James Murdoch (media executive)
Encyclopedia
James Rupert Jacob Murdoch (born 13 December 1972) is the younger son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch
and currently serves as chairman and chief executive of News Corporation
, Europe, and Asia, overseeing assets such as News International
(British newspapers), SKY Italia
(satellite television in Italy), Sky Deutschland, and STAR TV
(satellite television in Asia).
He sits on the News Corporation board of directors and is a member of the office of the chairman. He is also non-executive chairman of British Sky Broadcasting
, in which News Corporation has a controlling minority stake.
He was formerly an executive vice president of News Corporation
, the controlling shareholder of BSkyB, and served on the boards of directors of News Datacom and of News Corporation.
James Murdoch is a British citizen by birth and a naturalised U.S. citizen. He would have lost Australian citizenship when his father became a U.S. citizen, but he is eligible to reclaim Australian citizenship.
’s six children, and the third with Scottish-born Anna Maria Torv.
As a youngster James was regarded as the brightest of the Murdoch children, but was also considered something of a rebel. He first came to public notice as a 15-year-old intern at the Sydney Daily Mirror
but made headlines in the rival The Sydney Morning Herald
after he was photographed asleep on a sofa at a press conference.
Murdoch attended Horace Mann School
in New York City and graduated in 1991. He then studied film and history at Harvard University
, where Murdoch edited underground magazines and drew a comic strip for the college’s famed satirical magazine, Harvard Lampoon
. He dropped out of university in 1995 without completing his studies. With university friends Brian Brater and Jarret Myer
, he backed the establishment of Rawkus Records
, an independent
hip hop
record label
. The company was bought by News Corporation in 1998.
Murdoch is credited with sparking his father’s interest in the Internet, and he reportedly tried to persuade his father to buy internet company Pointcast
for US$450 million. It was subsequently sold to another company for $7 million.
After installing a new management team at Festival, Murdoch purchased the controlling 51 percent share of Mushroom Records
in 1999, and the merged group was rebranded as Festival Mushroom Records. It was at first thought that News might use FMR as the foundation of a new international entertainment company, but Festival struggled while Murdoch was in charge and after his departure its fortunes declined rapidly; the company was wound up in late 2005 and its remaining assets were sold. The recording catalogue was sold to the Australian division of Warner Music for only A$10 million in October 2005, and the publishing division was sold to Michael Gudinski
a month later, for an undisclosed sum.
In May 2000, the newly married Murdoch was appointed chairman and chief executive of News Corporation’s ailing Asian satellite service Star Television, which at the time was losing £100m a year, and he moved to Hong Kong.
On 13 February 2003, James became a director of BSkyB. Later that year, he controversially became CEO of BSkyB, in which News Corporation owns a controlling minority stake. His appointment sparked accusations of nepotism
, with some commentators and shareholders feeling that the job had not been opened to outsiders and that Murdoch was too young and inexperienced to run one of the UK’s top companies (on appointment he was by far the youngest chief executive of a FTSE 100 company).
Following the shock resignation of his brother Lachlan Murdoch
from his executive positions at News Corporation on 29 July 2005, James is widely viewed as his father’s heir-apparent.
On 7 December 2007, Murdoch stepped down as CEO from BSkyB and was appointed non-executive chairman of the company (a position formerly held by his father, Rupert).
In a related announcement, Murdoch also took “direct responsibility for the strategic and operational development of News Corporation
’s television, newspaper, and related digital assets in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.” This included holdings such as News International
, SKY Italia
, STAR Group ltd and possibly other News Corp. related assets. He was based at News International
’s headquarters in Wapping
, East London
.
In February 2009, Murdoch was appointed a non-executive director with the pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline
.
On 28 August 2009, Murdoch delivered the MacTaggart Memorial Lecture at the Edinburgh International Television Festival
, in which he attacked the BBC
and UK media regulator Ofcom
calling the BBC’s expansion “chilling” and
“In this all-media marketplace, the expansion of state-sponsored journalism is a threat to the plurality and independence of news provision, which are so important for our democracy.”
The BBC chairman, Sir Michael Lyons officially responded, “We have to be careful not to reduce the whole of broadcasting to some simple economic
transactions. The BBC’s
public purposes stress the importance of the well-tested principles of
educating and informing, and an impartial contribution to debate in the UK.”
In April 2010, Murdoch and his associate Rebekah Brooks stormed into the offices of The Independent
to complain about an advertisement campaign by the newspaper. The advertisement read, “Rupert Murdoch won’t decide this election—you will.”
On 7 July 2011, James Murdoch announced the closure of the British tabloid newspaper the News of the World
in the wake of a phone hacking scandal
.
