Rupert Murdoch,

the powerful and controversial mogul who helped transform the modern media landscape for seventy years

, is stepping down as chairman of his two family companies, Fox Corp. and News Corp.

Murdoch, 92, who will be succeeded by his son Lachlan,

WHO

announced his decision in a

to a

Note sent to employees Thursday.

“I am writing to let you all know that I have decided to transition into the role of Chairman Emeritus at Fox and News,” the mogul said. I have been dealing with news and ideas every day throughout my professional life, and that will not change. But the time is right for me to take on different roles.”

The move is intended as a strong statement that a succession plan will continue, with Lachlan Murdoch pushing forward the influential media companies, owners of the politically right-wing channel Fox News and the Wall Street Journal, with their ideological slant.

“My father believed in freedom, and Lachlan is absolutely committed to the cause,” Murdoch wrote. “Self-centered bureaucracies seek to silence those who question their origins and purpose. Elites have open contempt for those who are not members of

the

their rarefied class.”

The success story began six years ago, when Murdoch formulated plans to sell much of his entertainment company, 21st Century Fox, to Walt Disney Co.

That move, completed in March 2019, created a slimmed-down version of the Fox the Fox broadcast network, sports networks and Fox News.

Murdoch has long made it clear that he wanted his eldest son, Lachlan, to run the operation. The Disney deal formalized his wish because the sale also eliminated his youngest son, James, leaving him without a role in the company. James Murdoch is now working on two separate entertainment projects.

There is expected to be a restructuring of the executive ranks following Murdoch’s announcement, according to people within the company with knowledge of the plans but not authorized to comment publicly.

Murdoch is said to be in good health, but has faced several medical problems in recent years. His note stated that he will “continue to be involved in the battle of ideas every day.”

But the mogul has had a challenging year. Fox Corp. had to pay $787.5 million to settle a defamation lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems. The voting software company claimed it was damaged by Fox News repeatedly pushing Trump’s false allegations of fraud in the 2020 election.

The company is facing a similar lawsuit from Smartmatic, another voting equipment company that said it was defamed in Fox News reporting. The case will go to trial next year.

Critics have accused Murdoch’s media of contributing to the coarseness and polarization of society.

In the US, he is both loved and reviled for founding Fox News, which has championed conservative causes, including Donald Trump’s political career, and damned liberals.

Fox News was launched in 1996 as a conservative antidote to rival Ted Turner’s CNN. With its marketing slogan “fair and balanced,” Murdoch’s outlet raised his combative profile with coverage of President Clinton’s sex scandal involving Monica Lewinsky.

Over the years, it became a powerful platform for Republican politicians to speak to their base in the Red States and, among other things, helped fuel the tea party movement.