Bill O'Neill (media)
Encyclopedia
William Alan O'Neill (born May 22, 1936) is the Australian-American former media executive who, in a 50-year career, held multiple positions within News Corporation
, including two separate terms as head of News International
, a Director on the company's main board, and Executive Vice President of News Corporation with global responsibility for human resources.
In 1952 he commenced a six-year apprenticeship as a hand and machine compositor with Truth and Sportsman, publisher of the Sydney Daily Mirror
. After completing his apprenticeship and military draft commitment in the Australian Army
, he traveled to the United States, where in 1958, he joined the International Typographical Union
in San Francisco. He returned to Australia and the Daily Mirror as a Linotype
operator just before the company was bought by Rupert Murdoch
. He brought an interest in trade unionism with him from America and became a vice president of the New South Wales
branch of the Printing Industries Employees' Union of Australia. Disenchanted with union politics, he joined a research and development team within Murdoch's News Limited
and after a short time was selected to lead the company's industrial relations.
In 1981 he was sent to London to negotiate with the Fleet Street
unions. A successful agreement allowed Rupert Murdoch to purchase The Times
and Sunday Times. O'Neill and fellow British negotiator, John Collier, were named Joint General Managers of Times Newspapers Limited and appointed to its board.
In 1983 he negotiated with the print unions for their entry to the new print center at Wapping
. Talks broke down and he took over duties in New York as Vice President/Labor Relations at News America. His responsibilities involved the New York Post
, the Boston Herald
, the San Antonio Express-News
and the Chicago Sun-Times
.
In 1985 he was sent back to London to again negotiate with the print unions regarding Wapping. These talks were unsuccessful and led to the 13-month long Wapping dispute
.
Most of 1986 saw him fulfilling the role of General Manager at the New York Post and meeting with the British unions in an attempt to bring the strike to an end. At the beginning of 1987 he took over as Managing Director of News International, responsible for The Times, the Sunday Times, The Sun, the News of the World
and later, the Today
newspaper.
He was appointed to the News Corporation Board of Directors that year and served until 1990. He transferred management of News International to Gus Fischer and returned to the United States at the beginning of 1990 to lead News Corporation's global human resources program. O'Neill testified before a U.S. Congressional Committee in 1991 as an expert witness on the Striker Replacement Bill. In 1993 he led the management team negotiating with the unions that led to News Corporation reacquiring the New York Post. That year he became a United States citizen.
In 1995 he was back at Wapping, this time as CEO, while a management reshuffle was effected. At year's end he handed over control of News International to incoming chairman, Les Hinton
.
Until his retirement in 2002, he continued in his role as News Corporation's Executive Vice President of Human Resources. He left the company exactly 50 years from the day he started on the Sydney Daily Mirror as a 15-year-old apprentice.
In July 2011, at the height of the phone hacking scandal at the News of the World, he was contacted by the BBC's Business Daily Program and interviewed on his years with News Corporation and his impression of Rupert Murdoch's contribution to the newspaper publishing industry.
, near son, David and daughter, Vicki. He is a lifetime member of the American Australian Association.
News Corporation
News Corporation or News Corp. is an American multinational media conglomerate. It is the world's second-largest media conglomerate as of 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009, although the BBC remains the world's largest broadcaster...
, including two separate terms as head of News International
News International
News International Ltd is the United Kingdom newspaper publishing division of News Corporation. Until June 2002, it was called News International plc....
, a Director on the company's main board, and Executive Vice President of News Corporation with global responsibility for human resources.
Early life and career
O'Neill and his two brothers were born in Sydney, Australia, to Irish parents, John and Margaret O'Neill (née Kitson). They grew up in the northern suburb of Chatswood.In 1952 he commenced a six-year apprenticeship as a hand and machine compositor with Truth and Sportsman, publisher of the Sydney Daily Mirror
The Daily Mirror (Australia)
The Daily Mirror was an afternoon paper established by Ezra Norton in Sydney, Australia in 1941, gaining a licence from the Minister for Trade and Customs, Eric Harrison, despite wartime paper rationing. In October 1958, Norton and his partners sold his newspapers to the Fairfax group, which...
