Heir apparent: Is James Murdoch a chip off the old block?
Posted by: in Marketing and AdvertisingFiled under: Management, Marketing and advertising, News Corp’B’ (NWS), Entrepreneurs
This post is one of several on business heirs apparent. Let us know in the comments whether you think James Murdoch should take up the reigns of News Corp., and be sure to check out the other heir apparent posts.
James Murdoch seems the opposite of his father, media mogul Rupert Murdoch.
The younger Murdoch is described in media reports as a low-key family man who isn’t much of a schmoozer. Rupert Murdoch adores to court politicians, something that doesn’t seem to interest James. The fourth Murdoch child, though, did sow his wild oats when he was younger, dropping out of Harvard and founding a hip-hop music label that was later acquired by News Corp. (NYSE: NWS).
But James Murdoch got rid of the eyebrow stud and got serious about business. Sure, Rupert Murdoch’s many detractors screamed “nepotism” when the old man named him to run the News Corp’s British Sky Broadcasting business. Eventually, though, James Murdoch won them over by doing a bang-up job.
“He won over his critics in the city by hitting ambitious targets, increasing the number of Sky subscribers by more than one million, but he also eschewed his father’s abrasive approach, saying early on that the company would be ‘a partner not a pariah’ to its rivals,” according to The U.K,’s Observer newspaper.
Last year, Rupert Murdoch promoted his son to the job of chief executive for Asia and Europe, suggesting as the AP noted, that he’s being groomed for the top job. But will Rupert Murdoch ever be able to let go of the reins of power? Sumner Redstone has sure found it difficult.
There’s no way that News Corp. would have ever done a $5 billion dilutive deal for Dow Jones & Co. based on a cool reading of the balance sheet. As I’ve argued before, Rupert Murdoch is almost as interested in gaining influence as making money. If shareholders happen to benefit, that’s great. If they don’t too bad.
Maybe a James Murdoch-led company would be more disciplined. That would be great for shareholders but lousy for journalists who obsessively follow Rupert Murdoch’s every move.
Freelance writer Jonathan Berr edits the blog Ketchup and Eggs.
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