Rupert Murdoch Retiring as Chair of Fox, News Corp.

Media titan Rupert Murdoch is stepping down from his leadership roles at Fox News and News Corp, the New York Times reports. The 92-year-old will put son Lachlan in charge of his news empire and assume the title of "chairman emeritus," he wrote in a letter to colleagues, per Fox News. Murdoch, who said he's in good health, will make the transition in November.

"For my entire professional life, I have been engaged daily with news and ideas, and that will not change," Murdoch wrote in his letter. "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." CNN notes that Murdoch got into the newspaper business in the 1950s before purchasing Twentieth Century Fox in 1985 for $600 million. He created Fox Broadcasting the following year when he bought multiple TV stations around the US. Fox News began in 1996.

In a statement of his own, 52-year-old Lachlan said his father would still provide guidance. "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," said the younger Murdoch. Lachlan became the clear successor to the media empire when Rupert sold his entertainment unit to Walt Disney Co. in 2019, per the Times. (More Rupert Murdoch stories.)