Australian-born media titan Rupert Murdoch is stepping down as chairman of the board of both Fox Corp. and News Corp. the company said on Thursday.
The move will be official in November, CNBC reports, thus bringing to an end a media journey that began in 1952 when Murdoch took over the running of The News, a small Adelaide newspaper in South Australia owned by his late father.
Murdoch, 92, will be appointed chairman emeritus of each company. Lachlan Murdoch, one of his sons, will become sole chairman of News Corp and will continue as Fox Corp.’s executive chair and CEO.
“Our companies are in robust health, as am I,” the elder Murdoch said in a note to employees and seen by CNBC.
“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.”
AP reports Lachlan Murdoch said “we are grateful that he will serve as chairman emeritus and know he will continue to provide valued counsel to both companies.”
Ironically, this week author and Murdoch biographer Michael Wolff is publishing a book, The End of Fox News, speculating on the future of the network when the patriarch is gone after seven decades at the helm, AP notes.
The narrative is much the same as the story of a media family as played out in the hit television series Succession.