(Kiernan, 1986, p321), guide News Corp. and help to establish and enact its aggressive growth strategy. The overall growth strategy of News Corp.Robert (1998) states that the vision of the CEO is the starting point for strategic thinking; his/her task being to shape and clarify the organizations future strategic profile. News Corp. has no strategic planners (Gunther, 1998). Decision-making tasks reside with Murdoch and two other executives. Murdoch bets on his instincts which underlie the companys strategy; News Corp. takes chances when others dont. Hussey (1999) explains that strategy is the means by which an organization moves to attain its long-term aims. Although a gambler, Murdoch employs a long-term focus for strategic growth, and when speaking about his strategy of grabbing a chance as it presents itself, he discloses that Sometimes you have to pay a high price for opportunity. Its a case of sacrificing immediate earnings for a longer-term build up of asset values. (La Franco, 1998)Beginning in Australia, Murdoch applied a rigid formula of scandal, sports, cheesecake and crime (Kirkland and Kinkead, 1984) to most of his papers. He bought pallid papers cheaply and successfully transformed them into profitable enterprises. This led to enormous growth opportunities. He transported this winning strategy overseas and also achieved unprecedented profits and expansion in Britain. By the mid-80s Murdoch controlled the Australian and British press to such an extent that few acquisition opportunities remained. He ferociously attacked America, being the only English speaking market able to match his appetite. After gobbling various newspapers as appetisers, Murdoch staked his claim in the States when he purchased Twentieth Century-Fox and the metromedia television stations in 1985, to form Fox Inc. and establish a fourth US television network (www.salon.com). Although still hungry for big city papers, Murdoch became convinced that an incr...
