In September last year, US President Donald Trump appeared to shoot from the hip in an interview with Fox News when he revealed that Lachlan and Rupert Murdoch were “involved” in talks to buy TikTok in the United States.
The big reveal set off a wave of global headlines.
So when the deal was eventually announced late last month, valuing TikTok’s US venture at a cool $US14 billion ($19.9 billion), the absence of Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch from the list of backers raised eyebrows, including ours.
Last year, chatter among those close to Lachlan suggested he was considering an investment in TikTok’s US venture through Fox Corp, the parent company of the conservative news juggernaut Fox News, rather than tipping in personally. Even then, we were cautioned that nothing was set in stone.
Of course, it never panned out. But it did leave us to wonder why the Murdochs ultimately snubbed Trump’s efforts to play billionaire matchmaker.
We’re now left with the impression that Lachlan didn’t think taking a cut in only part of the platform was worth the money (or the hassle), though people close to the billionaire media scion have been relatively tight-lipped on the question beyond that.
In his new book, Bonfire of the Murdochs, American journalist Gabriel Sherman wrote that it was Rupert who accepted an offer from Trump to join the consortium. But the book, set to land on Australian shelves next month, is otherwise pretty light on new material.
For those playing along at home, TikTok was forced to cleave off its US operation under the threat of a ban pushed through by the Biden administration under national security concerns. After about a year of speculation, TikTok announced the details last month.
Perhaps the Murdochs didn’t have to look too far for a reason to tap the brakes. After all, it was only in 2005 that News Corp spent $US580 million to buy MySpace. Remember that?
Twiggy dabbles in LinkedIn guff
Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest isn’t one to shy away from making his feelings known. It was only two years ago that the Fortescue founder was caught in a hot-mic clanger whingeing about the length of the speeches and, err, Welcome to Country at the company’s 2023 annual general meeting.
So we were naturally curious to hear the iron ore magnate is now working in the content trenches, bashing out dispatches on LinkedIn with the prerequisite guff of the world’s Thought Leadership class. The bold experiment, we’re told, comes as part of an effort to reach people directly.
And boy does he know his audience.
Take this, from his opening gambit on New Year’s resolutions: “So, I’m not making a New Year’s resolution. I’m doubling down on action. If you’re feeling unsure about the next 12 months, here’s my advice: ignore the noise. Go into this year with all the gusto, all the enthusiasm, all the confidence you can muster,” Forrest wrote.
“The answers are out there. Our job is to find them, fund them, build them – and scale them.”
And, most recently, in among the Davos wash-up: “Right now, speaking up can feel like standing alone. Too many leaders are choosing caution, retreat or silence. Not because they doubt the direction of travel, but because they fear retribution.”
That post came with the aftertaste of Forrest’s address on the main stage of the World Economic Forum in Davos earlier this year, where he warned of a breakdown in the rules-based world order, and met CEOs and other notables, including former US vice president Al Gore.
The speech placed Forrest among a small crop of global executives to speak out against the Trump administration in its second term. We hear Forrest hasn’t heard from the White House directly, but the address did draw a rebuke from the Trump White House in US media.
Maybe that’ll be the next post.
Mike Baird wiggles out of Liberal fundraiser
The Sandringham branch of the Victorian Liberal Party will have to find a new headline speaker to join Opposition Leader Jess Wilson at its St Thomas More dinner fundraiser next month, after former NSW premier Mike Baird dropped out late last week.
CBD was told that Baird, who stepped into the CEO role at non-partisan and not-for-profit organisation McKinnon in mid-2024, didn’t understand that the event was a fundraiser when he accepted the gig. (The ex-premier has had a personal no fundraisers policy since he stepped down from the top job in 2017, you see.)
To borrow a cliché from his other role as chair of Cricket Australia: political fundraisers just aren’t cricket for Baird any more. But he did have a good innings.
This is the eighth iteration of the dinner, this time to be held at the Sandringham Yacht Club. One prominent previous guest speaker is tennis star Margaret Court.
It was nice to hear about Baird’s change of heart. Because his slated appearance certainly got our attention. McKinnon takes great pride in its non-partisan approach to governmental improvement, after all.
Shadow environment minister and member for Sandringham, Brad Rowswell, who organises the soirée, called Baird an “eminent Australian” and an obvious first choice for the speaking spot. But there’s no hard feelings about the cancellation.
“Mike’s opportunity to better political leadership and strengthen democracy is far more important than attending this event, and I fully support his decision,” Rowswell told CBD.
Fingers crossed that the MP can find a replacement and Wilson isn’t left in the lurch. It wasn’t that long ago that the opposition leader backed out of her own speaking gig recently (a conference headlined by One Nation newcomer Barnaby Joyce) due to … scheduling conflicts. Oh, how the tables can turn.
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John Buckley is a CBD columnist for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via email.