For over thirty years‚ he was one of the most powerful men in Australia.
In 1922 Ezra Norton inherited the newspaper TRUTH from his father‚ John. Norton Senior was a fiery polemicist and fierce drinker who used the paper to castigate his enemies and indulge his biases. He even fought out his differences with his wife in its pages by publishing their divorce proceedings.
TRUTH and later its stablemate the DAILY MIRROR made Ezra Norton one of the key media figures of his day. His notorious feud with Frank Packer led to a fist fight at Randwick racecourse. And his newspapers adopted and promoted his father's muckraking style to turn the Norton brand of tabloid journalism into an institution. Yet for someone who profited from others' scandals‚ Ezra Norton was an unusually private man.
Sandra Hall's thoroughly researched and lively account of Ezra Norton's life gives a fascinating insight into this influential Australian figure. In doing so‚ it traces the evolution of tabloid newspapers and the Australia in which the Nortons thrived.
'fascinating ... rich with anecdotes‚ colourful characters ... and the stories behind the scandals' BOOKSELLER+PUBLISHER
'always stimulating‚ well written‚ often subtle and very entertaining' AUSTRALIAN LITERARY REVIEW
'a finely tuned study of Ezra Norton ... splendid' SYDNEY MORNING HERALD
'Hall has perfectly captured with amazing detail the scandal and sleaze of a swashbuckling era in Sydney' LAUNCESTON EXAMINER
