{ "id": "rupert-murdoch", "title": "Rupert Murdoch", "lang": "en", "source_lang": "en", "summary": "Australian-born American media proprietor who built an international business spanning newspapers, publishing, film, and television.", "category": "economics", "subcategory": "business", "type": "person", "aliases": [ "Keith Rupert Murdoch", "K. Rupert Murdoch" ], "generated_at": "2026-10-15", "model": "pro/gpt-6.1-sol", "url": "https://aiwiki.page/en/rupert-murdoch/", "translations": { "zh-Hans": { "url": "https://aiwiki.page/zh/rupert-murdoch/", "json": "https://aiwiki.page/zh/rupert-murdoch.json" } }, "sections": [ { "heading": "", "text": "Rupert Murdoch (born March 11, 1931) is an Australian-born American media proprietor whose businesses expanded from an Adelaide newspaper into an international group encompassing newspapers, book publishing, film studios, and television networks. His career connected the media industries of Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, with holdings that included The Times, The Sun, the New York Post, The Wall Street Journal, and the Fox television businesses. (en.wikipedia.org)\n\nMurdoch’s business activities encompassed the expansion of mass-circulation newspapers, commercial satellite television, and American broadcast and cable networks. His career also involved changes in printing technology and industrial relations, relationships with political leaders, and public inquiries and litigation concerning practices within his companies. These subjects require a distinction between his actions as proprietor, decisions by individual news organizations, and findings concerning corporate defendants. (news.sky.com)\n\nIn November 2023, Murdoch became chairman emeritus of News Corp and Fox Corporation, with his son Lachlan assuming leadership of both companies. A publicly announced family-trust settlement in September 2025 established arrangements placing voting authority over the reorganized family holdings solely with Lachlan. These developments distinguish the succession to corporate leadership from the longer-term arrangements governing family ownership. (foxcorporation.com)" }, { "heading": "Family background, education, and entry into newspapers", "text": "Keith Rupert Murdoch was born in Melbourne, Australia, on March 11, 1931, the second of four children and only son of Sir Keith Arthur Murdoch and Elisabeth Joy Murdoch, née Greene. His parents had married on June 6, 1928. Keith was a journalist who became a senior newspaper executive: he took charge of Melbourne’s Herald in 1921 and became managing director of the Herald and Weekly Times in 1928. Elisabeth, the daughter of Melbourne merchant Rupert Greene, became a philanthropist associated with hospitals, medical research, and the arts. The family divided its life between Melbourne and Cruden Farm at Langwarrin, Victoria. (foxcorporation.com)\n\nMurdoch attended Geelong Grammar School, where his early involvement in journalism included editing a student literary magazine. In 1949 he became the first editor of If Revived, a revival of the school’s earlier magazine If. The publication used a school printing press donated by his father. According to the school’s archival account, headmaster James Darling praised both the quality of its articles and Murdoch’s commercial initiative: its advertising charges were forty times the usual rate. After completing his matriculation in 1949, Murdoch briefly worked as a cadet reporter at the Melbourne Herald, including several months covering police courts, before leaving for Britain. (ggs.vic.edu.au)\n\nAt Worcester College, Oxford, Murdoch studied philosophy, politics and economics. His student publishing activity there extended beyond writing and editing to business management. He worked as a business manager for Cherwell and managed Oxford Student Publications Limited, its publishing organization. These responsibilities gave him experience of the commercial side of student journalism before he assumed responsibility for a professional newspaper. His Oxford years thus continued an involvement with publishing that had already included literary editing, advertising, printing, and reporting at school and in Melbourne. (cherwell.org)\n\nSir Keith died in October 1952, when Rupert was 21. The inheritance did not give Rupert the entire newspaper group his father had managed. Keith’s position within the Herald and Weekly Times was larger than his personal shareholding, and death duties absorbed much of the estate’s newspaper wealth. The business interest that became Rupert’s starting point was the family’s holding in News Limited, whose principal newspaper was Adelaide’s afternoon daily, The News. Historian Sally Young places his arrival in Adelaide to take up that inheritance in September 1953, at the age of 22. (adb.anu.edu.au)\n\nInheritance, appointment, and corporate control were separate stages. Fox Corporation’s historical chronology dates the inheritance of Keith’s interests in The News to 1952, Rupert’s appointment as publisher and entry onto the News Limited board to 1953, and his assumption of control of News Limited to 1954. The publisher’s role involved responsibility for the newspaper as a business, while the directorship placed him within the company’s governing board. These successive steps distinguish the transfer of a family financial interest from the subsequent exercise of operational and corporate authority. (foxcorporation.com)" }, { "heading": "Building the Australian and New Zealand business", "text": "Murdoch expanded News Limited beyond Adelaide principally by acquiring established newspapers in other regional and metropolitan markets. An early purchase was Perth’s Sunday Times in the mid-1950s, where he developed a circulation-oriented approach emphasizing prominent headlines, crime, sport, and human-interest stories. In 1960, News Limited acquired the Daily Mirror and Sunday Mirror in Sydney. The afternoon Daily Mirror brought the company into a substantially larger newspaper market and direct competition with the rival Sun. These purchases extended an operation previously centred on Adelaide’s The News into a geographically dispersed newspaper business. In 1972, Murdoch further enlarged his Sydney holdings by acquiring The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Telegraph. (time.com)\n\nTelevision provided an early extension beyond print. News Limited established Southern Television Corporation, whose Channel 9 in Adelaide became South Australia’s first television station to broadcast in 1959. Operating under the call sign NWS9, the station officially opened on September 5, 1959. Its inaugural schedule combined news and weather with imported entertainment, including State Trooper, an Evening with Fred Astaire special, and feature films. The venture placed Murdoch in commercial broadcasting while he was still developing his interstate newspaper interests; it preceded his much later television expansion in Britain and the United States. (foxcorporation.com)\n\nThe launch of *The Australian* on July 15, 1964, differed from the acquisition and redevelopment of popular metropolitan papers. Established as a general-interest national broadsheet, it sought readers across state boundaries rather than primarily within one city. Maxwell Newton, previously editor of the Australian Financial Review, became its founding editor and emphasized economic and business reporting. Production initially centred on Canberra: page matrices were flown to presses in Sydney and Melbourne, allowing editions to be printed closer to their readers. This arrangement addressed