- Lachlan Murdoch
Lachlan Keith Murdoch (born
September 8 ,1971 ), is the elder son of media mogul,Rupert Murdoch and the former Anna Torv. He resigned from his executive positions at News Corporation on29 July 2005 . However, Lachlan is still on the Board of Directors at NewsCorp and is a company consultant. Subsequently, younger brother James Murdoch is now viewed as his father's heir-apparent by the press. Their sister Elisabeth Murdoch, a businesswoman in her own right is married to publicistMatthew Freud . Lachlan is married toSarah Murdoch .Biography
Lachlan Murdoch was born in
London, England , but was raised in a wealthyManhattan neighbourhood, where his father owned the tabloid, the "New York Post ". He received his education at the exclusive Aspen Country Day School inAspen, Colorado , as well asPhillips Academy , in Andover, Massachusetts, and earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy fromPrinceton University .During summers he would work jobs ranging from cleaning printing presses to sub-editor at "The Sun" and "
The Times ". Fact|date=January 2008 At the age of 22, he was appointed general manager of Queensland Newspapers, which publishes TheCourier-Mail inBrisbane . One year later, he became publisher of Australia’s first national paper, "The Australian ". In 1995, he was appointed Deputy CEO ofNews Limited , Executive Director ofNews Corporation since 1996, Deputy Chief Operating Officer since 2000, Senior Executive Vice President from 1999 to 2000, and Chairman ofSTAR since 1995.Lachlan has been criticised as a "rich brat" for his "poor handling" of Murdoch interests in
One.Tel , [Luckhurst, Tim. [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4159/is_20050731/ai_n14828666 "Media: So where does Rupert Murdoch go from here?" "The Independent on Sunday".]31 July 2005 . Retrieved from FindArticles.com on17 March 2008 .] which lost the empire millions of dollars. In this venture, Lachlan worked with Australian businessmanJames Packer , the son ofKerry Packer . Lachlan has also been attacked for trying to "Americanise" Australian newspapers. He has also publicly supported the idea of Australia becoming a republic. [ [http://www.republic.org.au/ARM-2001/speeches&articles/spa_murdoch1.htm "Interview with Lachlan Murdoch, News Corporation." National ABC Radio AM 8.21 am.]22 September 1999 . Retrieved from Republic.org.au on11 March 2008 .]Murdoch married Australian model/actress,
Sarah O'Hare in 1999. They have two sons, Kalan Alexander, born in 2004, and Aidan Patrick, born onMay 6 2006 [ [http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,19059417%255E1702,00.html "Murdochs welcome their second son" - Heraldsun.news.com.au]7 May 2006 . Retrieved11 March 2008 .] Prior to 2003, Lachlan and Sarah were owners of "Berthong", a house in Elizabeth Bay, Sydney, which was subsequently bought byRussell Crowe . [Sams, Christine. [http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/05/31/1054177765250.html "On the move with Russell and Danielle." "The Sun-Herald".]1 June 2003 . Retrieved from Smh.com.au on11 March 2008 .] From time to time, Lachlan and Sarah host fundraising dinners for the charity Murdoch Children's Research Institute. [ [http://web.archive.org/web/20060917212847/http://www.mcri.edu.au/pages/about_us/ambassador.asp Our Ambassador Sarah Murdoch and the Development Board - MCRI.edu.au] Retrieved fromInternet Archive on17 September 2006 .] Lachlan is considered to be a friend of Australian actressNicole Kidman , [ [http://www.smh.com.au/news/people/murdoch-kidman-play-catchup-at-the-tennis/2005/09/03/1125302782122.html "Murdoch, Kidman play catch-up at the tennis." "The Sun-Herald".]4 September 2005 . Retrieved from SMH.com.au on11 March 2008 .] New Zealand actor Russell Crowe and directorBaz Luhrmann .Lachlan has a strong personal interest in Australian
rugby league . OnMarch 30 1995 , Lachlan Murdoch was at the first Super League meeting in the Atanaskovic Hartnell offices in Sydney. He and former Broncos chief John Ribot signed up leading Bulldogs players on documents which were not legally effective. Murdoch is the Brisbane Broncos number one ticket holder. [ [http://web.archive.org/web/20060314045353/http://www.souths.com.au/fanzone/viewnewsarticle.asp?ArticleID=1229 "Lachlan's legacy: $560m lost on Super League." "The Australian Financial Review".]5 August 2005 . Posted at www.souths.com.au. Retrieved fromInternet Archive on14 March 2006 .]For the year 2001, Murdoch earned a salary of A$2.59 million. [ [http://web.archive.org/web/20050526215313/http://www.crikey.com.au/articles/2001/10/07-newscorpagm.html "Rappers, Fulon Gong and lots of questions." Crikey.com.au]
7 October 2001 . Retrieved fromInternet Archive on26 May 2005 .] In June 2005, Murdoch received the Press & Outdoor Advertising "Media Person of The Year" award inCannes . [ [http://blogs.smh.com.au/newsblog/archives/001299.html "Lachlan Murdoch heckled in Cannes." "The Sydney Morning Herald" blogs] Retrieved from SMH.com.au on23 June 2005 .] Lachlan is one of the founding patrons (along with Anthony Pratt,Peter Lowy andLisa Fox of an organization called "Advance", formerly known as "YAPA" (Young Australian Professionals in America). [ [http://web.archive.org/web/20060824032914/http://www.australianyc.org/consulate/news/speeches/2005+Advance+Benefit+Dinner.pdf Speech for 2005 Advance benefit by The Hon. Consul General Ken Allen Am at Cipriani, Wall Street.] Posted at AutraliaNYC.org. Retrieved fromInternet Archive on24 August 2006 .]On
July 29 2005 , Lachlan announced that he would be resigning from executive roles with News Corporation and moving with his family to Australia, although he would retain his seat on the board. Fact|date=January 2008After his resignation,
Roger Ailes , the chairman of Fox News Channel, was named chairman of News Corp.'s group of television stations. The abrupt and unexplained departure of the 33-year-old Lachlan Murdoch apparently dashed News Corp. Chief Executive Rupert Murdoch's hopes that his son would one day take over as CEO of the global media empire, which includes theTwentieth Century Fox movie studio, the Fox television network, several satellite broadcasters, and newspapers in Britain, Australia, and the United States.In the weeks after his resignation, however, he began a new venture, lodging applications to set up a new Australian company called Illyria Pty Ltd, in which he acts as sole director and secretary.
