Rupert Murdoch to step down as chairman of Fox and News Corps - successor named
In a seismic decision, Rupert Murdoch has confirmed he will step down as the chairman of Fox and News Corps.
Murdoch said: "I have decided to transition to the role of Chairman Emeritus at Fox and News." His son Lachlan will now take over in his place.
“For my entire professional life, I have been engaged daily with news and ideas, and that will not change,” Murdoch said in a memo to employees. “But the time is right for me to take on different roles, knowing that we have truly talented teams and a passionate, principled leader in Lachlan who will become sole Chairman of both companies.”
He continued: "Neither excessive pride nor false humility are admirable qualities. But I am truly proud of what we have achieved collectively through the decades, and I owe much to my colleagues, whose contributions to our success have sometimes been unseen outside the company but are deeply appreciated by me.
For all the latest news, politics, sports, and showbiz from the USA, go to The Mirror US
Boris Johnson attacks Rishi Sunak's failure to send fighter jets to Ukraine
Son Lachlan will take over from his father (Getty Images)"Whether the truck drivers distributing our papers, the cleaners who toil when we have left the office, the assistants who support us or the skilled operators behind the cameras or the computer code, we would be less successful and have less positive impact on society without your day-after-day dedication. Our companies are in robust health, as am I. Our opportunities far exceed our commercial challenges. We have every reason to be optimistic about the coming years – I certainly am, and plan to be here to participate in them.”
Murdoch has been known for his major influence on news and politics throughout his career. Former Prime Minister Tony Blair infamously courted the Australian ahead of the 1997 general election.
The media mogul, 92, is reported to have a net worth of over $17 billion after building an empire spanning seven decades, according to Forbes.
Lachlan Murdoch will take over in a tumultuous year for Fox (Bloomberg via Getty Images)Fox and New Corps' sphere of influence remains significant, with major news and media titles coming under the company umbrellas including The Times, The Sun, the Fox Corporation, New York Post, Wall Street Journal and Vogue Australia.
Murdoch's career hasn't been without controversy and his exit comes amid a turbulent year at Fox. In April, Fox agreed to pay a sum of $787.5 million to Dominion Voting Systems to avoid a trial.
Dominion sued Fox for its coverage of bogus claims by former President Donald Trump following the 2020 election. It led to Fox ditching divisive but ratings-generating presenter Tucker Carlson.
In 2011, Murdoch and News Corp were at the centre of a storm as the phone-hacking scandal rocked the British tabloid press and the newspaper the News of the World. The Sunday sister paper of The Sun was mortally wounded when it came to light that it had potentially interfered with police inquiries into the disappearance of schoolgirl Milly Dowler.
Phone messages on Dowler's phone were deleted, leading members of the teenager's family and friends to mistakenly think she was still alive. It remains unlikely that News of the World journalists were the ones responsible for deleted messages, but they were being intercepted and Murdoch closed the paper shortly after.
Murdoch accompanied by his sons James (right) and Lachlan (left). Tensions in the Murdoch family have been reported (PA)When the Leveson Inquiry was set up in the wake of the scandal to investigate press ethics, mum Sally Dowler said: "It clicked through onto her voicemail, so I heard her voice and it was just like, ‘she’s picked up her voicemail, she’s alive.’"
In 2012, a parliamentary report on the hacking scandal determined Murdoch is “not a fit person” to run an international company. Murdoch has denied knowledge of phone hacking when it was taking place, but the report said he "exhibited willful blindness to what was going on in his companies and publications."
Boy, 11, dragged from bike and has scalp ripped off in attack by three pit bulls
To a parliamentary committee the year before, Murdoch apologised to victims, saying what had happened was "inexcusable" and it was the "most humble day of my life."
Murdoch's decision also comes ahead of a book by Michael Wolff. Wolff's “The Fall: The End of Fox News and the Murdoch Dynasty” will come out September 26 and will report in detail behinds-the-scenes accounts of everything from Carlson's ousting, clashes with President Trump.
Also expected is further detail on the Murdoch family tensions, believed to be an inspiration for HBO's smash hit series Succession, starring Brian Cox as the unforgiving and cruel media giant Logan Paul.
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
