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Rupert Murdoch out, son James in as Fox CEO
The Murdoch dynasty continues at 21st Century Fox as the company announced today that Rupert Murdoch's son, James Murdoch will take over as CEO beginning July 1. The elder Murdoch will join his other son Lachlan Murdoch as Co-Executive Chairman. Rupert announced he was stepping down as CEO less than a week ago. Placing James in charge isn't a surprise, he has been pushing Fox into the digital era with a heavy focus on streaming. In a joint statement the brothers said that they were, "humbled by the opportunity to lead, with our father and the talented team of executives at 21st Century Fox, this extraordinary company." [Image credit: Adrian Sanchez-Gonzalez/AFP/Getty Images]
Rupert Murdoch's exit as Fox CEO hints at a bigger digital future
There's a big executive shakeup looming that could change the digital media landscape in the long run. Both CNBC and the Wall Street Journal report that Rupert Murdoch is planning to step down from the CEO role at 21st Century Fox, with his son James taking the reins. The media mogul will still hang around as an executive chairman (along with his other son Lachlan), like he does at News Corp, but he won't be so closely involved in day-to-day affairs. The handover would take place no later than 2016.
iPad affecting newspaper sales
Today at the Monaco Media Forum, another nail was pounded into the coffin of that cornerstone of traditional media, the newspaper. News Corp's Asian/European operations lead, James Murdoch, noted that the switch to iPad and other mobile reading apps has had a direct effect on newspaper sales. Murdoch said that the apps were "much more directly cannibalistic" than web sites, as subscribers read the apps in a manner similar to how they read traditional newspapers. Web readers apparently consume their news somewhat differently. While he didn't disclose sales numbers, Murdoch said that the newspapers affected include the Wall Street Journal, News of the World, and the Times of London. News Corp isn't making as much money on subscriptions through mobile apps, but is happy with selling news through the iTunes model. Apple's 30% take isn't that bad when the cost of printing and distribution of traditional newspapers is taken into account. Murdoch mentioned that "the guy on the newstand and the newsagent charge a percentage, and they don't even merchandise it properly." While the iPad is the current leader in electronic news sales, News Corp just delivered an Android tablet version of the Wall Street Journal yesterday and also provides a version for the Amazon Kindle and other e-readers.
