Rupert Murdoch announced he will be stepping down as the chairman of Fox and News Corp Thursday morning.
His son Lachlan Murdoch will continue as executive chair and CEO of Fox Corporation and become the sole chairman of News Corp, while Rupert Murdoch will be appointed chairman emeritus of the two corporations, the company said in a press release. The moves will be completed in November.
“For my entire professional life, I have been engaged daily with news and ideas, and that will not change,” Murdoch wrote in a memo to employees, CNN reported. “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.”
Rupert Murdoch led the global empire for nearly 70 years. The 92-year-old got his start in the newspaper business in Australia before becoming a Hollywood executive in 1985 when he purchased Twentieth Century Fox.
He got into the TV business in 1986 after he purchased several U.S. television stations and created Fox Broadcasting. Fox News launched in 1996 and is credited with shaping conservative media today.
“We thank him for his vision, his pioneering spirit, his steadfast determination, and the enduring legacy he leaves to the companies he founded and countless people he has impacted,” said Lachlan Murdoch.
The elder Murdoch's exit comes after a year of challenges for the media businesses, including a $787.5 million settlement over a defamation lawsuit for publicizing false claims that Dominion Voting Systems equipment was used to rig the 2020 presidential election.
Fox News, Dominion reach settlement in election defamation lawsuit
Fox News suddenly settled its case on false election claims just as the trial was set to begin.
