Earlier this year, 92-year-old Rupert Murdoch announced his retirement and named his eldest son, Lachlan, as the sole chair of News Corp.
Rupert is one of the most powerful men in the world, with a multi-billion dollar media empire that spans continents and is no stranger to scandal. But who is the man taking the reins of this media behemoth?
Paddy Manning is an investigative reporter who has been researching the Murdochs for years. His new podcast, Rupert: The Last Mogul, is available now on the Listnr App. He joined Tom Tilly on The Briefing to discuss the man set to become one of Australia’s most influential people.
As head of Fox News, Lachlan has experienced significant scrutiny and legal challenges – but Paddy says he is focused on business and freedom of speech.
“Fox News it is unbelievably profitable. Two billion dollars a year that it makes but, but yeah, I think that Lachlan also has an idea that, you know, someone has to represent…the quality of debate is lifted by a diversity of opinion.”
“Someone has to represent that kind of, you know, middle America, if you like… small L Liberal media, the way the Murdochs see it, you know, is dominated by coastal elites. And that’s literally how they talk. And someone had to represent middle America now, he’s not saying that he agrees with everything that goes to air on Fox News, but he, I think, believes there’s a public interest in represent ending a broader variety of views.”
That being said, Paddy says the next few years could see a surprising turn of the tides for the Murdoch empire:
“He is incredibly private, and I think he has done a remarkable job given he’s grown up in the spotlight his entire life of keeping his views to himself…
Talking to other members…sources close to other members of the family. The siblings were determined once Rupert passed to reassert control of the Murdoch family businesses and do it in a way that protects and enhances democracies around the world rather than undermines them.”