Murdoch steps down as chair of Fox and News Corp

Rupert Murdoch is to step down as chair of Fox and News Corporation, it was officially announced on Thursday, with the 92-year-old media empire owner becoming "chair emeritus", leaving the way open for his son Lachlan to take over the reins.

“For my entire professional life, I have been engaged daily with news and ideas, and that will not change. But the time is right for me to take on different roles,” he wrote in a note to staff first reported in the Murdoch-controlled Wall Street Journal.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com