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Fox News CEO Rupert Murdoch has announced he is taking on a new role at the top-rated cable news network.
Murdoch, 92, “is transitioning from his roles as Chair of Fox Corporation and Executive Chairman of News Corp,” FOX 10 reported Thursday.
The now-CEO Emeritus “informed colleagues in a letter Thursday of his decision, noting he was in good health. He will officially make the transition in November, and his son Lachlan will become the sole chairman of both companies,” FOX 10 added.
“I am writing to let you all know that I have decided to transition to the role of Chairman Emeritus at Fox and News,” Murdoch wrote. “For my entire professional life, I have been engaged daily with news and ideas, and that will not change. 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. Neither excessive pride nor false humility are admirable qualities.
“But I am truly proud of what we have achieved collectively through the decades, and I owe much to my colleagues, whose contributions to our success have sometimes been unseen outside the company but are deeply appreciated by me,” Murdoch added.
“Whether the truck drivers distributing our papers, the cleaners who toil when we have left the office, the assistants who support us or the skilled operators behind the cameras or the computer code, we would be less successful and have less positive impact on society without your day-after-day dedication,” he wrote.
“Our companies are in robust health, as am I. Our opportunities far exceed our commercial challenges. We have every reason to be optimistic about the coming years – I certainly am, and plan to be here to participate in them,” he said.
“In my new role, I can guarantee you that I will be involved every day in the contest of ideas,” he noted further, adding that now, more than ever, battles over free speech and freedom of thought are as intense as they’ve ever been.
“On behalf of the FOX and News Corp boards of directors, leadership teams, and all the shareholders who have benefited from his hard work, I congratulate my father on his remarkable 70-year career,” said Lachlan Murdoch.
“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. We are grateful that he will serve as Chairman Emeritus and know he will continue to provide valued counsel to both companies,” Lachlan noted further.
Another recent change at the network: A new face will be joining Fox News’ morning show, “Fox & Friends,” according to an announcement on the program last week.
First reported by People magazine, the show’s current co-hosts said that Lawrence Jones will be joining the morning line-up.
“I couldn’t be more thrilled today,” Jones told his new morning colleagues, Ainsley Earnhardt and Brian Kilmeade, in addition to fill-in co-host Pete Hegseth. “I started on Fox & Friends when I was 20 — it was my [first] national TV appearance. At 30, this is the opportunity of the [lifetime].”
Earnhardt praised Jones effusively, saying: “We’ve been so proud of you. We’ve watched all of this progress. You’re one of the nicest people. You love the Lord. You love the South, you love Texas, your family. You just fit right in.”
Gavin Hadden, Fox News’ senior vice president of morning programming, said in a statement: “Lawrence has his finger on the pulse of what matters to communities across America and his insight has proved invaluable to the FOX & Friends audience. We look forward to welcoming him to our family as he wakes up America alongside our star co-hosts each morning.”
