Irwin Stelzer – Economist
Irwin Stelzer is Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute; U.S. economic and business columnist for The Sunday Times (London); and a consultant, advising clients on market strategy, pricing, antitrust issues, environmental policy, regulatory matters, and the effect of macroeconomic policies.
He has been director of regulatory policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute; a managing director of the investment banking firm of Rothschild Inc. and a director of the Energy and Environmental Policy Center at Harvard University’s Kennedy School; is a member of the publication committee of National Affairs and has been such at The Public Interest; a member of the advisory board of the American Antitrust Institute, the board of the Regulatory Policy Institute (Oxford), and was appointed by President George W. Bush to the advisory board of the U.S. Trade Representative. He is editor of Neoconservatism, and with John H. Shenefield co-authored The Antitrust Laws: A Primer. The Institute of Economic Affairs published his Lectures on Regulatory and Competition Policy. His The Murdoch Method: Observations on Rupert Murdoch’s Management of a Media Empire has was published in the U.S. and the UK.
Stelzer founded National Economic Research Associates, Inc. (NERA) in 1961 and served as its president until a few years after its sale in 1983 to Marsh & McLennan.
Academic Credentials
His academic career includes appointments at Cornell University, the University of Connecticut, New York University, and the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He has been elected a Visiting Fellow at Nuffield College, Oxford. He is a former member of the Litigation and Administrative Practice Faculty of the Practicing Law Institute. He served on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Visiting Committee for the Department of Economics, and was a teaching member of Columbia University’s Continuing Legal Education Programs. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa.
Stelzer received his bachelor’s and Master of Arts degrees from New York University, and his doctorate in economics from Cornell University.
August 2019
Author of The Murdoch Method
Following Murdoch’s journey from a small-town newspaperman to a globe-dominating media mogul, a clear-eyed examination of Rupert Murdoch’s business philosophies and management techniques, from a key advisor of thirty-five years.
After having worked closely with the legendary media titan for thirty-five years, Irwin Stelzer is uniquely positioned to evaluate Murdoch’s media empire through periods of rapid expansion and acquisitions, times of financial and regulatory stress, and political battles in Britain and America. Stelzer helped plan important company conclaves and assisted with Murdoch’s speeches, at least one of which was responsible for having News Corp barred by the Chinese regime from doing business in that country.
Advance Comments
“Great insights into the complex Murdoch man and equally great lessons for risk taking and management.”
—Barry Diller, Chairman of IAC/InterActiveCorp and Expedia, Inc.
“The author’s close relationship with Rupert Murdoch gave him his biggest advantage as a biographer—special insights into the man and his motives—but also his biggest problem: the temptation to be too lenient when criticism was objectively justified. Irwin Stelzer has traversed this minefield with a sense of humor, great writing skill, and a sincere effort to achieve scholarly detachment.”
—David Green, Chief Executive of Civitas
“A fascinating recounting of the myriad complex transactions and organizational approach Rupert utilized in building a great entrepreneurial media empire. Relentless energy!”
—John Malone, Chairman of Liberty Media
“Want to be a newspaper proprietor? A movie mogul? An icon? Irwin Stelzer’s inside knowledge shows us how it’s done.”
—Maurice Saatchi, co-founder of Saatchi and Saatchi
“Anyone who reads Irwin Stelzer’s newspaper columns, will not be surprised that this account of The Murdoch Method is both instructive and entertaining. It takes the independence and acuity of a friend—and at the same time an arm’s-length adviser of someone of Irwin Stelzer’s standing—to convey brilliantly an analysis of the risks that Murdoch has taken on the road to success.”
—Lord Salisbury, former leader of the House of Lords
Book Reviews
“The Murdoch Method by Irwin Stelzer review – has Rupert Murdoch lost his touch? A finely balanced assessment of the media mogul’s sprawling empire – written by his right-hand man.”
– Roy Greenslade, Professor of Journalism at City University and a Guardian Columnist
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“To try and crack the Murdoch method is some task. The author has done his best and produced an interesting book.”
– David Smith, Economics Editor of the Sunday Times (London)
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“Murdoch might be regarded as the devil incarnate to some, but to anyone with an open mind he is one of the most compelling and fascinating figures of our time. Which is why Irwin Stelzer’s book about the man he has advised for over three decades, The Murdoch Method: Notes on Running an Empire,(Atlantic, £20) is so fascinating. Less a straightforward biography than reflections on Murdoch’s life and career, Stelzer seeks to identify the “Murdoch Method.”
– Stephen Pollard, Editor of Jewish Chronicle
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“Irwin Stelzer is a gifted American consultant and economics commentator, and has advised Murdoch at close hand for 35 years. His book is more analytical than Hinton’s as he examines what he calls Murdoch’s Method.”
– William Shawcross, Contributing Writer for Standpoint
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“Stelzer, who worked closely with Rupert Murdoch for 35 years, delivers unique insights into the media mogul’s management techniques in The Murdoch Method.”
– Jennifer Adams, Contributing Writer for Booklist
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“The Murdoch Method is an engrossing, chatty, insider’s account-a great read about the greatest media empire of the late-20th and early-21st century.”
– The Weekly Standard
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