Fox News Chairman Rupert Murdoch announced Thursday that he will step down from his role as head of the network and of the news division.
Murdoch wrote in a letter to his employees that he would move on from the position in November. His son, Lachlan Murdoch, will take the position of chairman of both Fox and News Corp.
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“For my entire professional life, I have been engaged daily with news and ideas, and that will not change,” Rupert Murdoch’s statement read. “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.”
Rupert Murdoch was in charge of News Limited, a public corporation in Australia previously run by his father, in 1954, when he was in his mid-20s. His company then bought and founded Australian newspapers and looked to purchase publications in the United States and the United Kingdom.
He then launched Fox News Channel under the name News Corp in 1996, which quickly became one of the most popular cable news networks, competing against CNN. Additionally, Rupert Murdoch served as the executive chairman of 21st Century Fox from 2015 to 2019, when the company merged with the Walt Disney Company.
“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,” Lachlan Murdoch said. “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.”
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Rupert Murdoch stepping down is the latest shake-up at Fox. Tucker Carlson, the network’s most popular commentator, parted ways with the company in April. Only a few days prior, Dan Bongino, a Fox guest-turned-host for the network, announced he was leaving Fox after contract negotiations fell through.
President Joe Biden once called Rupert Murdoch “the most dangerous man in the world” in a remark he made to an associate in 2021. Biden also described Fox News as “one of the most destructive forces in the United States,” according to excerpts of This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden, and the Battle for America’s Future.
