Keith Murdoch Quotes

103 Keith Murdoch Quotes

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[In May 1944] British strength will be essential to Australia – as Australian strength will be essential to Britain.
Keith Murdoch

[On 4th of July 1944 on his impression of how much Americans valued their right to work and achieve.] Everywhere you see the evidence of prosperity and you see, also, people proud of their opportunity to do a good job. In no other country has private enterprise given greater rewards.
Keith Murdoch

[In 1945] Free Press. This was shaken during the war… We believe it to be a cardinal and most potent factor in the development of free peoples everywhere and that the press must be established and reinforced as one of the great columns of the temple of humanity.
Keith Murdoch

[In 1945] There is a fundamental necessity to have newspapers freed entirely from Government or special interests and leave them free to work as pay-as-you-go institutions dependent on no-one for favours.
Keith Murdoch

[In 1946] It is fashionable at present amongst some people who get the name of being intellectual, but who are lamentably prone to deny merit, to abuse the Press for bias, advertisers’ influence, mis-information, and so forth.
Keith Murdoch

Democracy is ruled by public opinion and public opinion must be well served by a great press if it is to be an enlightened and just rule… By a good press I mean a full press, a public-spirited press, an energetic press, a daring and adventurous press.
Keith Murdoch

[In November 1946] The press must be much more than merely free. It must be fact-finding, truth-telling, truth-seeking to the limit of human capacity and enterprise. It can deviate from this purpose only at the risk of its soul.
Keith Murdoch

A newspaper can remain free, and responsible to its public, only while it is part of a system of free enterprise; only while it is competitive and seeking a greater measure of public approval and confidence than its rivals.
Keith Murdoch

Advertising… naturally gravitates to publications enjoying the greatest measure of public confidence as reflected in circulation, is itself an integral and highly valuable part of the economy of free enterprise.
Keith Murdoch

Advertising… is a necessary corollary of modern industrial production…
Keith Murdoch



[In December 1948] A nation which encourages its citizens to look to the Government for everything, which penalises thrift, which destroys all incentive to work, thus automatically reducing effort to a common – inevitably the lowest – level, is on the downward path.
Keith Murdoch

[In November 1948 at the age of 63.] I won’t say I am satisfied. We all keep on learning all the time. We should always be devising something a little better.
Keith Murdoch

[In 1946] We all believe that the victory for freedom of mind means a great era of rule by public opinion and this places upon all newspapers the enhanced responsibility of full services of news of all newspapers the enhanced responsibility of full services of news of all countries, and backed by candid comment and thoughtful leadership.
Keith Murdoch

[In 1946] People cannot govern themselves wisely unless they discuss matters freely in the light of free information.
Keith Murdoch

Above all other considerations in the newspaper structure, devotion to readers’ interests must be paramount, and as long as this is in the hands of well-trained public-spirited newspapermen, failure need not be feared…
Keith Murdoch

[In July 1947] There is a wide misconception that newspapers life and suppress! In fact, they don’t.
Keith Murdoch

[In December 1949] In looking back I have one regret – that occasionally we have been unnecessarily, foolishly and rudely personal. I think with the year to live again, the papers would avoid some of the hurts.
Keith Murdoch

[In September 1950 to his son Rupert Murdoch when he was studying at Oxford at the age of 19.] Whatever you do, never let a week go without a letter to your Mother.
Keith Murdoch

[In 1951 on taxation] Everyone, except the shareholder, seems to have had cost of living increases… But the average shareholder… had little or no increase in his dividends, and all shareholders… suffer the additional inequity of being taxed twice – once by company tax on their profits within the company and then by personal tax on the same profits when they are divided in the form of dividend…
Keith Murdoch

[In December 1949 on the four compulsions to get him to reduce his work.] I have had a struggle for some time to get through… They are from my wife, my doctor, my conscience, and my commonsense – an irresistible team.
Keith Murdoch



[In December 1949] We have to improve our products, extend our influence, increase our revenue and better our working lives. We have to examine everything we do and see that it is modern in method, and sound in result.
Keith Murdoch

[In June 1940] It is a case of all in and completely in. I believe it is the dominating and widespread wish of Australians to give all for their country.
Keith Murdoch

We should always be devising something a little better.
Keith Murdoch


Bonus

[On his father Keith Murdochs’ principles.] We must learn to consider the value of people to be concrete value, the true wealth of nations… We must learn to protect and increase Australia’s share of human capital as carefully, and as ambitiously, as we would financial capital… We must begin – as everything begins – by teaching our children well, by making Australians smarter and our country stronger.
Rupert Murdoch

[In 1946] The power to control and influence public opinion through newspapers is an insidious, dangerous power. To censor what one doesn’t like is like a drug that takes a hold on those possessing it.
Francis Williams



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