Clash of the Titans

A dual biography of two media titans— Rupert Murdoch and Ted Turner. When Ted Turner started out in business, he owned a small billboard company in rural Georgia. Over the decades, he built a multi-billion empire that included CNN, Turner Classic Movies (TCM), MGM studios, and the Atlanta Braves. Risk-taking, careful planning, and steely determination are the hallmarks of this brash, outspoken, and wildly successful media mogul. On the other side of the world, his counterpart— Australian-born Rupert Murdoch— began with one small newspaper and parlayed it into more than 100 newspapers and magazines around the globe, and ultimately assumed control of the Fox Corporation. These two men— controllers of much of the news and entertainment we receive every day— have long traded barbs and vitriolic attacks, creating an intense competition for complete domination of the media. Based on meticulous research, Clash of the Titans profiles these two outsized figures. In addition to chronicling their professional accomplishments, author Richard Hack also delves into their complicated personal lives— family squabbles, high-profile romances, and public divorces— which have often seen both moguls plastered on the front pages of their own papers and news magazine programs. This dual biography is an eye-opening and riveting account about two public figures and their enormous effect on American daily life.