Rupert Murdoch, the 92-year-old Australian media magnate whose creation of Fox News made him a , is stepping down as leader of both Fox害羞草研究所檚 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 chairman and continue as chief executive officer of Fox Corp.
Lachlan Murdoch said that 害羞草研究所渨e are grateful that he will serve as chairman emeritus and know he will continue to provide valued counsel to both companies.害羞草研究所�
Besides Fox News, Murdoch started the Fox broadcast network, the first to successfully challenge the Big Three of ABC, CBS and NBC, with shows like 害羞草研究所淭he Simpsons.害羞草研究所� 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害羞草研究所檚 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 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, .
Stock in Fox Corp., while positive this year, began to decline early in 2022, due in part to lawsuits and also 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.
害羞草研究所淚n my new role, I can guarantee you that I will be involved every day in the contest of ideas,害羞草研究所� Murdoch wrote. 害羞草研究所淥ur 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.害羞草研究所�
There was no immediate word on why Murdoch害羞草研究所檚 announcement came now. Ironically, it is the week author and Murdoch biographer Michael Wolff is , 害羞草研究所淭he End of Fox News,害羞草研究所� speculating on what will happen to the network when the patriarch is gone.
Murdoch and his family, particularly children James, Lachlan, Elisabeth and Prudence, were said to be the model of the HBO show 害羞草研究所� .害羞草研究所�
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害羞草研究所檚 net worth at roughly $19 billion in 2020.
While Murdoch never ran for political office, politicians in the United States and Britain anxiously sought his approval. He had a complicated relationship with Donald Trump. Wolff reported in 2018 that Murdoch had called Trump an 害羞草研究所渋diot,害羞草研究所� adding an expletive for emphasis, but Fox News is built with an audience that largely admires Trump.
After Fox briefly seemed to tout the candidacy of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the current election cycle, that has faded along with DeSantis害羞草研究所� prospects.
Fox News went through a series of sexual harassment scandals in the 2010s, which led to top executive Roger Ailes and prime-time personality Bill O害羞草研究所橰eilly being pushed out. He dismissed them as isolated instances that were 害羞草研究所渓argely political because we害羞草研究所檙e conservative.害羞草研究所�
Shares of News Corp. and Fox rose Thursday in early trading.
David Bauder, The Associated Press