On 19 July 2011, along with his father, Rupert, he appeared at a hearing of the Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee. He appeared once again before the same committee on Thursday 10 November 2011.
On 22 July 2011, Britain’s prime minister, David Cameron, said that James Murdoch has “questions to answer in Parliament,” a day after former top executives of the News of the World accused the News Corporation executive of giving “mistaken” evidence.
On 23 November 2011, British newspapers reported James Murdoch resigned as chairman of NGN, News Group Newspapers, the holding company above the Sun
, News of the World
and Times Newspapers Ltd, itself owner of The Times
and The Sunday Times
. NGN is the company subject to a series of lawsuits all related to the phone hacking scandal. James Murdoch's resignation is also said to be related to the 12-10-2011 resignation of another Dow Jones Executive, Andrew Langhoff, after a company whistleblower revealed an editorial scam and questionable circulation dealings at The Wall Street Journal Europe
.
in 2006.
Apparently in 2011, James Murdoch has been promoted and will relocate to New York. This has triggered a rumour that James is the person behind the $23 million purchase of the Muppet Mansion, the house formerly owned by Jim Henson
.
Rupert Murdoch
Keith Rupert Murdoch, AC, KSG is an Australian-American business magnate. He is the founder and Chairman and CEO of , the world's second-largest media conglomerate....
and currently serves as chairman and chief executive of News Corporation
News Corporation
News Corporation or News Corp. is an American multinational media conglomerate. It is the world's second-largest media conglomerate as of 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009, although the BBC remains the world's largest broadcaster...
, Europe, and Asia, overseeing assets such as News International
News International
News International Ltd is the United Kingdom newspaper publishing division of News Corporation. Until June 2002, it was called News International plc....
(British newspapers), SKY Italia
Sky Italia
Sky Italia S.r.l. is an Italian digital satellite television platform owned by News Corporation launched on 1 August 2003, when the former platforms TELE+ and Stream TV merged together...
(satellite television in Italy), Sky Deutschland, and STAR TV
STAR TV (Asia)
Satellite Television Asian Region is an Asian TV service owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation.In 2009, News Corporation restructured STAR Asia into four units – STAR India, STAR Greater China, STAR Select and Fox International Channels....
(satellite television in Asia).
He sits on the News Corporation board of directors and is a member of the office of the chairman. He is also non-executive chairman of British Sky Broadcasting
British Sky Broadcasting
British Sky Broadcasting Group plc is a satellite broadcasting, broadband and telephony services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, with operations in the United Kingdom and the Ireland....
, in which News Corporation has a controlling minority stake.
He was formerly an executive vice president of News Corporation
News Corporation
News Corporation or News Corp. is an American multinational media conglomerate. It is the world's second-largest media conglomerate as of 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009, although the BBC remains the world's largest broadcaster...
, the controlling shareholder of BSkyB, and served on the boards of directors of News Datacom and of News Corporation.
James Murdoch is a British citizen by birth and a naturalised U.S. citizen. He would have lost Australian citizenship when his father became a U.S. citizen, but he is eligible to reclaim Australian citizenship.
Early life
He is the fourth of multibillionaire media mogul Rupert MurdochRupert Murdoch
Keith Rupert Murdoch, AC, KSG is an Australian-American business magnate. He is the founder and Chairman and CEO of , the world's second-largest media conglomerate....
’s six children, and the third with Scottish-born Anna Maria Torv.
As a youngster James was regarded as the brightest of the Murdoch children, but was also considered something of a rebel. He first came to public notice as a 15-year-old intern at the Sydney Daily Mirror
The Daily Mirror (Australia)
The Daily Mirror was an afternoon paper established by Ezra Norton in Sydney, Australia in 1941, gaining a licence from the Minister for Trade and Customs, Eric Harrison, despite wartime paper rationing. In October 1958, Norton and his partners sold his newspapers to the Fairfax group, which...
but made headlines in the rival The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald is a daily broadsheet newspaper published by Fairfax Media in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1831 as the Sydney Herald, the SMH is the oldest continuously published newspaper in Australia. The newspaper is published six days a week. The newspaper's Sunday counterpart, The...
after he was photographed asleep on a sofa at a press conference.
Murdoch attended Horace Mann School
Horace Mann School
Horace Mann School is an independent college preparatory school in New York City, New York, United States founded in 1887 known for its rigorous course of studies. Horace Mann is a member of the Ivy Preparatory School League, educating students from all across the New York tri-state area from...
in New York City and graduated in 1991. He then studied film and history at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, where Murdoch edited underground magazines and drew a comic strip for the college’s famed satirical magazine, Harvard Lampoon
Harvard Lampoon
The Harvard Lampoon is an undergraduate humor publication founded in 1876 at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.-Overview:Published since 1876, The Harvard Lampoon is the world's longest continually published humor magazine. It is also the second longest-running English-language humor...
