This month's severely underappreciated Foreign Policy magazine has an interesting editorial piece on News Corp. supermogul Rupert Murdoch. The argument? That Murdoch is not the powerful tyrant and evil genius that we think he is:

"Rupert Murdoch Is the World's Most Powerful Media Mogul"

Not for long. The chairman and CEO of News Corp., who likes to view himself as an antiestablishment rebel, is today the ultimate insider. No other media executive has as much personal clout with world leaders, in part because none so willingly uses his moguldom to reward friends and punish enemies. ... He's less powerful than you think and not the evil genius you fear.

It's a fascinating take, although we'll admit FP lost us here:

"Murdoch Is a Tyrant"

No. In a classic Simpsons episode, Homer runs into a fellow at the Super Bowl who introduces himself thusly: "I'm Rupert Murdoch, the billionaire tyrant!" That he willingly played himself shows both an underappreciated sense of humor and a willingness to tolerate and even encourage risk-taking across his vast empire.