
Was 2009 a good year for newspapers?
- Ransom Notes
While reporting from Afghanistan two years ago, David Rohde became, for the second time in his career, an unwilling participant rather than an observer. On October 29, 1995, Rohde had been arrested by Bosnian Serbs. And then in November 2008, Rohde and two Afghan colleagues were en route to an interview with a Taliban commander when they were kidnapped.
- Brave new Globe?
Sizing up the Boston Globe 's recent past is easy: simply put, in the past 12 months, the paper has seen enough gut-wrenching drama to change the name of Morrissey Boulevard to Melrose Place. But forecasting the paper's future is another matter.
- Less
Topics:
Media -- Dont Quote Me
, Business, Media, Adolph Ochs, More
, Business, Media, Adolph Ochs, Journalism, Journalism, Jonathan Yardley, Harold Ross, Harold Ross, Life, Yale, Less
