In a razor-sharp witty memoir Jonathan Miller pulls back the curtain on Murdoch, media, tech and the news in a way that is bound to provoke debate. The young Jonathan Miller had an innate talent to annoy authority as a pupil at Bedales school. When he discovered that the news can be like a hand grenade, he had found his calling.
In pursuit of creating a stir, he ended up in many different places, from Rupert Murdoch’s tech adviser and disruptor-in-chief, to war reporting in Kosovo, the UK’s first news site, Piers Morgan’s Uncensored and bare-knuckle reporting on the follies of rural Britain.
These spiky confessions trace through the Murdoch empire’s secrets, the tech revolution that preceded the web, Bart Simpson, Margaret Thatcher, the doomed fate of wokeness, and trouble in an era flattened by AI. Tech and the media world will never look the same...
Jonathan Miller worked in the UK, Europe and US as Rupert Murdoch’s tech advisor, media founder, leader writer and columnist. He was also a war correspondent, and contributor to The New York Times, Washington Post and MSNBC. He was also a writer for Spectator Australia as the France correspondent. Jonathan Miller passed away in July 2025 at his home in Occitanie, France.
* Jonathan Miller knew journalism and he knew Rupert Murdoch. Shock of the News is a witty memoir from Rupert Murdoch’s former tech adviser, war reporter, columnist and fearless media disruptor.
* Miller provides accounts from the frontlines of journalism—from Kosovo to the rise of digital news to Piers Morgan’s Uncensored.
* Includes unflinching confessions that expose the inner workings of the Murdoch empire, media hype, political spin and cultural flashpoints.
* Sharp, funny and provocative, the book is a mixture of satire and wit along with its timely relevance to today’s AI-driven media and society.
* The book’s broad media appeal covers readers of political memoirs, media exposés and social and cultural commentary.
Critical praise for the book include:
* ‘[A]n excoriating analysis of the news... filled with tips for aspiring journalists... deserves a wide audience.’ – Ian Burrell, Bloomburg Media
* ‘A bare-knuckle read.’ – Andrew Neil, British journalist and broadcaster and former editor of The Sunday Times
* ’An exuberant romp through the wild west of journalism... A spirited eye and troublemaker.’ – Sarah Baxter, former Deputy Editor of The Sunday Times
Publicity:
* Being released in Australia folllowing Miller’s death in July 2025, the book is both a timely cultural critique from one of journalism’s prominent voices and will attract widespread media because it is also Millar’s final words.