the physical problem of distributing a daily newspaper across Australia without relying entirely on transporting finished copies from a single printing plant. (journals.sagepub.com)\n\nThe national newspaper also introduced a different commercial problem into a portfolio substantially composed of metropolitan and popular titles. Newton favoured an elite readership and high advertising rates, whereas Murdoch pressed for measures to reduce the new paper’s losses. Their disagreements included editorial direction and the proprietor’s involvement in the newspaper, and Newton left in 1965. The Australian nevertheless continued publication, moving its base from Canberra to Sydney on March 18, 1967. Its development therefore involved creating a new readership, editorial organization, and production system, rather than simply purchasing an existing title with an established local market. (adb.anu.edu.au)\n\nExpansion into New Zealand began in 1964 with News Limited’s purchase of a 29.57 percent interest in Wellington Publishing Company, publisher of the morning daily The Dominion. The investment followed a takeover contest prompted by an approach from the Canadian-born British publisher Roy Thomson, Lord Thomson of Fleet. It was Murdoch’s first overseas newspaper investment, but initially represented a substantial minority shareholding rather than outright ownership. Wellington Publishing subsequently participated in consolidation within New Zealand: in 1972 it combined with Blundell Brothers, publisher of Wellington’s Evening Post, and became Independent Newspapers Limited. The New Zealand expansion thus proceeded through investment in a local publishing company and subsequent corporate combinations, rather than the launch of a new Murdoch newspaper. (en.wikipedia.org)" }, { "heading": "British newspaper acquisitions and the Wapping dispute", "text": "Murdoch acquired the Sunday newspaper News of the World in 1969 and later that year bought the struggling daily The Sun from the International Publishing Corporation. The acquisitions established a complementary British portfolio: a daily newspaper could share overheads with the Sunday operation. Under editor Larry Lamb, The Sun was relaunched on 17 November 1969, replacing its broadsheet format with a compact tabloid and a distinctive red masthead. Its circulation-oriented formula emphasized sport, competitions, entertainment and sexual imagery; topless photographs became a regular Page 3 feature from 1970. The newspaper overtook the Daily Mirror in circulation in 1978. These changes combined a recognizable visual identity with content directed at a mass readership rather than preserving the previous newspaper’s editorial character. (news.sky.com)\n\nIn February 1981, Murdoch’s News International acquired The Times and The Sunday Times from the Thomson Organisation. The transaction required government consent under the Fair Trading Act 1973, making competition regulation a central issue. On 27 January, trade secretary John Biffen authorized the purchase without referring it to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission. He invoked the statutory exception for newspapers judged uneconomic as separate going concerns whose continued publication required urgent action. Thomson had announced that it would cease supporting the newspapers in March. Biffen accepted that closure was a real possibility; opposition MPs challenged both his assessment of The Sunday Times’ finances and the decision to dispense with an inquiry. (en.wikipedia.org)\n\nConsent was accompanied by safeguards for editorial independence. The revised company articles provided for at least six Independent National Directors, whose majority approval was required for appointing or dismissing editors and for disposing of the titles. The conditions also protected editors’ control over political comment and their freedom to report news conflicting with the proprietor’s interests. These were governance restrictions on ownership, rather than a separation of ownership from editorial management. Their effectiveness subsequently became disputed: Harold Evans, transferred from editing The Sunday Times to editing The Times after the acquisition, later argued that they had provided inadequate protection. A 2008 House of Lords report recorded both the directors’ formal powers and criticism of their practical effectiveness. (api.parliament.uk)\n\nThe Wapping dispute concerned both production technology and control over employment practices. News International prepared a computerized plant in east London to produce its four national newspapers. Electronic composition allowed journalists to enter copy directly, reducing the separate typesetting work associated with older printing systems. Management also sought flexible working, a no-strike agreement and an end to the closed shop, under which employment depended on union membership. The conflict therefore extended beyond whether computers should be introduced to the staffing levels, occupational boundaries and union authority accompanying them. (en.wikipedia.org)\n\nOn 24 January 1986, newspaper workers struck, and News International dismissed approximately 5,500 production and clerical employees while transferring production to Wapping. Members of the electricians’ union, the EETPU, staffed the new operation under a separate agreement. The National Graphical Association and the Society of Graphical and Allied Trades organized pickets, seeking particularly to obstruct the TNT vehicles distributing the newspapers. Production and distribution nevertheless continued, while demonstrations repeatedly brought pickets into confrontation with police. On 5 February 1987, SOGAT’s leadership withdrew from the dispute. The unions had failed to secure reinstatement or halt the transfer, leaving News International operating at Wapping with its replacement workforce and computerized production arrangements. (museum-collection.hackney.gov.uk)" }, { "heading": "Entry into American newspapers and book publishing", "text": "Murdoch entered the United States newspaper market in 1973 by buying the morning San Antonio Express and afternoon San Antonio News from Harte-Hanks; the purchase was completed on December 26. The transaction covered the newspapers, not Harte-Hanks’s local television station, KENS-TV. The two papers initially retained different editorial formats: the Express remained a comparatively conventional newspaper of record, while the News emphasized crime stories and prominent, sensational headlines. The San Antonio operation also supplied printing capacity for the National Star, the supermarket weekly Murdoch launched in 1974 to compete with the National Enquirer. Thus, his first American newspaper acquisition provided infrastructure for a separate national publication as well as a local readership. (expressnews.com)\n\nIn 1976, Murdoch purchased the New York Post from Dorothy Schiff for approximately $30 million. Unlike the newly established National Star, the Post was an existing metropolitan daily with an established readership and editorial identity. Its editorial direction changed under Murdoch, although it was already a tabloid before his purchase. Ownership was interrupted in 1988, when he sold it because federal restrictions on newspaper–television cross-ownership conflicted with his ownership of New York television station WNYW. He reacquired the newspaper in 1993 after obtaining a regulatory waiver; the original purchase and the later reacquisition were therefore distinct transactions. (pewresearch.org)\n\nThe acquisitions behind HarperCollins brought together two