When Rupert Met Newt

ON THE AFTERNOON THAT MEDIA BARON RUPERT MURDOCH paid his visit to the Speaker-to-be, Newt Gingrich's one-room Capitol office was in chaos. Extra telephone lines were being installed, and aides were camping out on a floor littered with phone messages. Gingrich, arriving late, waved his hand at the mess and invited Murdoch and two of his lobbyists to an ornate reception room down the hall. There, as caterers set up for a Democratic dinner, the two sat on a bench and talked for 10 to 15 minutes. Their chat was mostly about the election that had swept the Republicans into power...