The new president of News Corp
The new president of News Corp is nothing but the son of the empire’s creator, who, despite selling a portion of Fox, still wields significant influence..
This is Lachlan Murdoch, the eldest son of Rupert Murdoch, who was chosen to be the new president of News Corp.
News Corp is a major media conglomerate with several key players in the U.S. television world.
The decision was announced on Thursday, September 21, making 52-year-old Lachlan the sole president of the parent company of Fox News, Fox Corporation, and News Corporation.
News Corp owns The Wall Street Journal, The New York Post, and other newspapers.
While his younger siblings, Elisabeth and James, had previously been seen as contenders for the throne, Lachlan’s rise to power was virtually assured in recent years.
In line with his father, Lachlan has co-chaired Fox and News corporations and was named CEO of Fox News in 2019.
Rupert Murdoch, at 92 years old, is one of the most influential media magnates of the modern era and will continue to serve on the boards as chairman emeritus.
“We appreciate his vision, pioneering spirit, unwavering determination, and the enduring legacy he leaves to the companies he founded and the countless people he has impacted,” said Lachlan in a statement on Thursday.
Rupert Murdoch grew his company from relatively modest beginnings, inheriting his father’s Australian newspaper business in 1952.
Over the next seven decades, Murdoch made significant inroads into the British and American markets.
He acquired newspapers and other media outlets, launched the Fox network, acquired the 20th Century Fox film studio, and revolutionized the cable news landscape with the debut of Fox News in 1996.
Lachlan Murdoch: The new president of News Corp
The two brothers, with just 15 months between them, were deeply competitive as children. Over the years, they switched roles between “heir apparent and embittered son,” according to a 2019 New York Times Magazine article about the family.
Succession planning for their media colossus seemed to get serious in 2015 when Rupert named Lachlan and James as co-chairmen of 21st Century Fox.
However, in 2020, James, who supported Joe Biden’s campaign in 2020 and made donations to Democratic causes, dramatically split from the company.
Elisabeth, who has come in and out of the family business while building her own career as a television producer.
The new president of News Corp has been at the helm of Fox News since 2019, overseeing an era of rampant misinformation about the 2020 elections and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rupert indicated to employees on Thursday that Lachlan will maintain the network’s right-leaning editorial stance.
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