much older publishing businesses rather than creating a publisher from the beginning. The American firm originated with James and John Harper’s business, established in New York in 1817; subsequently named Harper & Brothers, it merged with Row, Peterson & Company in 1962 to become Harper & Row. News Corporation acquired Harper & Row in 1987. The other principal predecessor, William Collins, began in Glasgow in 1819 and developed a catalogue encompassing Bibles, dictionaries, reference works and general books. News Corporation acquired Collins in 1989 and brought it together with Harper & Row and other publishing interests in a worldwide group initially called Harper & Collins. The chronology distinguishes this 1989 combination from the adoption of HarperCollins as the combined business’s global name on May 29, 1990. (encyclopedia.com)\n\nMurdoch’s purchase of Dow Jones & Company extended his American publishing holdings into international business news and professional information services. News Corporation signed the merger agreement on July 31, 2007, offering $60 per share, and completed the acquisition on December 13. Dow Jones reported the transaction’s value at approximately $5.6 billion. Besides The Wall Street Journal, the acquired operations included Barron’s, MarketWatch, Dow Jones Newswires, Factiva and index and licensing businesses. These were materially different revenue sources: in the first half of 2007, Dow Jones’s enterprise-media division—covering newswires, indexes, research and other electronic services—accounted for approximately 34% of revenue, compared with 55% from consumer media and 11% from local media. (sec.gov)\n\nThe Dow Jones transaction included contractual editorial safeguards. A five-member special committee, independent of both companies and of the Murdoch and Bancroft families, received approval rights over the appointment and removal of the Journal’s managing editor and editorial-page editor, and the Newswires managing editor unless that position reported to the Journal’s managing editor. Changes to those editors’ authority also required approval. Editors could refer disputes concerning the agreement and journalistic standards to the committee, whose determinations were binding. The committee could obtain records, retain advisers and seek enforcement of its rights. These provisions established a defined oversight mechanism for editorial appointments and standards; they did not transfer ownership or general commercial management of Dow Jones away from News Corporation. (sec.gov)" }, { "heading": "Twentieth Century Fox and American television", "text": "In 1985, Murdoch assembled the production and distribution assets for an American television business. News Corporation acquired half of Twentieth Century Fox in March and agreed in September to purchase Marvin Davis’s remaining half for $325 million. The acquisition supplied a Hollywood studio, television-production operations, and an established library of films and programmes. Separately, the purchase of Metromedia television stations, agreed in 1985 and completed in 1986, provided the broadcasting infrastructure for a new network. Six stations—in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, Dallas, and Houston—formed its initial owned-station base. (time.com)\n\nMurdoch became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1985 to meet broadcast-ownership requirements. Citizenship mattered to control of licensed television stations, rather than ownership of the film studio. Federal restrictions also applied to foreign corporate investment: section 310(b)(4) of the Communications Act established a 25-percent foreign-ownership benchmark for a company controlling a broadcast licensee, above which the Federal Communications Commission could make a public-interest determination. Murdoch’s naturalization therefore did not settle every ownership question, because News Corporation remained an Australian company. In 1995, the FCC permitted the structure to continue, emphasizing Murdoch’s American citizenship and control of Fox Television Stations, alongside the competitive benefits of a fourth network. (latimes.com)\n\nThe Fox Broadcasting Company, developed under Murdoch and executive Barry Diller, began broadcasting on October 9, 1986, with The Late Show starring Joan Rivers. Its distribution combined company-owned stations with separately owned affiliates carrying Fox programmes under affiliation agreements; the network was not simply a collection of stations owned by Murdoch. Prime-time programming began in April 1987 with a Sunday schedule including Married… with Children and The Tracey Ullman Show, before expanding to additional nights. Matt Groening’s The Simpsons developed from animated shorts on Ullman’s programme into a standalone series in 1989. Chris Carter’s The X-Files, first broadcast in September 1993, added a science-fiction drama centred on FBI agents investigating unexplained phenomena. These programmes established distinct entertainment franchises rather than a comprehensive schedule introduced at the network’s launch. (ebsco.com)\n\nSports rights strengthened both Fox’s programming and its station distribution. In December 1993, Fox secured the National Football League’s National Football Conference television package for four years beginning in 1994, replacing CBS, at a cost of $1.58 billion. Fox Sports launched in 1994 to produce the coverage. The agreement gave the network a recurring national sporting attraction, while the subsequent recruitment of former CBS affiliates associated with New World Communications strengthened its local distribution. Thus, the NFL purchase was not only an acquisition of programmes: it also helped Fox compete for stations carrying its wider schedule. Baseball extended the sports operation through an agreement reached in 1995, with broadcasts beginning in 1996. (foxcorporation.com)\n\nMurdoch entered continuous American television news with the launch of Fox News Channel on October 7, 1996. He appointed Roger Ailes to build and manage the service as its founding chairman and chief executive. At launch, distribution agreements gave it access to approximately 17 million subscriber households. Unlike the Fox broadcast network, which supplied entertainment and sports to local stations, Fox News was a round-the-clock subscription television channel distributed through cable and satellite systems. Twentieth Century Fox, in turn, was the film-production and distribution studio: the shared Fox name denoted related businesses, not a single channel or identical operations. (radio.foxnews.com)" }, { "heading": "Satellite television and international broadcasting", "text": "Murdoch’s British satellite business developed from News International’s acquisition of a controlling interest in Satellite Television in 1983, followed by its renaming as Sky Channel in January 1984. Initially distributed principally through European cable systems, it became the basis of Sky Television, launched on 5 February 1989 as a direct-to-home service aimed at the United Kingdom. Its four channels—Sky Channel, Sky News, Sky Movies and Eurosport—used leased capacity on the Astra satellite system, allowing households with receiving dishes to obtain programming outside the terrestrial networks. The channels initially transmitted free-to-air; Sky Movies became an encrypted subscription service in February 1990. (en.wikipedia.org)\n\nHeavy losses at both Sky and its competitor, British Satellite Broadcasting (BSB), led to their merger on 2 November 1990 as British Sky Broadcasting, generally known as BSkyB. Ownership was divided equally between News International and BSB’s shareholders, although Sky’s management and transmission system predominated in the combined operation. Murdoch had appointed Sam Chisholm chief executive of Sky in August 1990; Chisholm subsequently negotiated lower programming costs and additional shareholder funding. