Rupert Murdoch Stepping Down As Chairman Of News Corp., Fox; Lachlan Murdoch Sole Chair Of Both

Jill Goldsmith and Ted Johnson
·8 min read
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Rupert Murdoch will be stepping down shortly as chairman of the board of Fox and News Corp., the companies said Thursday.

It’s a momentous move for the media mogul, who built an empire from a string of local papers in Australia. But it’s also a logical next step as the 92-year-old eases out of the day-to-day and continues to cede control to his oldest son Lachlan Murdoch, who will become sole chair of News Corp and continue as executive chair and CEO of Fox Corporation.

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Rupert will be Chairman Emeritus of each company, exiting both boards after the annual shareholders meetings; the Fox gathering is set for November 17. In a letter to employees, Murdoch said “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.”

Here’s Murdoch’s letter in full:

Dear Colleagues,
I am writing to let you all know that I have decided to transition to the role of Chairman Emeritus at Fox and News. For my entire professional life, I have been engaged daily with news and ideas, and that will not change. 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.

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. 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. But the battle for the freedom of speech and, ultimately, the freedom of thought, has never been more intense.

My father firmly believed in freedom, and Lachlan is absolutely committed to the cause. Selfserving bureaucracies are seeking to silence those who would question their provenance and purpose. Elites have open contempt for those who are not members of their rarefied class. Most of the media is in cahoots with those elites, peddling political narratives rather than pursuing the truth.

In my new role, I can guarantee you that I will be involved every day in the contest of ideas. Our companies are communities, and I will be an active member of our community. I will be watching our broadcasts with a critical eye, reading our newspapers and websites and books with much interest, and reaching out to you with thoughts, ideas, and advice. When I visit your countries and companies, you can expect to see me in the office late on a Friday afternoon. I look forward to seeing you wherever you work and whatever your responsibility. And I urge you to make the most of this great opportunity to improve the world we live in.

“On behalf of the Fox and News Corp boards of directors, leadership teams, and all the shareholders who have benefited from his hard work, I congratulate my father on his remarkable 70-year career,” said Lachlan Murdoch. “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. We are grateful that he will serve as Chairman Emeritus and know he will continue to provide valued counsel to both companies.”

Murdoch’s departure as chairman comes at a turbulent legal time for Fox Corp. In April, it agreed to pay $787.5 million to settle a case brought by Dominion Voting Systems, which sued the company and Fox News over the latter’s coverage of the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election.

The settlement was reached just as the trial was set to start in a Delaware court, with Murdoch set to testify. Already, a trove of emails and internal information had been made public in the case, showing that Murdoch expressed doubts about Donald Trump’s unfounded election claims even though Fox News personalities and guests were amplifying them.

The elder Murdoch also had gone through a deposition in which he admitted that some Fox hosts “endorsed” the false election claims. Fox faces additional legal exposure, as another election systems company, Smartmatic, is suing for $2.7 billion, although a trial has yet to be scheduled.

Preston Padden, a former Fox executive who has become a high-profile critic of the direction of Fox News, wrote on X/Twitter following today’s announcement, “I wish Rupert continued good health. Given his statement that ‘I have been engaged daily with news and ideas, and that will not change,’ and the fact that the Trust he controls has a controlling stock interest in Fox, the fact that his son remains and Chair and CEO, and the fact that the same cadre of executives who knowingly and repeatedly presented false news remains, this announcement has zero impact on the FCC filings regarding the Fox broadcast licenses.”

Padden is backing an effort by the Media and Democracy Project to challenge the FCC’s renewal of the broadcast license of Fox’s Philadelphia affiliate. The organization argues that, given the Dominion revelations, the Murdochs lack the character to hold a broadcast license. Fox has argued that news content questions are outside the scope of the review and the FCC is limited by the First Amendment.

Murdoch stepping down also comes as a new book by Michael Wolff on the media mogul is about to come out. The Fall examines the recent turbulence at Fox and postulates the end of the Murdochs’ influence and power. Wolff, who penned a bio of Murdoch several years ago, also predicts a chaotic succession path — a prophecy undercut by today’s announcement.

Lachlan has been heir apparent for some time following years of speculation on which of Murdoch’s children would inherit the corner office. He took himself out of the running in 2005 when he walked away from the company and moved back to Australia after clashing with the late Roger Ailes, former Fox News chief. He returned in 2014 as non-executive co-chair of 21st Century Fox and News Corp. He became CEO of Fox Corp. in 2019.

His future is not necessarily fixed, however. In an eventual post-Rupert Murdoch era, the family’s stake in News Corp. and Fox will be held in a trust jointly controlled by Lachlan, James, Elisabeth and Prudence — the latter Murdoch’s daughter from his first wife.

Lachlan’s younger brother James held a number of top roles at News Corp., Sky and BSkBy. It was under his watch in the UK that a phone-hacking scandal exploded at New Corp.’s UK tabloid News of the World, which was shuttered. James was CEO of 21st Century Fox but left after most of its entertainment assets were acquired by Disney. He launched investment firm Lupa Systems whose wide-ranging holdings include the Tribeca Film Festival. More left-leaning and with interests in climate change and other issues, he continued to distance himself, resigning from the News Corp. board in 2020 citing “disagreements over certain editorial content published by the Company’s news outlets and certain other strategic decisions.”

Rupert’s daughter Elisabeth also started out at BSkyB but left the fold, becoming a highly successful television executive. She founded Shine in 2001 (and later sold it to 21st Century Fox). She co-founded and is executive chair of UK-based production company Sister.

Rupert Murdoch launched his career in his native Australia, growing a small chain of Australian newspapers inherited from his father in the 1950s into a global empire including Britain’s leading tabloids, becoming a political kingmaker and arguably the most powerful and controversial media mogul of our generation. Over the years he’s bought and sold some of the industry’s most storied assets in print, television and film across three continents, launching a fourth television network, Fox, in the U.S. and founding Fox News.

He split News Corp. and Fox in 2013 then sold most of the entertainment assets of 21st Century Fox to Disney, and BSkyB to Comcast, in 2019. Fox Corp. holds Fox News, Fox Broadcasting, Tubi and other assets. News Corp., led by CEO Robert Thomson, houses the Murdoch’s publishing business including the Wall Street Journal, New York Post and HarperCollins and various assets like online real estate company Move. The Murdochs tried unsuccessfully to merge Fox and News Corp. last year but backed down amid opposition by shareholders of both companies.

Murdoch saw his empire nearly go bankrupt in the early 1990s. The UK phone-hacking investigation took down trusted lieutenants a decade ago, the company’s biggest financial and PR challenge until the Dominion lawsuit.

Dominic Patten contributed to this report.

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