| overview
landmarks
related:
Murdoch
Fairfax
|
landmarks
This chronology is indicative only. Context is provided
by the broader communications and media timeline.
 beginnings
1840 Geelong Advertiser founded by John Pascoe
Fawkner
1861 Christchurch Press launched
1862 Southland Times launched
1864 The Timaru Herald launched
1865 launch of Wellington Evening Post
1980 Manawatu Standard launched
1906 The Wellington Publishing Company Ltd (WPC) founded
to publish morning daily, The Dominion
1919 establishment of Gordon and Gotch Australasia
Ltd
1952 Sir Keith Murdoch dies, most of holdings sold
1954 Rupert Murdoch takes over
Adelaide News
1960 Murdoch buys NSW suburban newspaper chain Cumberland
Newspapers (24 papers), Sydney Daily Mirror and
Melbourne and Brisbane Truth
into
Murdoch orbit
1964 News buys 24% of WPC, subsequently increased
to 49%
1970 WPC buys Truth (NZ) Ltd
1970 WPC buys Independent Publishers Ltd, owner of Waikato
Times
1972 WPC buys Blundell Bros Ltd, publisher of Wellington
Evening Post
becomes
INL
1972 WPC becomes Independent Newspapers Limited
1972 forms INL Print Ltd (later Inprint Ltd) to combine
the printing and publishing operations of group's commercial
printing companies
1980 buys The Manawatu Standard Ltd
1980 News Corporation established
1981 sells Berrows group (inc Worcester Journal)
to Reed
1982 Hector Crawford sells 40% of Crawford Productions
to Herald & Weekly Times and 10% to Gordon & Gotch
1984 INL buys The Southland Times
1985 INL buys The Timaru Herald
1985 Murdoch becomes US citizen in line with regulations
barring foreign ownership of television stations
1986 News Corp is listed on New York Stock Exchange
1987 gains control of H&WT for
$1.8bn after bid by Robert Holmes a Court's Bell
1987 INL buys Christchurch Press Co Ltd, publisher of
The Press
1987 SKY Media founded by Heatley, Jarvis and Green
1988 ESPN buys stake in SKY Media
1989 INL buys Taranaki Newspapers Ltd
1989 INL buys part of NZ News Ltd, including Auckland
Star, the Sunday Star and Suburban Newspapers
(Auckland), New Zealand's largest group of free community
newspapers
1989 SKY Media becomes SKY Network Television
1989 Sky buys Northern TV Studios at Mt Wellington from
Wilson & Horton
1989 Tappenden Construction, Todd Group and Television
New Zealand become SKY shareholders
1990 INL buys Gordon and Gotch Australia and New Zealand
- magazine distribution and and regional newspapers in
Victoria from News for NZ$200m
1991 News floats printer, distributor and magazine publisher
PMP Communications
1991 sells Unwin Hyman academic division to Thomson
1991 HKP partnership (Time-Warner,
TCI, Ameritech and Bell Atlantic)
becomes 51% shareholder in SKY
1992 Murdoch family's stake in News reduced from
43% to 35%
1993 INL buys Nelson Evening Mail (later
renamed The Nelson Mail)
1993 sells Wiljef Stationery
1993 sells Microtronix computer consumables company
1993 sells commercial printing division (Adams Print)
to News offshoot Pacific Magazine & Printing Ltd (PMP)
1994 takes 25% stake in Terabyte web design and development
1994 buys Southland Computer Processors (later Southcom)
from H&J Smith Holdings Ltd
1995 increases Terabyte stake to 51%
1997 News sells 50% stake in Australian Newsprint Mills
for $293m
1997 sells stake in PMP Communications
1997 buys remaining 80% of New World Communications (10
US television stations) for US$2.5bn
1997 buys LA Dodgers baseball team and Dodger Stadium
for US$350m
1997 agrees to buy International Family Entertainment
cable network (renamed Fox Family Worldwide) for US$1.9bn
1997 INL takes 48% stake in Sky Network Television from
HKP for US$199m
1997 INL interest in Sky diluted through Sky's IPO
1998 SKY buys remaining 50% of MovieLink (New Zealand)
Ltd
1998 INL buys The Marlborough Express
moves
out of Australia and US
1998 INL sells US operations
1998 launches Grace women's magazine
1999 INL sells stake in Terabyte Interactive to to IT
Capital Ltd
2000 INL sells Gordon & Gotch Australia to PMP
2000 buys New Zealand Fisherman
2001 buys 11% of Sky from Todd Communications
2001 increases stake in Sky to 66.25% (from 49.9%)
2001 closes Grace
2001 buys Canterbury Northern Outlook and Central
Canterbury News community newspapers
2002 sells Southcom back to H&J Smith Holdings Ltd
2002 Wellington Evening Post merged with Dominion
as Dominion-Post
2002 sells Bendigo Advertiser and Wimmera
Mail-Times to publisher Rural
Press
2002 INL buys Wilson & Horton's
stake in Taupo Times Limited
2003 News buys 34% controlling stake in Hughes Electronics
(satellite broadcaster DirectTV) for US$6.6bn
2003 INL buys Cuisine magazine (est 1985)
2003 INL sells Te Puke Times
most
interests sold to Fairfax
2003 Fairfax pays $1bn for most
publishing interests of INL, at that time around 50% owned
by News
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