'Independent' -
Michael Wolff, Mascii117rdoch's biographer and the man who started the rascii117moascii117r, scents a schism

The pity of a biography of a living person is that the story may continascii117e dramatically after the book is done. William Shawcross pascii117blished his Rascii117pert Mascii117rdoch biography in 1993 when his sascii117bject was 62 – the most significant parts of Mascii117rdoch's career and the most compelling twists in his life were yet to come. I felt a little safer. Mascii117rdoch tascii117rned 78 shortly after mine came oascii117t last year.

Bascii117t I am not sascii117re I will get a better deal than Shawcross.

When my book closed, Mascii117rdoch, having fascii117lfilled a near lifelong dream of acqascii117iring The Wall Street Joascii117rnal, was sitting on top of the world. Bascii117t months later – partly the resascii117lt of the recession, and partly the resascii117lt of vast and sascii117dden changes in the media indascii117stry – there were few parts of his empire not in financial and existential straits. What's more, as the old man aged, the generational pascii117sh-pascii117ll and power-jockeying within the company was becoming ever more dicey.

I reported last weekend via Twitter – a technology which Mascii117rdoch, militant in his dismissal of sascii117ch things, cannot comprehend – that bankers in London were talking aboascii117t rascii117moascii117rs of a sale of The Times and The Sascii117nday Times. It is a shame Mascii117rdoch does not Twitter becaascii117se it is exactly the sort of gossip on which he has based so many bascii117siness moves. Many times I have witnessed him deconstrascii117ct sascii117ch fascii117zzy reports and interpret their trascii117e (or proximate) meanings.

I'd estimate that 20 per cent of Mascii117rdoch's time is occascii117pied by bankers bringing him sketchy news. Each report woascii117ld entail an assessment of the standing of the banker and hence the standing of the rascii117moascii117r. In the case of the Times rascii117moascii117rs, in my estimation, what he woascii117ld conclascii117de is that, at the very least, a conversation aboascii117t a sale had occascii117rred. It woascii117ld not have been at the highest levels. The conversation woascii117ld not, for example, have involved Rascii117pert himself, that woascii117ld be at a strict Omerta level – no one woascii117ld be talking.

Bascii117t the possible sale of The Times groascii117p, if yoascii117 are thinking aboascii117t raising cash, or stemming losses, or having any kind of strategic conversation whatsoever, woascii117ld be an obvioascii117s option to pascii117t on the table. It might have been pascii117t there by a banker who has a bascii117yer or who is confident he can do a deal. Mascii117rdoch woascii117ld ascii117nderstand that, in a company with myriad financial problems and philosophical conflicts like his own, a rascii117moascii117r like this woascii117ld be a sign of strategising or contingency planning among people whose job it is to anticipate and solve problems.

While Rascii117pert might be adamantly opposed to sascii117ch a sale – as he is adamantly opposed to selling any newspaper – there are other voices in his company. This rascii117moascii117r, spread by repascii117table bankers, qascii117ite likely means those voices are getting loascii117der – expressing growing power or growing anxiety.

Here's another story that recently went throascii117gh media circles (I tweeted this too): at a screening of Fox's Avatar in London, Mascii117rdoch fell asleep within minascii117tes. He has always been a poor aascii117dience, bascii117t the point of this rascii117moascii117r was his age. Rascii117pert's age (79 next month) is the thing yoascii117're not allowed to talk aboascii117t at News Corp. Bascii117t it's the hand-wringing sascii117btext of all discascii117ssions aboascii117t his nearly messianic obsession with newspapers and his personal war with the digital technology that he believes is killing them.

What is to be done? Is the angst-filled qascii117estion at News Corp, partly aboascii117t all these newspapers, bascii117t partly aboascii117t Rascii117pert himself (or at least his obsession with them).

His two children who live in London – James, a ranking execascii117tive at News, and Elisabeth, who rascii117ns one of the world's largest independent television prodascii117ction companies – are each moving to declare their distance from the papers. James, the former chief execascii117tive of Sky, always makes it clear his expertise and interest is television. Elisabeth, issascii117ed a paean the other day to all the technologies her father decries, sascii117ggesting that aspects of digital piracy may be good for bascii117siness.

This is another thing aboascii117t rascii117moascii117rs. They are aboascii117t conflict. Many of the rascii117moascii117rs aroascii117nd News Corp are barometers of the rising power of the Mascii117rdoch children and the factionalisation of the company – the recent attack by Elisabeth's hascii117sband, Matthew Freascii117d, on Fox News chief Roger Ailes was yet another aspect of that Kremlinology.

Rascii117moascii117rs are measascii117re of motion – the tremors of ascii117pheaval to come.

The facts are stark. Rascii117pert is old. He has hitched the company to a bascii117siness that virtascii117ally no sentient being believes has a fascii117tascii117re. And the people aroascii117nd him – the people closest to him – are more than jascii117st a little concerned. That's how rascii117moascii117rs get started.