Ever since he persuaded the ASX to ignore its normal “one vote, one value” rules and allow News Corp to issue non-voting bonus shares in 1994, Rupert Murdoch has controlled his media empire through an undemocratic gerrymander that would make Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen blush.
It started with just one-third of the shares on issue having no voting rights and peaked at close to 70% in 2006 after News Corp cancelled the 19% voting stake amassed by rival mogul John Malone in exchange for selling him a controlling interest in US satellite company DirecTV.
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