. After completing his apprenticeship and military draft commitment in the Australian Army
Australian Army
The Australian Army is Australia's military land force. It is part of the Australian Defence Force along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. While the Chief of Defence commands the Australian Defence Force , the Army is commanded by the Chief of Army...
, he traveled to the United States, where in 1958, he joined the International Typographical Union
International Typographical Union
The International Typographical Union was a labor union founded on May 3, 1852 in the United States as the National Typographical Union. In its 1869 convention in Albany, New York, the union—having organized members in Canada—changed its name to the International Typographical Union...
in San Francisco. He returned to Australia and the Daily Mirror as a Linotype
Linotype
The Mergenthaler Linotype Company is a corporation founded in the United States in 1886 to market the linecaster invented by Ottmar Mergenthaler...
operator just before the company was bought by Rupert Murdoch
Rupert Murdoch
Keith Rupert Murdoch, AC, KSG is an Australian-American business magnate. He is the founder and Chairman and CEO of , the world's second-largest media conglomerate....
. He brought an interest in trade unionism with him from America and became a vice president of the New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
branch of the Printing Industries Employees' Union of Australia. Disenchanted with union politics, he joined a research and development team within Murdoch's News Limited
News Limited
News Limited is one of Australia's largest diversified media companies. The publicly listed company's interests span newspaper and magazine publishing, Internet, Pay TV, National Rugby League, market research, DVD and film distribution, and film and television production trading assets.News Limited...
and after a short time was selected to lead the company's industrial relations.
In 1981 he was sent to London to negotiate with the Fleet Street
Fleet Street
Fleet Street is a street in central London, United Kingdom, named after the River Fleet, a stream that now flows underground. It was the home of the British press until the 1980s...
unions. A successful agreement allowed Rupert Murdoch to purchase The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
and Sunday Times. O'Neill and fellow British negotiator, John Collier, were named Joint General Managers of Times Newspapers Limited and appointed to its board.
In 1983 he negotiated with the print unions for their entry to the new print center at Wapping
Wapping
Wapping is a place in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets which forms part of the Docklands to the east of the City of London. It is situated between the north bank of the River Thames and the ancient thoroughfare simply called The Highway...
. Talks broke down and he took over duties in New York as Vice President/Labor Relations at News America. His responsibilities involved the New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
, the Boston Herald
Boston Herald
The Boston Herald is a daily newspaper that serves Boston, Massachusetts, United States, and its surrounding area. It was started in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States...
, the San Antonio Express-News
San Antonio Express-News
The San Antonio Express-News is the daily newspaper of San Antonio, Texas. It is ranked as the third-largest daily newspaper in the state of Texas in terms of circulation, and is one of the leading news sources of South Texas, with offices in Austin, Brownsville, Laredo, and Mexico City...
and the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
.
In 1985 he was sent back to London to again negotiate with the print unions regarding Wapping. These talks were unsuccessful and led to the 13-month long Wapping dispute
Wapping dispute
The Wapping dispute was, along with the miners' strike of 1984-5, a significant turning point in the history of the trade union movement and of UK industrial relations...
.
Most of 1986 saw him fulfilling the role of General Manager at the New York Post and meeting with the British unions in an attempt to bring the strike to an end. At the beginning of 1987 he took over as Managing Director of News International, responsible for The Times, the Sunday Times, The Sun, the News of the World
News of the World
The News of the World was a national red top newspaper published in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the biggest selling English language newspaper in the world, and at closure still had one of the highest English language circulations...
and later, the Today
Today (UK newspaper)
Today was a national newspaper in the United Kingdom, which was published between 1986 and 1995.-History:Today, with the American newspaper USA Today as inspiration, launched on Tuesday, 4 March 1986, with the front page headline, "Second Spy Inside GCHQ". At 18 pence, it was a middle-market...
newspaper.