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk) The business increasingly depended on recurring subscription revenue rather than advertising alone. In September 1993, Sky Multichannels extended payment to a basic package of entertainment channels, with premium film and sports packages costing extra. Encrypted channels required a decoder and valid viewing card, while Sky News remained free-to-air. (en.wikipedia.org)\n\nExclusive live coverage of the newly established Premier League, secured in May 1992, became central to this subscription strategy. The initial five-year broadcasting agreement was worth £304 million, with Sky carrying live matches and the BBC providing highlights. Football supplied regularly scheduled programming unavailable live on terrestrial television, giving supporters a reason both to subscribe and to retain their subscriptions throughout the season. Chisholm identified the agreement as a turning point for the company; by early 1994, BSkyB had more than 3.3 million household customers. The acquisition therefore linked substantial expenditure on exclusive rights to growth in the paying audience, rather than relying solely on advertising around individual matches. (en.wikipedia.org)\n\nExpansion into Asia followed through Hong Kong-based Star TV. In July 1993, News Corporation paid US$525 million, half in cash and half in shares, for a 63.6 percent controlling interest in HutchVision, Star’s programming supplier, from Hutchison Whampoa and Li Ka-shing’s family interests. News Corporation purchased the remaining 36.4 percent in 1995 for approximately US$299 million. (scmp.com) Star’s satellite footprint included China, India and Indonesia, extending the group’s distribution into large Asian television markets. (washingtonpost.com) In Australia, News Corporation and Telstra established Foxtel, which launched in October 1995 with 20 channels. Initially a cable service, it added satellite distribution in 1999. Publishing & Broadcasting Limited acquired half of News Corporation’s original 50 percent interest in 1998, leaving Telstra with 50 percent and the two media companies with 25 percent each. (newscorp.com)\n\nThe group’s involvement in Sky ended in 2018. Following Comcast’s successful bid for the broadcaster, 21st Century Fox sold its approximately 39.12 percent holding to Comcast for £17.28 per share, approximately £11.6 billion in total; the transaction completed on 9 October 2018. This was a separate disposal to Comcast, not part of the assets subsequently transferred to Disney when Disney’s acquisition of major 21st Century Fox businesses became effective on 20 March 2019. (sec.gov)" }, { "heading": "Corporate organization, financing, and digital expansion", "text": "Murdoch organized his international holdings under News Corporation, established in 1979, with newspaper, publishing, film and broadcasting businesses operating through subsidiaries. The structure distinguished ownership of the group from management of its individual businesses. A November 2004 reorganization placed a United States corporation above the Australian predecessor, The News Corporation Limited; shareholders exchanged their Australian shares for shares in the American parent. This original group must be distinguished from News Corp, the separately constituted company distributed to shareholders on June 28, 2013. The original parent was renamed 21st Century Fox, while the new News Corp received publishing, information and digital-property businesses, alongside Australian television interests. (theguardian.com)\n\nExpansion exposed the group to substantial refinancing risk. On February 1, 1991, News Corporation announced a restructuring of US$7.6 billion in debt following negotiations with its banks. The agreement extended maturities, raised interest margins by one percentage point and provided a further US$600 million credit facility: continued access to credit therefore came with higher financing costs and scheduled repayments. Later transactions also used shares rather than cash alone. In 2005, for example, the proposed acquisition of publicly held Fox shares involved approximately US$6 billion in News Corporation Class A stock, consolidating ownership without an equivalent cash payment. (upi.com)\n\nVoting control was protected separately from the financing of acquisitions. After John Malone’s Liberty Media acquired an additional 8% of News Corporation’s voting Class B shares in November 2004, the board adopted a shareholder-rights plan designed to deter further accumulation. A negotiated asset exchange subsequently removed Liberty’s holding. Under the agreement announced in December 2006, Liberty would surrender its News Corporation shares for the group’s approximately 38% DirecTV interest, three regional sports networks and cash. The transaction closed in February 2008 with approximately US$625 million in cash included. It substituted operating assets for a large outside shareholder’s position rather than purchasing that position entirely with cash or borrowing. (sec.gov)\n\nThe group’s major early investment in social networking came through its 2005 purchase of Intermix Media for approximately US$580 million in cash. The price covered Intermix and its other websites, not MySpace alone. MySpace joined the newly formed Fox Interactive Media division; Murdoch publicly endorsed the acquisition as a means of combining online audiences with Fox’s existing news, sports and entertainment properties. In June 2011, News Corporation sold MySpace to Specific Media for a reported US$35 million. This transaction history concerns one advertising-supported platform and does not describe the performance of all the group’s digital operations. (sec.gov)\n\nDigital newspaper subscriptions followed a different revenue model. Murdoch publicly championed charging for online news, and The Times and The Sunday Times introduced paid website access in July 2010, initially charging £1 daily or £2 weekly for access to both titles. Print subscriptions could include digital access. By the quarter ended June 30, 2024, The Wall Street Journal averaged 3.788 million digital-only subscriptions, representing 89% of its total subscriptions. These later operating results were reported by News Corp management, rather than constituting evidence of Murdoch’s personal direction of individual subscription products. (irishtimes.com)\n\nOnline property services provided another form of diversification. News Limited acquired 44% of REA Group in February 2001, supplying capital and advertising support to the operator of realestate.com.au. In November 2014, the post-separation News Corp completed its acquisition of Move, operator of realtor.com, under an approximately US$950 million cash transaction measured net of Move’s existing cash. The ownership arrangement allocated 80% to News Corp and 20% to REA, itself then 61.6% owned by News Corp. Chief executive Robert Thomson presented Move as an extension of the company’s digital-property business; its services included advertising, subscriptions and software for estate agents and brokers, rather than newspaper subscriptions or social-network advertising. (asx.com.au)" }, { "heading": "Political relationships and newspaper endorsements", "text": "In Australia, Murdoch’s support for