Sep 22, 2023 - Economy

Exclusive: Rupert Murdoch bio by Claire Atkinson coming in 2025

Mike Allen

Portrait of Australian-born American media executive Rupert Murdoch as he poses, beside a display rack of periodicals he owns, in his office at the New York Post. — Rupert Murdoch in his office at the New York Post in 1985. Photo: Yvonne Hemsey/Getty Images

Claire Atkinson, a veteran media reporter, plans a major biography of Rupert Murdoch that'll be out in 2025 and is titled ... "MURDOCH."

Why it matters: Atkinson is a British journalist who once worked for Rupert Murdoch's New York Post. She'll portray him as a "tenacious yet perennially unsatisfied man, a formidable business leader, and a once-in-a-century business legend," according to the publisher, Grand Central.

Zoom out: Murdoch said Thursday he'll step down as chairman of Fox Corp. and News Corp.

Michael Wolff, who wrote a bestselling trilogy about former President Trump, will be out Tuesday with a dark take on the Murdoch empire, "The Fall: The End of Fox News and the Murdoch Dynasty."

Zoom in: "Spanning the full arc of his life and career, 'MURDOCH' will explore what drives this relentless workaholic — an Oxford University graduate with a disdain for the elite and an uncanny ability to connect with the man on the street," the publisher's announcement says.

"The book will uncover the enduring impact Rupert has had on the world of politics and communications — and his grown son Lachlan Murdoch, now solely in charge of Fox and News Corp. — and shed light on the complicated relationships that inspired 'Succession.'"

Atkinson is founder of newsletter and podcast The Media Mix, and formerly covered media for Murdoch's New York Post. Called "indefatigable" by Deadline, she later joined NBC News.

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Exclusive: Rupert Murdoch bio by Claire Atkinson coming in 2025

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