Rupert Murdoch is taking on new roles at both News Corp and Fox as his son, Lachlan Murdoch, becomes sole chairman of both media giants, the companies said Thursday.
The Australian-born media tycoon – who has spent nearly seven decades building a pair of powerhouses that have transformed their industry – will be formally named chairman emeritus of each company at a shareholder meeting in mid-November.
Lachlan, 52, will succeed his 92-year-old father as sole chairman of News Corp and executive chairman and chief executive of Fox, according to the company.
“Throughout my professional life, I have been engaged every day with news and ideas, and that will not change,” Rupert Murdoch told colleagues in a Thursday morning memo to his 35,000 workforce.
“But the time is right for me to take on a different role, knowing that we have a truly talented team and a passionate and principled leader in Lachlan.”
Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch pictured together in October 2021, as Fox News celebrates its 25th anniversary. The father and son duo stand in front of “Studio M”, which was renamed from “Studio F” on the landmark anniversary in a tribute to the news outlet’s founder, Rupert Murdoch.FOX
Rupert Murdoch holds a copy of the New York Post on October 5, 1978 at his printing site in 1978. The edition marked The Post’s first evening daily paper after the NYC press strike halted operations for two months. Bettmann Archives
Murdoch at the New York Post printing press in 1985, nearly a decade after he first bought the paper, now owned by News Corp. Corbis/VCG via Getty Images
“Our company is healthy, and so am I. Our opportunities far outweigh our commercial challenges,” added the media mogul. “In my new role, I can guarantee you that I will be involved every day in the competition of ideas.”
Last month, News Corp said core revenue rose 8% to $341 million in the quarter, benefiting from cost-cutting measures and an increase in digital subscriptions to its Dow Jones news and data service. Revenue for the fiscal year ended June 30 topped $9.9 billion as profit surged above $1.4 billion – “the second-highest profit ever recorded by the company,” News Corp Chief Executive Officer Robert Thomson said.
Fox also beat Wall Street expectations when it reported fourth-quarter earnings of $375 million in August, up from $306 million in the same period a year ago. Fiscal year revenue was $1.25 billion, a slight improvement from 2022.
“We have every reason to be optimistic about the coming years – I’m sure, and plan to be here to participate in them,” Murdoch said Thursday of his two companies.
Lachlan is pictured at The Post’s printing plant in The Bronx in 2002. At the time, Lachlan served as The Post’s publisher — a position he resigned in 2005.NY POST
News Corp’s share price on Thursday rose 1.3%, to $19.92, while Fox rose 3.2% to $31.14.
In a statement, Lachlan congratulated his father “on his extraordinary 70-year career.”
“We thank him for his vision, his pioneering spirit, his steadfast determination, and the lasting legacy he left to the company he founded and the many people he has impacted. We are grateful that he will serve as Chairman Emeritus and know he will continue to provide valued advice to both companies,” added Lachlan.
Lachlan, as boss of two of the world’s best-known media companies, will oversee Fox and News Corp’s wide-ranging portfolio, including The Post.
“My father believed strongly in freedom, and Lachlan was truly committed to that cause,” Murdoch wrote. “The self-serving bureaucracy is trying to silence those who would question their origins and purpose. The elite have open contempt for those who are not members of their rarefied class. Most of the media is in cahoots with the elite, peddling political narratives rather than pursuing the truth.”
Murdoch and his son are pictured together in April 2004, after announcing that News Corp will move its headquarters from Sydney, Australia, to the United States.AFP/Getty Images
In 1952, Rupert Murdoch inherited the Adelaide newspaper from his father, Sir Keith Murdoch, a former war correspondent. He then embarked on a path that would redefine the media landscape. In 1960, his company News Limited acquired the News of the World UK and The Sun in 1969.
By 1980, the previously little-known Australian-based public company bought the New York Post, New York Magazine, and The Village Voice in the US, and became the News Corporation. In the UK, the company’s growth continued with the purchase of The Times of London and The Sunday Times in 1981.
