James Murdoch, scion of conservative media titan Rupert Murdoch, speaks out in a new interview, criticizing the American TV crown jewel in his father’s news empire, saying: ‘There are views I really disagree with on Fox.”
In a New Yorker interview, the 46-year-old Murdoch discussed his own take on the current media environment and his fears that bad actors are attempting to poison democracy and Western liberalism. The younger of Rupert’s two sons, James has always displayed a more liberal bent politically and has recently donated to the political campaigns of 2020 Democratic candidates John Hickenlooper and Pete Buttigieg.
This past spring, Murdoch completely walked away from any role in his father’s company — along with a $2 billion payout — after its merger with Disney. (Older brother Lachlan was named Chairman and CEO of Fox Corporation.)
“There’s been a bet for a long time that economic liberalization would inevitably lead to political liberalization,” Murdoch told the New Yorker, “but it didn’t work out that way.” He went on to warn that authoritarian leaders and governments are now increasingly manipulating and dividing the public through digital disinformation tactics.
Asked if this was a veiled shot at his father’s network, Murdoch didn’t pull his punches.
“There are views I really disagree with on Fox,” Murdoch said. “But I wouldn’t cast it as some reaction to that.”
“But this is not just a Trumpian problem,” Murdoch added. “Generally, Western liberalism is up against an enormous amount of opposition everywhere.”
Photo credit: Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for National Geographic.
