(Reuters) – Rupert Murdoch has stepped down as the chairman of Fox and News Corp, ending a seven-decade career that began from his father’s Australian newspaper business and culminated in one of the most influential media empires.
With deals for companies like Dow Jones, Sky and 21st Century Fox, Murdoch built a media behemoth that controlled large swaths of news, publishing and film industries.
Here’s a timeline of key milestones through Murdoch’s career:
YEAR EVENT
1952 Murdoch inherits his father’s Australian newspaper
“The News” at the age of 21. In 1953, he becomes
its editor and publisher and joins the board of
News Ltd.
1969 He acquires News of the World and turns it into
the most widely read English-language weekly in
the world, eventually amassing scores of
newspapers and magazines.
1973 Enters the U.S. market with the purchase of San
Antonio Express and the San Antonio News.
1976 Acquires New York Post for $30 million.
1981 His company News International buys the Times and
Sunday Times
1985 Buys 50% of 21st Century Fox
1986 News Corporation acquires Metromedia, which
included six television stations that would lay
the foundation for Fox network.
1987 Buys U.S. publisher Harper & Row
1989 Forms publisher HarperCollins through merger of
the two companies. Launches Sky Television in the
UK
1996 Launches Fox News
1998 Fox Entertainment Group went public
2004 Murdoch enacts an emergency poison pill provision
after Liberty Media Chairman John Malone quietly
snaps up close to 20% of News Corp voting shares.
2007 Acquires the Wall Street Journal publisher Dow
Jones for $5.6 billion.
2011 Shuts the weekly British tabloid, News of the
World, after a far-reaching phone hacking scandal
that rocked his empire, the Murdoch family and the
British establishment.
2013 Splits News Corporation assets into News Corp and
21st Century Fox
Dec, 2017 Disney strikes a deal to buy film, television and
international businesses from Twenty-First Century
Fox for $52.4 billion in stock
May, 2018 Lachlan Murdoch replaces brother James as Fox CEO
after Disney deal.
Sept, 2018 21st Century Fox agrees to sell its 39% stake in
Sky to Comcast, completing the U.S. cable group’s
takeover and ending Murdoch’s ties with the
UK-based satellite broadcaster.
March, Walt Disney closes its $71 billion acquisition of
2019 Twenty-First Century Fox’s film and television
assets.
Feb, 2021 Electronic voting systems maker Smartmatic sues
Fox News and Rudolph Giuliani, a lawyer for former
President Donald Trump, claiming they falsely
accused the company of helping to rig the U.S.
presidential election in favor of Joe Biden.
March, Dominion Voting Systems Corp files a $1.6 billion
2021 defamation lawsuit against Fox News, accusing it
of trying to boost its ratings by falsely claiming
the company rigged the 2020 U.S. presidential
election against Donald Trump.
Oct, 2022 Murdoch starts a process to reunite his media
empire, News Corp and Fox Corp, saying they would
consider combining at his behest, nearly a decade
after the companies split.
Jan, 2023 Murdoch scraps proposal to reunite News Corp and
Fox Corp as the company was also exploring a sale
of Move Inc.
April, Fox settles a defamation lawsuit by Dominion
2023 Voting Systems for $787.5 million, over US
election lies. A week later Fox News Media and
top-rated host Tucker Carlson agree to part ways.
September, Murdoch steps down as chairman of Fox and News
2023 Corp, cementing his son Lachlan’s role as the
leader of the media empire. Lachlan will be the
chairman of News Corp and continue as the chair
and CEO of Fox.
(Reporting by Chavi Mehta and Samrhitha Arunasalam in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Zaheer Kachwala; Editing by Arun Koyyur)
