Vanity Fair columnist and Burn Rate author Michael Wolff has signed with Doubleday to write the definitive account of Rupert Murdoch’s rise to power, culminating in his recent $5 billion takeover of Dow Jones. Doubleday Broadway editor-in-chief Bill Thomas bought North American and German rights, as well as audio, in an auction conducted by Andrew Wylie, in a deal said to be in the high six figures. Phyllis Grann will edit the book.
Although it is not an authorized bio, Murdoch will cooperate with Wolff and provide access to his business associates and family members. In the work, Wolff will depict the corporate and family saga that forms the back story of Murdoch’s ascendancy, along the way illuminating the mogul’s views on business, himself and the media. A lengthy piece Wolff wrote on Murdoch appears in September's Vanity Fair.
Wolff has been at Vanity Fair since 2004; previously, he wrote a media column for New York. He is also the author of the books Autumn of the Moguls, White Kids, and Where We Stand. Doubleday will publish the yet-to-be-titled Murdoch book in fall 2009.
