Rupert Murdoch Steps Down as Chairman of Fox Corp., News Corp.

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Facts

  • Australian media mogul Rupert Murdoch announced Thursday morning that he is stepping down as chairman of Fox Corp. and News Corp. and will transition into the chairman emeritus position of the two corporations.1
  • Murdoch's son, Lachlan, will become News Corp.'s new chair and continue serving as executive chair and CEO of Fox Corp. The younger Murdoch released a statement congratulating his father on 'his remarkable 70-year career.'2
  • The 92-year-old Rupert Murdoch had been winding down his hands-on work with the conservative media companies and had been working from home since July 2022. Despite being less in the spotlight, Murdoch still continued working behind the scenes.3
  • Murdoch is best known for his role at Fox News Channel, which he founded in 1996, as a key jewel in his conservative news empire.4
  • Fox has had a tumultuous recent span as it paid out a $787.5M lawsuit to Dominion Voting over claims questioning the legitimacy of the 2020 election.5
  • However, in his memo to News Corp.'s 35K employees, Murdoch maintained that his companies 'are in robust health,' while adding that he was healthy as well. Murdoch has been involved in media since 1952 when he inherited an Adelaide newspaper from his father.6

Sources: 1NBC, 2Abc news, 3CNBC, 4Associated Press, 5CNN and 6New York Post.

Narratives

  • Right narrative, as provided by FOX News. Rupert Murdoch is the definition of a living legend in the media industry. The architect of the world's most successful cable news outlet, Murdoch pushed news and media in a revolutionary direction while always doing it his way. While some may disagree with Rupert's politics, there's no doubting his success and legacy as a pioneer of his time.
  • Left narrative, as provided by MSNBC. Rupert Murdoch will be remembered as one of the most dangerous media moguls of his time and the creator of a right-wing media giant that gave us the creeping authoritarianism of Donald Trump. Murdoch provided a massive platform for conspiracy theories and misinformation that plague our world today. History will memorialize the harm he caused to democracy.