Gough Whitlam in the 1972 federal election extended beyond newspaper endorsements to involvement in campaign preparation. Evan Williams, then an associate editor of The Australian and The Sunday Telegraph, subsequently recalled writing pro-Labor editorials while helping draft Whitlam’s speeches. According to Williams, Murdoch vetted and approved a draft for Whitlam’s final campaign rally at St Kilda Town Hall, although Whitlam discarded it and spoke without the prepared text. This account documents a specific connection between the proprietor, his newspapers and the Labor campaign, rather than merely an alignment inferred from editorial coverage. (insidestory.org.au)\n\nIn Britain, Murdoch supported Margaret Thatcher throughout the 1980s, but his personal access to the prime minister and his newspapers’ political positions are distinguishable forms of association. On January 4, 1981, Thatcher received him for lunch at Chequers while he was seeking to acquire The Times and The Sunday Times. Her press secretary Bernard Ingham recorded Murdoch’s explanation of the proposed purchase, including plans for new technology and reduced staffing. The surviving memorandum establishes that the meeting occurred and that the acquisition was discussed; it does not record an exchange of newspaper support for regulatory approval. (apnews.com)\n\nThe later relationship with Tony Blair developed through identifiable contacts before The Sun changed its electoral allegiance. On July 17, 1995, Blair addressed a News Corporation conference on Hayman Island at Murdoch’s invitation. Murdoch subsequently told the Leveson Inquiry that Blair’s presentation of New Labour impressed him and that he discussed that assessment with newspaper editors attending the conference. In 1997, The Sun endorsed Labour after years of supporting the Conservatives. These were related but separate events: a proprietor’s favourable assessment, discussions with editors and a newspaper’s published endorsement. Blair later denied that an explicit or implicit agreement over media policy accompanied Murdoch’s support. (leveson.robertsharp.co.uk)\n\nIn the United States, Murdoch’s dealings with Donald Trump included communications about both policy and campaigning. Emails subsequently disclosed in court proceedings showed that, in November 2017, Murdoch urged Fox News chief executive Suzanne Scott to explain repeatedly to viewers the benefits he expected from Trump’s tax legislation. After the first presidential debate in 2020, he also advised Trump’s son-in-law and campaign adviser Jared Kushner that Trump should be more restrained at the next debate. These records identify particular interventions by Murdoch, rather than establishing that every editorial or programming decision originated with him. (apnews.com)\n\nFox News nevertheless contained distinct corporate, managerial, reporting and opinion functions. Although its commentators frequently promoted Trump’s agenda, its election analysts projected a Joe Biden victory in Arizona on election night in November 2020, angering Trump and his supporters. Fox stood alone among television networks with that projection for approximately three hours. Its election-night coverage attracted 14.1 million viewers during the 8–11 p.m. Eastern prime-time period, according to Nielsen figures reported by Reuters. That combination of supportive commentary and an unwelcome electoral projection illustrates why ownership, opinion programming and election reporting cannot be treated as interchangeable. (equities.com)\n\nThe electoral effect of endorsements remains a separate evidentiary question. In 2012, Murdoch called The Sun’s 1992 election-victory claim “tasteless and wrong.” (theguardian.com) The Leveson Report described the press in 1997 as both reflecting and affecting public opinion in proportions that could not be measured. An endorsement establishes a newspaper’s declared preference, while circulation or audience figures establish potential exposure; neither alone demonstrates how many voters changed their decisions or whether the proprietor determined the election’s outcome. (leveson.robertsharp.co.uk)" }, { "heading": "Phone hacking, public inquiries, and defamation litigation", "text": "Phone hacking at the News of the World involved unauthorized access to mobile-phone voicemail messages to obtain information for stories. Royal editor Clive Goodman and private investigator Glenn Mulcaire pleaded guilty in November 2006 to offences involving interception of communications and were imprisoned in January 2007. These were established criminal offences, distinct from subsequent questions about how far knowledge extended through the newspaper’s management and corporate ownership. In July 2011, revelations that the voicemail of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler had been accessed intensified the scandal. James Murdoch announced the newspaper’s closure on July 7; its final edition appeared on July 10, ending 168 years of publication. These events did not themselves establish that Rupert Murdoch had authorized or previously known about the interceptions. (publications.parliament.uk)\n\nOn July 19, 2011, Rupert and James Murdoch appeared before the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee. Questions concerned the extent of phone hacking, compensation payments, internal investigations, information supplied to Parliament, and senior executives’ knowledge. Rupert Murdoch described the hearing as “the most humble day of my life.” Asked whether he was ultimately responsible for the affair, he answered “No,” assigning responsibility to people he had trusted to run the business and those they had trusted. His evidence presented a defence based on delegated management and limited personal knowledge, rather than disputing that serious wrongdoing had occurred. (parliament.uk)\n\nMurdoch subsequently gave evidence to the Leveson Inquiry on April 25–26, 2012. The inquiry examined press culture, practices and ethics, including relationships with politicians, editorial influence and the handling of unlawful information gathering. On the second day, questioning focused on why earlier warnings and substantial settlements had not prompted more searching investigation. Murdoch acknowledged failing to uncover the scale of the misconduct and said employees had concealed information from him. He maintained that there had been no attempted cover-up at his level or several levels below it. These were his recorded explanations of the company’s failures, not judicial findings establishing his personal innocence or culpability. (itv.com)\n\nIn the United States, Dominion Voting Systems brought defamation proceedings against Fox News Network in March 2021 and Fox Corporation that November over broadcasts falsely linking its voting technology to manipulation of the 2020 presidential election. In deposition testimony disclosed in February 2023, Murdoch acknowledged that some Fox commentators had endorsed false election claims, while distinguishing their conduct from endorsement by Fox as a corporation. Asked whether he could have prevented further appearances by election-fraud proponents, he acknowledged that he could have intervened but had not. The deposition was sworn pretrial evidence, not testimony before a trial jury. (law.justia.com)\n\nOn March 31, 2023, Delaware Superior Court judge Eric M. Davis ruled that the challenged statements concerning Dominion were false and defamatory per se. He left issues including actual malice—knowledge of falsity or reckless disregard for truth—for trial. On April 18, after jury selection