April 27, 2024
NEW YORK (AP) — Rupert Murdoch, the 92-year-old Australian media magnate whose creation of Fox News made him a force in American politics, is stepping down as leader of both Fox's parent company and his News Corp. media holdings.
Fox said Thursday that Murdoch would become chairman emeritus of both companies, effective at board meetings in November. His son, Lachlan, will become News Corp. chairman and continue as chief executive officer of Fox Corp.
Lachlan Murdoch said that “we are grateful that he will serve as chairman emeritus and know he will continue to provide valued counsel to both companies.”
Besides Fox News, Rupert Murdoch started the Fox broadcast network, the first to successfully challenge the Big Three of ABC, CBS and NBC, with shows like “The Simpsons.” He is owner of The Wall Street Journal and the New York Post.
He slimmed down his corporate holdings with the 2019 sale of many entertainment assets to the Walt Disney Co. These included film production, rights to the Marvel comics, National Geographic and the cable network FX.
Fox News Channel has profoundly influenced television and the nation's politics since its start in 1996, making Murdoch a hero to some and pariah to others. The 24-hour network converted the power and energy of political talk radio to television. Within six years, it outrated CNN and MSNBC.
But it has been a rough year for Fox, which was forced to pay $787 million to settle a defamation lawsuit related to its coverage of false claims following the 2020 presidential election. Shortly after, Fox fired its most popular personality, Tucker Carlson.
Stock in Fox Corp., while positive this year, began to decline early in 2022, due in part to lawsuits and investor anxiety over the loss of viewers to smaller media outlets.
Murdoch vowed in a letter to employees that he would remain engaged at Fox.
“In my new role, I can guarantee you that I will be involved every day in the contest of ideas," Murdoch wrote. “Our companies are communities, and I will be an active member of our community. I will be watching our broadcasts with a critical eye, reading our newspapers and websites and books with much interest.”
There was no immediate word on why Murdoch's announcement came now. Ironically, next week author and Murdoch biographer Michael Wolff is publishing a book, “The End of Fox News,” speculating on what will happen to the network when the patriarch is gone.
Murdoch’s announcement “seems a bit out of the blue as he has not shown a willingness to throw in the towel,” said Paolo Pescatore, a media industry analyst and founder of PP Foresight. “Undoubtedly he will still be involved and not want to remove himself entirely given the media empire he has created. It is always hard to let go, even though we are not getting any younger.”
Murdoch and his family, particularly children James, Lachlan, Elisabeth and Prudence, were said to be the model of the HBO show “ Succession.”
He built his empire from a single newspaper in Adelaide, Australia, inherited from his father and became a multi-billionaire. Forbes estimated the Murdoch family's net worth at roughly $19 billion in 2020.
Shares of News Corp. and Fox rose Thursday in early trading.
