Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

Murdoch Empire Shaken, Even Before His Death | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Rupert Murdoch poses for a photograph with his sons Lachlan and James. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls


Washington- Media Mogul Rupert Murdoch, now 85, found himself last week surrounded by unpleasant news with an increase in the number of women accusing Roger Ailes, former Fox TV chairman, of sexual harassment; Fox T.V. belongs to Murdoch Empire.

Rumors spread that Republican Rival Donald Trump is willing to assign Ailes as his media advisor; this was faced by severe criticism. Other expected problems have come to surface not only over the empire’s management, especially Fox Television, but also after the father’s death.

The Hollywood Reporter Newspaper published a report headlined “The Murdoch Father-Sons Feud over Fox News Post-Roger Ailes” attached with a caricature of the three each trying to pull Fox TV to his side. This means that even before the father’s death, the sons are struggling over the empire management.

Last month, when Ailes resigned, the Washington Post described him as one of the strongest American media figures who did not only establish and develop Fox Television but made it a foundation for conservative media.

The Washington Post continued that Ailes added a special taste to Fox Television that made it a fierce competitor to other channels. The newspaper triggered the sexual harassment accusations which compelled his friend Murdoch to urge him to resign.

At the beginning of 1990, Murdoch tried to purchase CNN, ten years after its establishment but he failed. The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Murdoch’s younger son James met CNN President Jeff Zucker; this might be a sign that Fox -after the father’s death -will be less right-wing.

In all cases, it seems that the emperor and not the empire is starting to collapse.