but before opening statements, Fox and Dominion settled for $787.5 million. Fox acknowledged the court’s rulings finding certain claims about Dominion false. The payment resulted from a negotiated settlement, not a jury verdict determining damages or Murdoch’s personal liability. (law.justia.com)\n\nOn January 22, 2025, News Group Newspapers settled Prince Harry’s privacy action, agreeing to substantial damages and apologizing for intrusion by The Sun between 1996 and 2011, including unlawful activities by private investigators working for it. Separately, it apologized for phone hacking, surveillance and misuse of private information by News of the World journalists and investigators they instructed. The distinction mattered: the publisher did not admit voicemail interception at The Sun. These were corporate admissions and apologies, not personal admissions by Murdoch, and the settlement ended Harry’s claim without a trial judgment. (apnews.com)" }, { "heading": "Corporate separation, asset sales, and withdrawal from chairmanship", "text": "On June 28, 2013, News Corporation separated into two publicly traded companies. Its publishing and information businesses became News Corp, while the existing parent corporation was renamed 21st Century Fox and retained the principal film and television entertainment operations. The transaction was a distribution to shareholders, not a sale of the publishing businesses: holders received one Class A or Class B share in the new News Corp for every four corresponding shares held in the former parent. News Corp’s portfolio also included digital property services and Australian subscription television and sports operations, so the division was not strictly between print and broadcasting. Robert Thomson became News Corp’s chief executive, while Murdoch remained executive chairman. (sec.gov)\n\nThe next major restructuring involved Disney’s acquisition of most of 21st Century Fox’s entertainment assets, completed on March 20, 2019. The amended agreement, announced on June 20, 2018, valued the equity being acquired at approximately US$71.3 billion, with consideration divided approximately equally between cash and Disney shares. The acquired businesses included the Twentieth Century Fox and Fox Searchlight film studios, television production operations, FX Networks, National Geographic Partners, Star India, and Fox’s interest in Hulu. The transaction therefore transferred both production businesses and substantial cable and international television operations; it did not transfer every business carrying the Fox name. (thewaltdisneycompany.com)\n\nImmediately before the Disney acquisition, the retained news, broadcasting, and national sports businesses were separated into Fox Corporation, which began independent trading on March 19, 2019. Its shares were distributed proportionately to 21st Century Fox shareholders. Its operating portfolio included Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network, the Fox broadcast network, the owned television stations, and sports services including FS1, FS2, Fox Deportes, and Big Ten Network. The distinction between national and regional sports operations was consequential: the regional sports networks were included in Disney’s acquisition but were subject to divestiture under its agreement with the United States Department of Justice. Murdoch served as Fox Corporation’s chairman, alongside Lachlan Murdoch as executive chairman and chief executive. (foxcorporation.com)\n\nA proposed recombination of News Corp and Fox Corporation emerged in October 2022. Following letters from Murdoch and the Murdoch Family Trust, the companies established special board committees to examine a potential transaction; News Corp specified that its committee comprised independent, disinterested directors advised by independent financial and legal advisers. This was an exploratory process rather than an agreed merger. On January 24, 2023, Murdoch withdrew the proposal. The companies stated that Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch had concluded that a combination was not optimal for their shareholders at that time, ending the proposed reunion without a transaction. (newscorp.com)\n\nOn September 21, 2023, the companies announced Murdoch’s intended withdrawal from their chairmanships, but the changes took effect at their November annual meetings rather than immediately. He became chairman emeritus of News Corp on November 15 and of Fox Corporation on November 17. Lachlan became News Corp’s sole chairman and continued as Fox Corporation’s executive chairman and chief executive; he did not become News Corp’s chief executive, a position retained by Robert Thomson. The September announcement described Rupert Murdoch’s continuing role as providing counsel to both companies, distinguishing the emeritus appointment from continued leadership of either board. (foxcorporation.com)" }, { "heading": "Marriages, children, and family succession", "text": "Murdoch’s first marriage, to Australian flight attendant Patricia Booker, lasted from 1956 to 1967; their daughter, Prudence, was born in 1958. In 1967 he married Scottish-born journalist Anna Torv, with whom he had Elisabeth (1968), Lachlan (1971), and James (1972). That marriage ended in divorce in 1999. His third marriage, to television executive Wendi Deng, lasted from 1999 to 2013 and produced two daughters, Grace (2001) and Chloe (2003). He married model and actor Jerry Hall in 2016; they divorced in 2022. On June 1, 2024, he married retired molecular biologist Elena Zhukova at his Moraga vineyard estate in California. (wral.com)\n\nSeveral of the children pursued media careers, although their managerial positions were distinct from their inheritance interests. Elisabeth founded the television production company Shine in 2001; News Corporation acquired it in 2011. James served as chief executive of 21st Century Fox and resigned from News Corp’s board in 2020, citing disagreements over editorial content and strategic decisions. Lachlan Murdoch became Fox Corporation’s chief executive in 2019 and sole chair of News Corp in November 2023, while retaining his positions as Fox’s executive chair and chief executive. (apnews.com)\n\nThe Murdoch Family Trust separated economic benefits from authority to exercise the voting rights attached to its corporate shares. All six children held economic interests, but Grace and Chloe lacked the voting rights assigned to the four older children. Before the succession dispute was resolved, the arrangements provided for Prudence, Elisabeth, Lachlan, and James to share control after their father’s death. Consequently, Lachlan’s appointment to corporate leadership did not, by itself, settle who would direct the family’s shareholding afterward. (apnews.com)\n\nMurdoch sought to amend the trust to secure Lachlan’s control, a change opposed by Prudence, Elisabeth, and James. The dispute was heard behind closed doors in Reno, Nevada, in September 2024. In December, probate commissioner Edmund Gorman rejected the proposed amendment. His 96-page findings, publicly unsealed in August 2026, concluded that Rupert and Lachlan had acted in bad faith toward the opposing beneficiaries. Those findings concerned the attempted trust amendment; the eventual succession arrangements resulted from a negotiated settlement rather than judicial approval of that proposal. (apnews.com)\n\nOn September 8, 2025, News Corp announced a mutual resolution terminating the Nevada litigation. Under the announced arrangements, Prudence MacLeod, Elisabeth, and James would cease to be beneficiaries of trusts holding