James Murdoch has resigned from the board of News Corp, the global media company his father founded.
A letter filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday disclosed his resignation.
“I hereby tender my resignation as a member of the Board of Directors of News Corporation,” effective Friday, Murdoch, 47, wrote. “My resignation is due to disagreements over certain editorial content published by the company’s news outlets and certain other strategic decisions.”
His father, Rupert Murdoch, 89, put in place possible succession plans six years ago when he elevated two of his sons, Lachlan Murdoch and James Murdoch, at News Corp and 21st Century Fox. James Murdoch was appointed co-chief operating officer at 21st Century Fox in 2014, sharing the duties with Chase Carey. And his brother, Lachlan Murdoch, was named non-executive co-chairman of 21st Century Fox and News Corp.
Rupert Murdoch stepped down as chairman and CEO of 21st Century Fox in 2015 and handed the reigns to his son, James Murdoch, who served as CEO of 21st Century Fox until 2019. In March 2019, 21st Century Fox was sold to The Walt Disney Company, ending his tenure as CEO.
Ahead of the Republican National Convention in 2016, James Murdoch, as CEO of 21st Century Fox, gave Roger Ailes, who helped President Donald Trump prepare for the presidential debates, two choices, resign or be fired because of a sexual harassment lawsuit, and ultimately decided to remove him.
More recently, James Murdoch has publicly stood out against the president, with one of News Corps’ main assets being Fox News, which leans right, according to All Sides Media Bias Ratings.
James Murdoch and his wife jointly contributed more than $1 million to a fundraising committee to support Trump’s presumed opponent in the 2020 presidential election, former Vice President Joe Biden.
Earlier this year Murdoch also criticized the family’s media companies for their climate change coverage amid wildfires raging in Australia.
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United Press International
