Rupert Murdoch Furious at First Draft of Wolff's Bio

Posted on October 27, 2008

Rupert Murdoch is reportedly quite unhappy with the first draft of Michael Wolff's new book about him. Murdoch, perhaps unwisely, allowed Wolff access to him and his life. Now the book's revelations have Murdoch hopping mad.

Now, with about six weeks to go before publication, Mr. Murdoch has raised objections with Mr. Wolff and his publisher about portions of the book, titled The Man Who Owns the News: Inside the Secret World of Rupert Murdoch, that suggest that Mr. Murdoch is at times embarrassed by Fox News, which he owns, and its chief executive, Roger Ailes, and that he often shares "the general liberal apoplexy," as Mr. Wolff writes in the book, toward Fox News and its perceived conservative slant.

In early October Mr. Murdoch obtained an early draft of the book, despite a tight embargo on the manuscript, and has raised objections with Doubleday, a division of Random House, about what he said were inaccuracies in the way Mr. Wolff describes relations between Mr. Murdoch and two of his top executives - Mr. Ailes and Peter Chernin, the president of News Corporation.

"I'm obviously annoyed that they're looking at an early version of the book, and a purloined one at that," Mr. Wolff said in an interview. "In essence News Corp. is holding stolen goods."

Wolff says he has all the interviews on tape and that it's all true. These guys never learn. When a Bob Woodward or Michael Wolff say they want to do a book on you, so can they have access to your life, you say "thanks, but no thanks." Because those guys always find out what you're hiding. And that's what makes their books so much fun to read.

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