. He dropped out of university in 1995 without completing his studies. With university friends Brian Brater and Jarret Myer
Jarret Myer
Jarret Myer, born February 6, 1973, is an American media entrepreneur who co-founded the record label Rawkus Records and is currently the co-founder of Big Frame, an influencer-powered, data-driven media company that creates branded content media campaigns on YouTube and CEO and co-founder of...
, he backed the establishment of Rawkus Records
Rawkus Records
Rawkus Records is an American hip-hop record label known for jump-starting the careers of both Mos Def and Talib Kweli. Rawkus started in 1996 with initial releases ranging from hip-hop to drum and bass...
, an independent
Independent record label
An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...
hip hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
. The company was bought by News Corporation in 1998.
Business career
In 1996 he joined News Corporation and was appointed chairman of Festival Records. He took charge of News Corporation’s internet operations, where he invested in a series of ventures, including financial website TheStreet and the short-lived online music site Whammo, with mixed results. He also continued to contribute cartoons to U.S. magazine Gear.Murdoch is credited with sparking his father’s interest in the Internet, and he reportedly tried to persuade his father to buy internet company Pointcast
PointCast
PointCast may mean:* PointCast , a "Rich UI" & "push technology" company* PointCast Media, a defunct pay per click search feed and keyword advertising company founded in 1996...
for US$450 million. It was subsequently sold to another company for $7 million.
After installing a new management team at Festival, Murdoch purchased the controlling 51 percent share of Mushroom Records
Mushroom Records
Mushroom Records is an Australian recoJrd company formed by Michael Gudinski and Ray Evans in Melbourne in 1972. After its sale in 1998, it merged into Festival Mushroom Records. From 2005 to 2009, it is one of the record labels operated by Warner Bros...
in 1999, and the merged group was rebranded as Festival Mushroom Records. It was at first thought that News might use FMR as the foundation of a new international entertainment company, but Festival struggled while Murdoch was in charge and after his departure its fortunes declined rapidly; the company was wound up in late 2005 and its remaining assets were sold. The recording catalogue was sold to the Australian division of Warner Music for only A$10 million in October 2005, and the publishing division was sold to Michael Gudinski
Michael Gudinski
Michael Solomon Gudinski, AM is an Australian entrepreneur and businessman currently based in Melbourne who is a leading figure in the Australian music industry...
a month later, for an undisclosed sum.
In May 2000, the newly married Murdoch was appointed chairman and chief executive of News Corporation’s ailing Asian satellite service Star Television, which at the time was losing £100m a year, and he moved to Hong Kong.
On 13 February 2003, James became a director of BSkyB. Later that year, he controversially became CEO of BSkyB, in which News Corporation owns a controlling minority stake. His appointment sparked accusations of nepotism
Nepotism
Nepotism is favoritism granted to relatives regardless of merit. The word nepotism is from the Latin word nepos, nepotis , from which modern Romanian nepot and Italian nipote, "nephew" or "grandchild" are also descended....
, with some commentators and shareholders feeling that the job had not been opened to outsiders and that Murdoch was too young and inexperienced to run one of the UK’s top companies (on appointment he was by far the youngest chief executive of a FTSE 100 company).
Following the shock resignation of his brother Lachlan Murdoch
Lachlan Murdoch
Lachlan Keith Murdoch is the eldest son of Australian-American media mogul Rupert Murdoch and his second wife Anna Torv. He resigned from his executive positions at News Corporation on 29 July 2005...
from his executive positions at News Corporation on 29 July 2005, James is widely viewed as his father’s heir-apparent.
On 7 December 2007, Murdoch stepped down as CEO from BSkyB and was appointed non-executive chairman of the company (a position formerly held by his father, Rupert).
In a related announcement, Murdoch also took “direct responsibility for the strategic and operational development of News Corporation
News Corporation
News Corporation or News Corp. is an American multinational media conglomerate. It is the world's second-largest media conglomerate as of 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009, although the BBC remains the world's largest broadcaster...
’s television, newspaper, and related digital assets in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.” This included holdings such as News International
News International
News International Ltd is the United Kingdom newspaper publishing division of News Corporation. Until June 2002, it was called News International plc....
, SKY Italia
Sky Italia
Sky Italia S.r.l. is an Italian digital satellite television platform owned by News Corporation launched on 1 August 2003, when the former platforms TELE+ and Stream TV merged together...
