Rupert Murdoch announced Thursday that he is leaving his role as chairman and CEO of News Corp and chairman of Fox News’s parent company Fox Corp.
“I am writing to let you all know that I have decided to transition to the role of Chairman Emeritus at Fox and News,” he said in an internal memo. “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.”
Murdoch’s son Lachlan will now take the helm of both companies.
The 92-year-old media mogul’s resignation comes as Fox News faces down a barrage of lawsuits and scandals, mostly related to the network continuing to spread lies about the 2020 presidential election. Murdoch has admitted in depositions for one of those lawsuits that he knew the conspiracies were false, but he continued to let his network give airtime to both the theories and their biggest proponents.
This is a developing story.