Ranald Macdonald memoir explores more than six decades at the heart of journalism, media and public life in Australia and internationally.
This is the story of a remarkable life lived at the centre of Australian journalism, politics and public life.
Ranald Macdonald was born into one of Australia’s great newspaper dynasties, the Syme family, owners of Melbourne's The Age newspaper. Ranald trained as a journalist and, at just 26, was appointed Managing Director of David Syme and Co. Limited, publisher of The Age. He was the last of the Syme family to run the company.
What followed was an extraordinary period in Australian media history. Working alongside legendary editor Graham Perkin, Ranald helped transform The Age from a dusty Melbourne institution into one of the world’s most respected newspapers. He modernised its production, forged the Syme/Fairfax partnership and fought to preserve editorial independence at a time when the ownership and power of Australian media were rapidly changing.
Ranald Macdonald and Rupert Murdoch came from remarkably similar backgrounds and were connected through family. Yet they came to represent profoundly different ideas about newspapers and the responsibilities of those who own them. Ranald became increasingly concerned about concentrated media ownership and the influence powerful proprietors could wield over journalism, politics and democracy. Their parallel lives make this book strikingly relevant.
Ranald's life in journalism brought him into contact with an extraordinary cast of characters. Prime ministers, presidents, Malcolm X, Bobby Kennedy, Katharine Graham and many of the most influential international journalists, politicians and media proprietors of his generation appear throughout the story. There are government battles, family betrayals, corporate manoeuvrings and even death threats.
But this is not simply a story of power and privilege and the Age newspaper. While Ranald stood up for great journalism he also undertook a range of influential positions that included: President of the Collingwood Football Club, leading roles in state and federal bicentenary organisations, broadcasting on ABC radio, and as a Professor in Journalism at Boston University.
Frequently funny, surprising and wonderfully self-deprecating. Fighting for Truth is an entertaining Australian media history and an insider's account of the battle over who controls the news we consume at a time when trust in journalism, media ownership, misinformation and the influence of billionaires over public debate are once again urgent issues.
