Rupert Murdoch, the 92-year-old media mogul, announced on Thursday that he will step down as chairman of Fox Corporation and News Corp. His son, Lachlan Murdoch, will become sole chairman of both companies.
“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. “But the time is right for me to take on different roles, knowing that we have truly talented teams.”
Murdoch got into the newspaper business in the 1950s and became a major Hollywood executive in 1985 when he purchased Twentieth Century Fox from oilman Marvin Davis for $600 million. He entered the TV business in 1986 after purchasing several US television stations and creating Fox Broadcasting.
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Fox News launched in 1996 as a startup competitor to CNN. It eventually became America’s No. 1 cable news channel and a bastion for Republican talking points and falsehoods.
Murdoch’s withdrawal from the leadership of Fox is a major turning point for the media industry. He has been one of the most powerful and influential media moguls for over half a century. His companies have shaped the way news and entertainment is consumed around the world. The media mogul is yet to declare his plans for the future.