As of February 2007, Murdoch is taking part in a joint venture with swimmer
Ian Thorpe in the hopes of aiding the HIV epidemic inPapua New Guinea . Fact|date=January 2008Lachlan is interested in adventure sports and he is a very good sailor (having competed in Sydney to Hobart race), skindiver and spearfisher.
On
21 January 2008 , Lachlan andJames Packer announced that their companies, Illyria Pty Ltd andConsolidated Press Holdings would seek to privatiseConsolidated Media Holdings which owns holdings in theNine Network ,Foxtel andAustralian Consolidated Press . [ [http://www.scopical.com.au/articles/News/2202/Murdoch-junior-to-seize-control-of-old-Packer-empire "Murdoch junior to seize control of old Packer empire." Scopical.com.au]21 January 2008 . Retrieved on17 March 2008 .]On January 24th 2008 Lachlan, along with Manoj Badale and Suresh Chellaram under the banner of
Emerging Media successfully bid for theRajasthan Royals franchise in the inauguralIndian Premier League for US$67 million.Quotes
By Lachlan
* "Good journalism is good business practice; good business supports great journalism." (Andrew Olle Media Lecture,
18 October 2002 )
* "You can see here that the Australian media elite define their club through standards designed only to exclude." (Andrew Olle Media Lecture,18 October 2002 )
* "One of the problems with American newspapers is that the design, the look, and the feel lack any sort of vigor, that's a pity." [Strupp, Joe. [http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1778324 "Murdoch, the Next Generation." Editor and Publisher.com]16 December 2002 . Retrieved11 March 2008 .]About Lachlan
* "He (Lachlan) was a gentleman, and he called to be sure that the contretemps last week was between him and the New York Daily News, not between him and me." — (
Ken Auletta , writer for "The New Yorker ", after a story that the "New York Post " was losing $40 million a year) [McEvoy, Dermot. [http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA372596.html?pubdate=1%2F5%2F2004&display=archive "Media Monitor: 1/5/2004"] "Publishers Weekly ".5 January 2004 . Retrieved11 March 2008 .]External links
* [http://wef.blogs.com/editors/j_staff_changes/ Some information about Lachlan]
* [http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/biography/M-R/Murdoch-Lachlan-1971.html Biographical article about Lachlan]
* [http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1778324 Detailed profile of Lachlan (Editor And Publisher Journal, December 16, 2002 by Joe Strupp]
* [http://www.self-gov.org/celebrities/lachlan-murdoch.html Lachlan Murdoch - Libertarian] from Advocates for Self-Government websiteDecision to leave News Corporation
* [http://newyorkmetro.com/nymetro/news/media/features/14302/ Detailed article from the "New York Magazine"] (September 19, 2005 by Steve Fishman) reportedly written with Lachlan's co-operation.
* [http://www.theage.com.au/news/business/why-lachlan-murdoch-quit/2005/09/14/1126377322482.html "Melbourne Age" article]
* [http://media.guardian.co.uk/mediaguardian/story/0,7558,1540260,00.html "Guardian" article] (August 1, 2005)
* [http://www.usatoday.com/money/media/2005-07-29-news-corp_x.htm "USA Today" article]peeches
* [http://abc.net.au/sydney/stories/s592878.htm Lachlan Murdochs "Andrew Olle Media Lecture" 18 October 2002]
* [http://www.press.org/abouttheclub/record/1999record/record-9-30-99.html National Press Club of the U.S., 21 September 1999]References
"This article contains content from the defunct wiki, HierarchyPedia, used here under the [http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html GNU Free Documentation License] "
Articles
* Kirkpatrick, David, "Murdoch Gets a Jewel. Who'll Get His Crown?" "
New York Times ",December 28 2003 .
* Milliken, Robert, "Lachlan Murdoch; Heir to the Sun and Sky," "Independent" (London),May 7 1995 .
* Pappu, Sridhar, "Lachlan Murdoch, Spiky Punk Heir Right for "Post"?" "New York Observer ",November 24 2003 .
* Salamon, Julie, "Television: An American Story; A Family That Tried to Be Both Rich and Good," "New York Times ",October 1 2000 .
* Neil Chenoweth, "The Australian Financial Review ",August 5 2005 , on Lachlan's involvement in Australian Super League shenanigans.Books
* Wendy Rohm "Murdoch Mission" (2002). Interviews with various Murdoch family members
* Neil Chenoweth "Virtual Murdoch" (2001). Mainly about Rupert Murdoch
*Paul Barry , "Rich Kids", Bantam Books, 2002, ISBN 1-86325-338-6
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