Don’t Worry: With A Big Pile Of Money Everything Works Out

Michael Hedges August 3, 2020 Follow on Twitter

The great growth of the media sector during the last two decades of the last century has undergone several reversals in this century. There have been spurts, mostly enabled by digital transition, which has equally brought on consolidation and other disruption. By consequence there are many highly experienced media people looking for that next opportunity. And at the top, social distancing accepted, fewer doors are open.

James Murdoch last week resigned his News Corporation (News Corp) board seat. A terse statement, required by the US Security and Exchange Commission, referred to “disagreements over certain editorial content published by the company’s news outlets and certain other strategic decisions.” Aside from a beneficial holding in the Murdoch Family Trust, controlling shareholder of News Corp and Fox Corp, James is now separated from the family businesses. An equally terse statement from News Corp wished him “the very best in his future endeavors.”

James Murdoch’s fate with the family business was sealed by the 2011 phone hacking revelations, public as they were. He was chairman of News International (NI), publisher of UK tabloids News Of The World and The Sun, then a subsidiary of News Corp. During a televised public hearing he repeatedly said he was "surprised and shocked” as he threw NI chief executive Rebekah Brooks under the bus. Rupert Murdoch, at the same hearing, threw everybody under the bus by saying it was all terrible and he had been busy in New York. The investigative committee of the UK Parliament summarized it all as “willful blindness.” After News Of The World closed, Ms Brooks went underground only to return to the newly formed News UK as chief executive. Ms Brooks was always a favorite of the elder Mr. Murdoch.

After the phone hacking turmoil - and with London credibility in tatters - James relocated to New York as chief executive of 21st Century Fox, the family’s television and film business. British Conservative Party politicians, counting on editorial blessings from The Times, Sunday Times and the Sun as Brexit approached, wanted to see James get on that jet airplane. Over in the Big Apple, James butted heads with ultra-rightwing Fox News chief Roger Ailes and, with older brother Lachlan, forced out the Nixonian propaganda master. There was a huge sexual harassment scandal.

During his New York years with the company James pushed green initiatives, quite incongruous given the editorial positions taken at Fox News, the Wall Street Journal and the New York Post, not to forget the UK and Australian newspapers. In 2007 he pushed through a company-wide environmental sustainability program with the support of the elder Mr. Murdoch. More recently he was taken to criticize older brother Lachlan over wildfire news coverage in Australia. And, too, he has contributed financially to different environmental defence funds.

The difference in opinions between the siblings has only grown more acute. Lachlan had remained in Australia while James spirited off to New York, London and places beyond. He even left the company to explore various media ventures down under for several years. Lachlan’s career in the family fold had been eclipsed by James. That all changed in 2015 as he withdrew as chairman and director of Australian broadcaster Ten Media Holdings to join 21st Century Fox as executive chairman. Elisabeth Murdoch, another sibling, launched UK TV production house Shine in 2001 and sold it a decade later to News Corp. She took a pass on joining the News Corp board at the time. Speaking to rumors earlier this year that she might be appointed director general of public broadcaster BBC she respectively declined.

It was the big Walt Disney Company (Disney) deal to acquire much of the 21st Century Fox assets that made it clear that James would need to chart a different path. Industry scuttlebutt at the time, confirmed by Disney chairman Bob Iger, put James in the lead to join Disney in some capacity, possibly succeeding Mr. Iger. By the time the deal closed last year, with the Murdoch siblings sharing rich rewards, Mr. Iger had other plans. Family-friendly Disney had no place for a Murdoch of Fox News infamy. James went on to invest in Tesla Motors, Vice News and the Tribeca Film Festival.

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