It was announced on Thursday that Rupert Murdoch would be stepping down as chairman of his companies, Fox Corp. and News Corp.
"Our companies are in robust health, as am I," 92-year-old Murdoch said in a memo to employees. "We have every reason to be optimistic about the coming years – I certainly am, and plan to be here to participate in them. But the battle for the freedom of speech and, ultimately, the freedom of thought, has never been more intense."
"For my entire professional life, I have been engaged daily with news and ideas, and that will not change," Murdoch added in his note. "But the time is right for me to take on different roles, knowing that we have truly talented teams."
Murdoch first bought stock in Twentieth Century Fox in 1985 and would go on to help launch the Fox News Channel in 1996.
So, what's next for Fox after Murdoch's departure?
Murdoch will be appointed chairman emeritus of each company. Lachlan Murdoch, his eldest son, will become sole chairman of News Corp. and continue as executive chair and CEO of Fox Corp, Fox announced Thursday.
The transition will be made official at the annual meeting of shareholders for Fox and News Corp. in mid-November.
"On behalf of the FOX and News Corp boards of directors, leadership teams, and all the shareholders who have benefited from his hard work, I congratulate my father on his remarkable 70-year career," Lachlan Murdoch said in a statement. "We thank him for his vision, his pioneering spirit, his steadfast determination, and the enduring legacy he leaves to the companies he founded and countless people he has impacted. We are grateful that he will serve as Chairman Emeritus and know he will continue to provide valued counsel to both companies."
According to CNN: "It's unclear if Fox's direction will change under Lachlan, but Rupert signaled that Lachlan will maintain the right-wing editorial bent his media companies are known for."
In his memo to staff, Rupert Murdoch called his son a "passionate, principled leader."
"My father firmly believed in freedom, and Lachlan is absolutely committed to the cause," he wrote. "Self-serving bureaucracies are seeking to silence those who would question their provenance and purpose. Elites have open contempt for those who are not members of their rarefied class. Most of the media is in cahoots with those elites, peddling political narratives rather than pursuing the truth."