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| Dan Steinberg/ Invision, via Associated Press Rupert Murdoch and his sons, Lachlan, left, and James, right |
Article By Emily Steel
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
The New York Times
___________________________________
21st Century Fox Announces
Murdoch Sons' New Roles
___________________________________
A succession plan long in the making for Robert Murdoch.
_______________________________________________
The media conglomerate 21st
Century Fox announced on Tues-
day that Rupert Murdoch's two
sons would assume new leader-
ship roles in the company, con-
tinuing the elder Mr. Murdoch's
plans to keep control of the com-
pany in his family. [para. 1]
The appointments, effective
July 1, had been telegraphed to
investors and analysts for
months, and were widely report-
ed last week in advance of a com-
pany board meeting Tuesday
morning. [para. 2]
James Murdoch, 42, will be-
come chief executive at 21st Cen-
tury Fox, succeeding his father,
while Lachlan Murdoch, 43, will
be executive co-chairman. The
entertainment company includes
cable and broadcast television
networks, film studios and satel-
lite companies. [para.3]
The company said that its cor-
porate functions and its global
television and film operations
would report jointly to Lachlan
and James Murdoch. [para. 4.]
Ruport Murdoch, 84, will stay
on as executive co-chairman of
the company he started in 1954
with a single Australian newspa-
per. [para. 5]
As part of the executive
changes, Chase Carey will step
down as chief operating officer at
Fox. Widely respected on Wall
Street as a stable force at the
company, and long a trusted ad-
visor to Rupert Murdoch, Mr.
Carey will continue to work as an
executive vice chairman through
June 30, 2016. [para. 6]
In a shift, Roger Ailes, the chief
executive of Fox News, will re-
port to Lachlan and James Mur-
doch and "will continue his
unique and long-standing rela-
tionship with Rupert," a company
spokeswoman, Julie Henderson,
said. In the past, Mr. Ailes has
clashed with Lachlan Murdoch.
[para. 7]
The leadership changes are
part of a carefully devised suc-
cession plan. Mr. Murdoch long
has desired that his children take
over his $80 billion global media
empire, which includes both 21st
Century Fox and News Corpora-
tion, which is focused on pub-
lishing and owns The Wall Street
Journal, a portfolio of British
newspapers and the HarperCol-
lins publishing house, among oth-
er assets. (The management
changes do not affect News Cor-
poration.) [para. 8]
"it has always been our priori-
ty to ensure stable, long-term
_______________
A succession plan
long in the making for
Rupert Murdoch.
______________
leadership for the company, and
these appointments achieve that
goal," Rupert Murdoch said in a
statement. "Lachlan and James
are each talented and accom-
plished executives and together,
we, as shareholders and part-
ners, will strive to take our com-
pany to new levels of growth and
opportunity at a time of dynamic
change in our industry." [para. 9]
Mr. Murdoch is expected to re-
main active in the Fox business,
going into the office and provid-
ing broad oversight, according to
people who have been briefed on
the plans. [para. 10]
The Murdochs retain effective
control of the company through a
dual-class stock structure that
gives them more influence than
ordinary shareholders. The Mur-
doch family trust owns about 40
percent of the voting shares in
both 21st Century Fox and News
Corporation. Rupert Murdoch
has more rights in the family
trust than his children. [para. 11]
In a joint statement, Lachlan
and James Murdoch said: "We
are both humbled by the opportu-
nity to lead, with our father and
the talented team of executives at
21st Century Fox, this extrordi-
nary company." [para. 12]
Wall Street reacted with a
shrug last week when news
broke that Mr. Murdoch was ex-
pected to pass the reins of his me-
dia empire to his sons. That move
had been signaled 15 months ago
when he named both sons to sen-
ior positions at the company. [para. 13]
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