, STAR Group ltd and possibly other News Corp. related assets. He was based at News International
News International
News International Ltd is the United Kingdom newspaper publishing division of News Corporation. Until June 2002, it was called News International plc....
’s headquarters in Wapping
Wapping
Wapping is a place in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets which forms part of the Docklands to the east of the City of London. It is situated between the north bank of the River Thames and the ancient thoroughfare simply called The Highway...
, East London
North East (London sub region)
The North East is a sub-region of the London Plan corresponding to the London Boroughs of Tower Hamlets, Newham, Waltham Forest, Redbridge, Havering, Barking and Dagenham, and the City of London. The sub region was established in 2008 and replaced the larger East sub region that had been...
.
In February 2009, Murdoch was appointed a non-executive director with the pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline
GlaxoSmithKline
GlaxoSmithKline plc is a global pharmaceutical, biologics, vaccines and consumer healthcare company headquartered in London, United Kingdom...
.
On 28 August 2009, Murdoch delivered the MacTaggart Memorial Lecture at the Edinburgh International Television Festival
Edinburgh International Television Festival
The Edinburgh International Television Festival, founded in 1976, is held annually over the British August bank holiday weekend at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre....
, in which he attacked the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
and UK media regulator Ofcom
Ofcom
Ofcom is the government-approved regulatory authority for the broadcasting and telecommunications industries in the United Kingdom. Ofcom was initially established by the Office of Communications Act 2002. It received its full authority from the Communications Act 2003...
calling the BBC’s expansion “chilling” and
“In this all-media marketplace, the expansion of state-sponsored journalism is a threat to the plurality and independence of news provision, which are so important for our democracy.”
The BBC chairman, Sir Michael Lyons officially responded, “We have to be careful not to reduce the whole of broadcasting to some simple economic
transactions. The BBC’s
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
public purposes stress the importance of the well-tested principles of
educating and informing, and an impartial contribution to debate in the UK.”
In April 2010, Murdoch and his associate Rebekah Brooks stormed into the offices of The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
to complain about an advertisement campaign by the newspaper. The advertisement read, “Rupert Murdoch won’t decide this election—you will.”
On 7 July 2011, James Murdoch announced the closure of the British tabloid newspaper the News of the World
News of the World
The News of the World was a national red top newspaper published in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the biggest selling English language newspaper in the world, and at closure still had one of the highest English language circulations...
in the wake of a phone hacking scandal
News of the World phone hacking affair
The News International phone-hacking scandal is an ongoing controversy involving mainly the News of the World but also other British tabloid newspapers published by News International, a subsidiary of News Corporation. Employees of the newspaper were accused of engaging in phone hacking, police...
.
On 19 July 2011, along with his father, Rupert, he appeared at a hearing of the Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee. He appeared once again before the same committee on Thursday 10 November 2011.
On 22 July 2011, Britain’s prime minister, David Cameron, said that James Murdoch has “questions to answer in Parliament,” a day after former top executives of the News of the World accused the News Corporation executive of giving “mistaken” evidence.
On 23 November 2011, British newspapers reported James Murdoch resigned as chairman of NGN, News Group Newspapers, the holding company above the Sun
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
, News of the World
News of the World
The News of the World was a national red top newspaper published in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the biggest selling English language newspaper in the world, and at closure still had one of the highest English language circulations...
and Times Newspapers Ltd, itself owner of The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
and The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
. NGN is the company subject to a series of lawsuits all related to the phone hacking scandal. James Murdoch's resignation is also said to be related to the 12-10-2011 resignation of another Dow Jones Executive, Andrew Langhoff, after a company whistleblower revealed an editorial scam and questionable circulation dealings at The Wall Street Journal Europe
The Wall Street Journal Europe
The Wall Street Journal Europe is a daily English-language newspaper that covers global and regional business news for Europe, the Middle East and Africa...
.
Personal life
James Murdoch has three children, Anneka (born in May 2003 in Hong Kong), Walter (born 2006), and Emerson (born 2008) with his American wife Kathryn Hufschmid, who works for the Clinton Climate Initiative, a charitable foundation set up by the former U.S. president, Bill ClintonBill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
in 2006.
Apparently in 2011, James Murdoch has been promoted and will relocate to New York. This has triggered a rumour that James is the person behind the $23 million purchase of the Muppet Mansion, the house formerly owned by Jim Henson
Jim Henson
James Maury "Jim" Henson was an American puppeteer best known as the creator of The Muppets. As a puppeteer, Henson performed in various television programs, such as Sesame Street and The Muppet Show, films such as The Muppet Movie and The Great Muppet Caper, and created advanced puppets for...
.
External links
- Published articles at Journalisted