Ex-ABC broadcaster Nicole Chvastek, now writing for The Politics website, convincingly argues that when the Liberal Party felt that getting close to Mr Murdoch would help them get elected, in fact the reverse happened.

She writes:

“As Saturday’s bloodbath washes through the Liberal corridors of no power, the electoral train wreck has turned attention to other overly cocky players: the Murdoch media. 

“From the moment the poll was called, Rupert Murdoch’s news culture warriors turned up the heat on Labor, exhorting the brilliance of Peter Dutton’s failed nuclear fantasy and his war on migrants, ‘woke’ schools, people who work from home and Welcomes to Country — while tearing down anyone who dared suggest he and his party were not fit for office.   

“But on election night none of that mattered. None of the confected outrage, the miles of newsprint, the spin and the bullying had made a lot of difference and was more likely to have worked against the Liberals’ interests. Australians it seems have a finely tuned bullshit radar.”

And Chvastek includes the opinions of others to support her view. Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young nailed it when she told Radio National on Monday: 

“I think what has happened to the Coalition is they spent a bit too much time hangin’ out with Sky News and they forgot to really hear what people were saying. The other big loser is the Murdoch press. They created an echo chamber for themselves.”

Dr Denis Muller of the Centre for Advancing Journalism at the University of Melbourne said the Murdoch media were “agents of disaster” for the Coalition:

“I see the sun beginning to set on Rupert’s influence in Australian politics. News Corp created a bubble in which their journalists and Coalition politicians cocooned themselves, talking to each other on Sky after dark, persuading each other that everything was going to be fine.”

That’s a view shared by independent journalism advocate Margaret Simons, who wrote last week that:

“It’s old news but people are only just beginning to believe it. Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation has, for some time now, been impotent when it comes to affecting the outcomes of elections.”

And yet, Chvastek makes a telling point,

“Reports of the death of the Murdoch brand in Australia may well be exaggerated. Like any good parasite it is known to stew and grow before attacking the host again. Dr Victoria Fielding, senior lecturer in strategic communication at the University of Adelaide reminds us that backed by the Murdoch press, Dutton was on track to win the federal election as recently as January — until the catastrophic reality of the Trump presidency became obvious to Australians. 

“Murdoch has withstood worse setbacks than crashing an election and, like Monty Python’s Black Knight, his culture warriors rebound after each atrocity and, still bleeding, berate their victims for taking the advice.”

Christopher Warren in Crikey takes another slant on the Murdoch empire, arguing that it’s actually making more money for the family while losing electoral clout:

“The adjusted profits are another data point that shows the Fox News-inspired pivot from news to opinion is working out for the family — in dollars, if not in power. Expect the News Corp subsidiaries, both political and media, to keep leaning hard on opinion pieces that land with its ever-diminishing grumpy old men demographic.”

Simons however, insists that:

“At every state and federal election in Australia since 2010, the Murdoch press has supported the Coalition, and usually campaigned vigorously against Labor and other opponents. But look at the results in those contests. No discernible impact.”

Well yes, a good point, however I for one will continue to highlight and hold to account the misdirection and misinformation issued by News Corp media in the consistently co-ordinated attempts to undermine our Aunty over time