He was appointed to the News Corporation Board of Directors that year and served until 1990. He transferred management of News International to Gus Fischer and returned to the United States at the beginning of 1990 to lead News Corporation's global human resources program. O'Neill testified before a U.S. Congressional Committee in 1991 as an expert witness on the Striker Replacement Bill. In 1993 he led the management team negotiating with the unions that led to News Corporation reacquiring the New York Post. That year he became a United States citizen.
In 1995 he was back at Wapping, this time as CEO, while a management reshuffle was effected. At year's end he handed over control of News International to incoming chairman, Les Hinton
Les Hinton
Leslie Frank "Les" Hinton is a British-American journalist and businessman. Hinton, born in the UK, became a United States citizen in 1986. He was appointed CEO of Dow Jones & Company in December 2007, after its acquisition by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation...
.
Until his retirement in 2002, he continued in his role as News Corporation's Executive Vice President of Human Resources. He left the company exactly 50 years from the day he started on the Sydney Daily Mirror as a 15-year-old apprentice.
In July 2011, at the height of the phone hacking scandal at the News of the World, he was contacted by the BBC's Business Daily Program and interviewed on his years with News Corporation and his impression of Rupert Murdoch's contribution to the newspaper publishing industry.
Personal life
He married Alene Joy Brown in February 1962. They live in San Antonio, TexasSan Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
, near son, David and daughter, Vicki. He is a lifetime member of the American Australian Association.
External links
Pages 269, 270, 302, 307, 336, 368, 370. Pages 9–11,17, 18, 28, 40-50, 109, 150, 152, 155, 164, 172, 181, 222-6, 236-8, 240-2, 252. Pages 33–34, 88, 115, 194, 224-226, 242-244, 248-249, 261, 287, 290-293, 432. Pages viii, 78. 79, 120, 121, 146, 172, 173, 182, 183.. Page 218.. Page 343. Pages 86, 99, 100, 111, 112. Pages 106, 108, 134, 156-7, 188. Page 338. Page 427. Page 264, 265, 269, 270, 272. Pages 33, 34.- Camden New Journal book review of Hot Mettle, http://www.thecnj.com/review/041207/books041207_01.html
- Hot Mettle review, March 1, 2007. http://www.edp24.co.uk/what-s-on/hot_mettle_sogat_murdoch_and_me_brenda_dean_1_300316?action=logout
- Wapping Dispute. Hansard: House sitting, March 3, 1986. http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1986/mar/03/printing-dispute-wapping
- Wapping Dispute. Hansard: House sitting, March 7, 1986. http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1986/mar/07/employment-rights-1
- AllBusiness. http://www.allbusiness.com/services/business-services-miscellaneous-business/4702450-1.html
- Fischer resigns from News International, Hollywood Reporter, March 16, 1995.
- Fischer quits Murdoch empire, Sydney Morning Herald, March 17, 1995.
- Fischer quits as chief exec for News International, Australian Financial Review, Sydney, March 17, 1995.
- Murdoch firm confirms plans for Irish printing plant, Irish IndependentIrish IndependentThe Irish Independent is Ireland's largest-selling daily newspaper that is published in both compact and broadsheet formats. It is the flagship publication of Independent News & Media.-History:...
, May 3, 1995. - News Corp veteran ends 50-year career, The TimesThe TimesThe Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, London, January 14, 2002. - Mr. Wapping bids farewell, Printing World, January 21, 2002.http://business.highbeam.com/410740/article-1G1-8201125/-mr-wapping-bids-farewellEvents at Wapping. Case Study 27. http://books.google.com/books?id=BArgnlksUc4C&pg=PA27&lpg=PA27&dq=Bill+O'Neill+and+Wapping+Dispute&source=b|&ots=LiLITFLFSQH&Sig=|7rcq2hAHpkspkx4|B|js5Axwu
- Warwick University 2009-10 Annual Report. http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/library/mrc/news/infobulannrep/2009-10_mrc_annual_report.pdf