News Corp or Fox Corporation shares. New trusts for them would receive cash, financed partly by sales of approximately 14.2 million News Corp Class B shares and 16.9 million Fox Class B shares. They also agreed to dispose of their small personal holdings within six months and accept long-term restrictions on acquiring shares or undertaking specified actions concerning either company. (investors.newscorp.com)\n\nNew trusts benefiting Lachlan, Grace, and Chloe would own LGC Holdco, the vehicle receiving the remaining corporate holdings previously held by the family trust. The announcement projected holdings equivalent to approximately 33.1% of News Corp’s Class B shares and 36.2% of Fox’s Class B shares. The new trusts’ term would extend to 2050, throughout which Lachlan, acting through his appointed managing director, would have sole voting authority over LGC Holdco’s News Corp and Fox shares. Grace and Chloe therefore retained beneficial interests without sharing that voting authority. (investors.newscorp.com)" } ], "links": [ "australia", "united-kingdom", "united-states", "melbourne", "journalism", "university-of-oxford", "sydney", "new-zealand", "competition-law", "london", "printing", "new-york-city", "premier-league", "stock-finance", "social-media", "margaret-thatcher", "donald-trump", "marriage", "divorce" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Rupert Murdoch - foxcorporation", "url": "https://www.foxcorporation.com/rupert-murdoch-chairman-emeritus/" }, { "title": "Biography - Sir Keith Arthur Murdoch - Australian Dictionary of Biography", "url": "https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/murdoch-sir-keith-arthur-7693" }, { "title": "Dame Elisabeth Murdoch AC DBE, National Portrait Gallery", "url": "https://www.portrait.gov.au/people/elisabeth-murdoch-1909" }, { "title": "'If' and 'If Revived' | Geelong Grammar School", "url": "https://ggs.vic.edu.au/2021/07/if-and-if-revived/" }, { "title": "Rupert Murdoch: how a 22-year-old “zealous Laborite” turned into a tabloid tsar", "url": "https://www.indailysa.com.au/news/archive/2023/06/05/rupert-murdoch-how-a-22-year-old-zealous-laborite-turned-into-a-tabloid-tsar" }, { "title": "Oxford to maintain links with Murdoch - Cherwell", "url": "https://cherwell.org/2011/07/17/oxford-to-maintain-links-with-murdoch/" }, { "title": "Oxford's culture vultures - Cherwell", "url": "https://cherwell.org/2014/08/22/oxfords-culture-vultures/" }, { "title": "Rupert Murdoch", "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rupert_Murdoch" }, { "title": "Saturday 5 September 1959 — ADELAIDE", "url": "https://televisionau.com/classic-tv-guides/tv050959" }, { "title": "Biography — Maxwell Newton — Australian Dictionary of Biography", "url": "https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/newton-maxwell-15829" }, { "title": "Near-death on Mort Street", "url": "https://insidestory.org.au/the-battle-of-mort-street/" }, { "title": "Independent Newspapers", "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independent_Newspapers" }, { "title": "Papers Past — Dominion", "url": "https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/dominion/1909" }, { "title": "Wellington Publishing Company — National Library of New Zealand", "url": "https://natlib.govt.nz/records/22355778" }, { "title": "The Evening Post (New Zealand)", "url": "https://gateway.ipfs.cybernode.ai/ipfs/QmXoypizjW3WknFiJnKLwHCnL72vedxjQkDDP1mXWo6uco/wiki/Evening_Post_%28New_Zealand%29.html" }, { "title": "The Sun (United Kingdom)", "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sun_%28United_Kingdom%29" }, { "title": "Watching the Sun rise", "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/media/2004/sep/06/mondaymediasection2" }, { "title": "The Sunday Times", "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sunday_Times" }, { "title": "Times Newspapers (Hansard, 27 January 1981)", "url": "https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1981/jan/27/times-newspapers" }, { "title": "Wapping dispute", "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wapping_dispute" }, { "title": "The Wapping Dispute (1986-1987)", "url": "https://museum-collection.hackney.gov.uk/names/AUTH5660" }, { "title": "Wapping Post", "url": "https://www.londonmuseum.org.uk/collections/v/object-790262/wapping-post/" }, { "title": "Express-News chronology", "url": "https://www.expressnews.com/150years/culture/article/Express-News-chronology-6035590.php" }, { "title": "Getting it down in black and white: A history of the E-N", "url": "https://www.expressnews.com/150years/culture/article/Getting-it-down-in-black-and-white-A-history-of-6035586.php" }, { "title": "Publisher Murdoch’s U.S. Track Record", "url": "https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2007/08/01/publisher-murdochs-u-s-track-record/" }, { "title": "Harper & Brothers", "url": "https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/culture-magazines/harper-brothers" }, { "title": "HarperCollins", "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HarperCollins" }, { "title": "Collins Publication - Top 10 in India - HarperCollins", "url": "https://collins.in/about-us/" }, { "title": "Dow Jones & Company, Inc.: Form 10-Q, second quarter 2007", "url": "https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/29924/000002992407000163/form10q2q2007.htm" }, { "title": "News Corporation Completes Dow Jones & Co. Acquisition", "url": "https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1308161/000118143107075377/rrd182432_22610.htm" }, { "title": "News Corporation and Dow Jones: merger proxy statement/prospectus", "url": "https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1308161/000119312507197546/ds4.htm" }, { "title": "Agreement concerning editorial and journalistic independence and integrity", "url": "https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1308161/000134100407002242/ex10-2.htm" }, { "title": "Fox Broadcasting Co.", "url": "https://www.encyclopedia.com/economics/economics-magazines/fox-broadcasting-co" }, { "title": "Fox Television Stations", "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fox_Television_Stations" }, { "title": "Murdoch to Buy 2nd Half of Fox for $325 Million", "url": "https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-09-23-mn-19720-story.html" }, { "title": "FCC statement concerning foreign ownership", "url": "https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-214778A3.pdf" }, { "title": "Federal Register, December 12, 2013", "url": "https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2013-12-12/pdf/FR-2013-12-12.pdf" }, { "title": "FOX network", "url": "https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/communication-and-mass-media/fox-network" }, { "title": "Watch The Simpsons Collection On Disney+", "url": "https://www.disneyplus.com/explore/articles/the-simpsons-collection-guide" }, { "title": "Twentieth Century Fox Television and Fox Broadcasting Company Present the World Premiere of “The X-Files” Event Series", "url": "https://www.foxflash.com/releases/print/twentieth-century-fox-television-and-fox-broadcasting-company-present-the-world-premiere-of-the-x-files-event-series-at-mipcom-and-the-us-premiere-at" }, { "title": "NFL's TV Contract with Fox Has Taken a Hatchet to Legacy", "url": "https://www.deseret.com/1993/12/24/19083360/nfl-s-tv-contract-with-fox-has-taken-a-hatchet-to-legacy/" }, { "title": "Sky Television (1984–1990)", "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sky_Television_%281984%E2%80%931990%29" }, { "title": "Timeline: Fifteen years of