The old fox of news, and one of the world’s most influential — and controversial — media barons, who mastered the art of survival in a seven-decade run, is hanging up his boots. Rupert Murdoch, a ruthless newspaper man, has always done things his way, betting on profit, most often by tapping into the fears, insecurities and prejudices of his worldwide audience.
The announcement on Thursday led to a surge in shares of both Fox Corporation, the parent company of Fox News, America’s most-watched TV news channel, and News Corp, which owns newspapers including The Times (London) and the Wall Street Journal. The Murdoch empire also owns publishing house HarperCollins and Sky News, a cable-TV news channel.
Mr. Murdoch has said he will continue to engage with his companies as he takes on the role of Chairman Emeritus at both firms in November. In a memo to employees, the 92-year-old, whose family fortune is said to be worth $19 billion, wrote: “…the time is right for me to take on different roles. 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.”
Mr. Murdoch’s son, Lachlan, takes over at a commercially challenging time for Fox News, a votary of conservative, right-wing politics, in a pre-American election year. Dominion Voting Systems had sued Fox News Networks and its parent company Fox Corp for having peddled lies about the 2020 presidential election, which Donald Trump lost but refused to accept. This April, Fox handed out a $787 million payout to Dominion. At a time when traditional n ..
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