Media titan Rupert Murdoch’s reported plans to hand over the reins of 21st Century Fox Inc. to his two sons came as little surprise yesterday to analysts and people in the industry, who questioned what impact the long-expected shakeup will have on the formidable empire Murdoch built.
“Rupert Murdoch stands out as the last of the red-blooded newspaper barons” said Alan D. Mutter, a former newspaper editor who teaches at the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California at Berkeley. “He made a number of regrettable decisions ... On the other hand, he built a powerful global newspaper empire and he diversified that empire brilliantly — and presciently — into a series of valuable entertainment brands.
“... I doubt the publishing industry will ever see the like of Rupert Murdoch again,” he added.
Murdoch’s son, James, 42, will become CEO, while his other son, Lachlan, 43, will become executive co-chairman, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter.
Murdoch, 84, will become executive chairman and remain deeply involved in the company, while his sons are to run the business in a partnership, the source said. The elder Murdoch will retain a grip on the corporation behind Fox News Channel, Fox broadcast network and the 20th Century Fox movie studio through a family trust that owns 38 percent of the voting shares. He has been CEO since 1979 and chairman since 1991.
The moves will be discussed at a board meeting in the coming weeks, the source said.
In a statement, 21st Century Fox acknowledged the pending changes. “The matter of succession is on the agenda at our upcoming, regularly scheduled board meeting,” it said.
In the 1980s, Murdoch branched out into television, starting the Fox network and later Fox News, which quickly toppled CNN as the cable news leader.
But his newspapers have had a harder time. The phone hacking scandal in the U.K. stung the company. And he split the original News Corp. into print and entertainment companies in 2013.
“Rupert had a great fondness for print,” said Michael Hoyt, former editor of the Columbia Journalism Review, “and I don’t know whether James shares that.”
In a research note, Cowen & Co. media analyst Doug Creutz said James does have extensive operational experience and could turn out to be “a good or even great CEO.” But, he said, investors may be concerned that the board did not undertake a search to find “the best candidate for the job.”
Herald wire services contributed to this report.
“Rupert Murdoch stands out as the last of the red-blooded newspaper barons” said Alan D. Mutter, a former newspaper editor who teaches at the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California at Berkeley. “He made a number of regrettable decisions ... On the other hand, he built a powerful global newspaper empire and he diversified that empire brilliantly — and presciently — into a series of valuable entertainment brands.
“... I doubt the publishing industry will ever see the like of Rupert Murdoch again,” he added.
Murdoch’s son, James, 42, will become CEO, while his other son, Lachlan, 43, will become executive co-chairman, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter.
Murdoch, 84, will become executive chairman and remain deeply involved in the company, while his sons are to run the business in a partnership, the source said. The elder Murdoch will retain a grip on the corporation behind Fox News Channel, Fox broadcast network and the 20th Century Fox movie studio through a family trust that owns 38 percent of the voting shares. He has been CEO since 1979 and chairman since 1991.
The moves will be discussed at a board meeting in the coming weeks, the source said.
In a statement, 21st Century Fox acknowledged the pending changes. “The matter of succession is on the agenda at our upcoming, regularly scheduled board meeting,” it said.
In the 1980s, Murdoch branched out into television, starting the Fox network and later Fox News, which quickly toppled CNN as the cable news leader.
But his newspapers have had a harder time. The phone hacking scandal in the U.K. stung the company. And he split the original News Corp. into print and entertainment companies in 2013.
“Rupert had a great fondness for print,” said Michael Hoyt, former editor of the Columbia Journalism Review, “and I don’t know whether James shares that.”
In a research note, Cowen & Co. media analyst Doug Creutz said James does have extensive operational experience and could turn out to be “a good or even great CEO.” But, he said, investors may be concerned that the board did not undertake a search to find “the best candidate for the job.”
Herald wire services contributed to this report.
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