In 1983, Murdoch’s News International became the majority owner of Satellite Television, the first satellite-to-cable channel in Europe. In the following decade, Murdoch ventured into book publishing with an investment in HarperCollins.
Murdoch’s statement, shared with his workforce of more than 35,000 on Thursday.NewsCorp
In 1985, Murdoch expanded his interest in the film and television industry when he took ownership of 20th Century Fox as well as 25 TV stations across the US. That paved the way for Fox Sports and Fox News, with Murdoch seeing an opportunity to compete with left-leaning news networks like CNN.
By 1996, the Fox network was the top television group in the country, a position it held for a record eight consecutive years, thanks to hits including “In Living Color,” “Married with Children,” “The X-Files,” and “The Simpsons.”
In a significant purchase, Fox also wrested NFL media rights from CBS in a $1.6 billion deal that allowed it to better compete with established TV networks, as well as launch new cable networks domestically and nationally.
After the success of Fox News, Murdoch brought 24-hour news TV across the pond, launching Sky News in the UK in 1988. In a landmark deal in 2007, Murdoch led News Corp’s $5 billion acquisition of Dow Jones, owner of the wall street Journal.
Since Murdoch’s first foray into the news, when he inherited his father’s Australian paper in 1952, he has always taken a very close interest in every part of putting together a newspaper. FOX
In 2013, Murdoch split his business, keeping the publishing assets under the company’s original name, News Corp, and turning the entertainment assets into 21st Century Fox.
Lachlan Murdoch was appointed executive chairman of 21st Century Fox in 2015. Four years later, he was instrumental in orchestrating a mega-merger with Walt Disney, bringing Comcast into negotiations as the company reached a $71.3 billion sale price.
The following year, Fox acquired Tubi for $440 million which, under Lachlan’s leadership, had become the No. 1 advertising-based video-on-demand service.
The streaming service was recently valued at $3 billion by Bloomberg Research.
Lachlan Murdoch also led News Corp’s purchase of a controlling, 61% stake in REA Group for $10.8 million, putting just $2.5 million in cash. The Australia-based real estate advertising company is currently valued at $6.8 billion.
Murdoch is the second of four children born to Australian journalist and newspaper owner Keith Murdoch and his wife Elizabeth. (Pictured together, circa 1950.) FOX
In 2019, Rupert Murdoch launched Fox Corp as a publicly traded stand-alone company following the spin-off of 21st Century Fox in another transformative deal. Fox Corp. including Fox News Media, Fox Sports, Fox Entertainment, Fox Television Stations and Tubi Media Group.
Last fall, Murdoch floated a deal to reunite News Corp and Fox. In January, he suspended the plan, saying it was not optimal for shareholders at the time.
The Murdochs continue to be major shareholders in both companies, with about 40% of the voting interest in News Corp and about 44% of the voting interest in Fox Corp, securities filings show.
Over the years, Rupert Murdoch has extended his influence to organizations such as the Australian American Association, which was founded in 1948 by Sir Keith Murdoch and opened a Manhattan hub in March, aptly named the “Murdoch Center.”
The headquarters serves as a cultural center and meeting place to support the association’s mission to foster stronger ties between the US and Australia.
New York State Comptroller Ned Regan, New York Mayor Ed Koch, New York Governor Mario Cuomo and Rupert Murdoch, in 1984. New York Post
Murdoch voices himself in a Season 10 episode of The Simpsons, titled “Sunday, Cruddy Sunday,” which aired in 2010. FOX
President John F. Kennedy meets with Zell Rabin and Rupert Murdoch in the Oval Office, in 1961. Bettmann Archive
Murdoch and son Lachlan attend the opening of the Murdoch Center in New York on March 14, 2023. Founded in 1948 by Sir Keith Murdoch, the philanthropic organization’s aims include promoting relations between the US and Australia. American Australian Association
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