Sky", "url": "https://media.corporate-ir.net/media_files/lse/bsy.uk/Timeline.pdf" }, { "title": "Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc. / Sky plc merger inquiry: Provisional findings report", "url": "https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a71fe2be5274a7f9c5862d4/provisional_findings_report.pdf" }, { "title": "Sky Multichannels", "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sky_Multichannels" }, { "title": "1992–93 FA Premier League", "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1992%E2%80%9393_FA_Premier_League" }, { "title": "MURDOCH FILLS A GLOBAL MARKET GAP", "url": "https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1993/07/27/murdoch-fills-a-global-market-gap/fbb3d6ed-bbf8-400c-aaa1-0d37ff8171ba/" }, { "title": "About News Corp", "url": "https://newscorp.com/about-news-corp/" }, { "title": "Foxtel submission, December 2010", "url": "https://www.foxtel.com.au/content/dam/foxtel/about/submissions/2010/foxtel_submission_dec_10.pdf" }, { "title": "News Corporation half-year results announcement, February 18, 1999", "url": "https://www.asx.com.au/asx/v2/statistics/displayAnnouncement.do?announcementId=265476&display=text&documentDate=1999-02-18&documentNumber=120830&issuerId=910" }, { "title": "Rupert Murdoch's publishing group to retain News Corporation name", "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/media/2012/dec/03/rupert-murdoch-news-corporation-name" }, { "title": "News Corporation Form S-4", "url": "https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1308161/000119312505003812/ds4.htm" }, { "title": "The New News Corp Launches as Global Media and Information Services Company", "url": "https://newscorp.com/2013/06/28/the-new-news-corp-launches-as-global-media-and-information-services-company/" }, { "title": "Definitive Proxy Statement", "url": "https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1308161/000119312508180853/ddef14a.htm" }, { "title": "News Corporation to Acquire Intermix Media, Inc.", "url": "https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1308161/000118143105040705/rrd86058_6819.htm" }, { "title": "News Corp. Sells MySpace for a Mere $35 Million", "url": "https://abcnews.com/Business/news-corp-sells-myspace-reported-35-million/story?id=13959379" }, { "title": "'Times' launches new paid-for sites", "url": "https://www.irishtimes.com/news/times-launches-new-paid-for-sites-1.858535" }, { "title": "The new News Corporation", "url": "https://announcements.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20130530/pdf/42g6788957nzd0.pdf" }, { "title": "Form 8-K for News Corp filed 08/08/2024", "url": "https://investors.newscorp.com/static-files/5d0b6f80-6a98-462c-8bc9-03c4f0a71d74" }, { "title": "Inside Gough Whitlam’s office", "url": "https://insidestory.org.au/inside-gough-whitlams-office/" }, { "title": "The Leveson Report (As it should be), Part I, Chapter 3", "url": "https://leveson.robertsharp.co.uk/I/chapter3/" }, { "title": "Fox News Led All Networks on Election Night Coverage; Early Call on Arizona Angered Trump", "url": "https://www.equities.com/news/fox-news-led-all-networks-on-election-night-coverage-early-call-on-arizona-angered-trump/" }, { "title": "Rupert Murdoch: 'Sun wot won it' headline was tasteless and wrong", "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/media/2012/apr/25/rupert-murdoch-sun-wot-won-it-tasteless" }, { "title": "Tears, cheers and anger at News of the World farewell", "url": "https://www.stabroeknews.com/2011/07/10/news/world/tears-cheers-and-anger-at-news-of-the-world-farewell/" }, { "title": "Murdoch: News of the World to close after Sunday", "url": "https://www.the-independent.com/news/media/press/murdoch-news-of-the-world-to-close-after-sunday-2308348.html" }, { "title": "Murdoch's testimony to the Leveson Inquiry", "url": "https://www.itv.com/news/2012-04-25/murdochs-testimony-to-the-leveson-inquiry" }, { "title": "Murdoch admits News of the World cover-up", "url": "https://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-04-26/murdoch-admits-cover-up-at-notw/3974856" }, { "title": "Murdoch says some Fox hosts 'endorsed' false election claims", "url": "https://www.clickorlando.com/business/2023/02/28/murdoch-says-some-fox-hosts-endorsed-false-election-claims/" }, { "title": "Fox, Dominion Voting Systems reach $787 million settlement over false election claims", "url": "https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/fox-dominion-voting-systems-reach-settlement-over-false-election-claims" }, { "title": "News Corporation Form 8-K, June 28, 2013", "url": "https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1308161/000119312513281456/d562317d8k.htm" }, { "title": "The Walt Disney Company Signs Amended Acquisition Agreement To Acquire Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc., For $71.3 Billion In Cash And Stock", "url": "https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/press-releases/the-walt-disney-company-signs-amended-acquisition-agreement-to-acquire-twenty-first-century-fox-inc-for-71-3-billion-in-cash-and-stock/" }, { "title": "Disney and 21st Century Fox Announce per Share Value in Connection with $71 Billion Acquisition", "url": "https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/press-releases/disney-21st-century-fox-acquisition-closing-date/" }, { "title": "Fox Corporation Announces First Day as Standalone, Publicly Traded Company", "url": "https://www.foxcorporation.com/news/corp-press-releases/2019/fox-corporation-announces-first-day-as-standalone/" }, { "title": "News Corp Forms Special Committee to Begin Exploring a Potential Combination with Fox Corporation", "url": "https://newscorp.com/2022/10/14/news-corp-forms-special-committee-to-begin-exploring-a-potential-combination-with-fox-corporation/" }, { "title": "Rupert Murdoch considers merger of two halves of his business empire", "url": "https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2022/10/14/murdoch-fox-news-merger/" }, { "title": "K. Rupert Murdoch to be Appointed Chairman Emeritus of Fox Corporation and News Corp", "url": "https://www.foxcorporation.com/news/corp-press-releases/2023/k-rupert-murdoch-to-be-appointed-chairman-emeritus-of-fox-corporation-and-news-corp/" }, { "title": "Form 8-K for News Corp filed 11/15/2023", "url": "https://investors.newscorp.com/static-files/d4896ae2-30f0-4505-8fe4-f9f97b209354" }, { "title": "Fox Corporation 2024 Notice of Annual Meeting of Stockholders and Proxy Statement", "url": "https://media.investor.foxcorporation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/12181516/2024-Notice-of-Annual-Meeting-of-Stockholders-and-Proxy-Statement-9.26.24-1.pdf" }, { "title": "Rupert Murdoch Fast Facts", "url": "https://www.wral.com/archive/21468564/" }, { "title": "Rupert Murdoch Fast Facts", "url": "https://www.wral.com/rupert-murdoch-fast-facts/16958487/?version=amp" }, { "title": "Media mogul Rupert Murdoch, 93, marries Elena Zhukova, 67, at California vineyard", "url": "https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-06-02/rupert-murdoch-marries-for-a-fifth-time/103925766" }, { "title": "Lachlan K. Murdoch", "url": "https://www.foxcorporation.com/management/board-of-directors/lachlan-murdoch/" }, { "title": "Murdoch family succession drama laid bare in unsealed court documents", "url": "https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-21/rupert-murdoch-nevada-trust-battle-court-documents-unsealed/107059904" }, { "title": "News Corp Announces Resolution of Murdoch Family Trust Matter", "url": "https://investors.newscorp.com/node/18996" } ], "license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" }