NEW YORK (AP) — Rupert Murdoch has never been shy about voicing a political opinion, using his worldwide empire of television and newspaper outlets to promote conservative causes. Now, with a raft of complaints about Republican Mitt Romney, the billionaire media baron is signaling that he intends to boost his visibility in U.S. politics_even if it comes at the expense of the man conservatives hope can defeat President Barack Obama.

Murdoch is the founder and CEO of the global media conglomerate News Corp. which owns several outlets popular with conservatives in the U.S., including Fox News Channel, the Wall Street Journal and the New York Post. Until now, Murdoch has been far less influential in U.S. politics than he has in his native Australia and until recently in England, where a phone hacking scandal involving several Murdoch-owned newspapers has shaken his status as a fearsome power broker.