News Corp
News Corporation, stylized as News Corp,[3] is an American mass media and publishing company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The company was formed on June 28, 2013, following a spin-off of the media outlets of the original News Corporation as 21st Century Fox (21CF). Operating across digital real estate information, news media, book publishing, and cable television, News Corp's notable assets include Dow Jones & Company, which is the publisher of The Wall Street Journal, News UK, publisher of The Sun and The Times, News Corp Australia, REA Group, operator of realestate.com.au, realtor.com, and book publisher HarperCollins.
This article is about the current company established in 2013. For its Australian subsidiary, see News Corp Australia. For its predecessor company, see News Corporation.News Corp
- June 28, 2013
Worldwide
- Rupert Murdoch (chairman emeritus)
- Lachlan Murdoch (chairman)
- Robert James Thomson (CEO)
- Susan Panuccio (CFO)
- Newspapers
- Books
US$9.88 billion (2023)
US$556 million (2023)
US$149 million (2023)
US$16.9 billion (2023)
US$8.06 billion (2023)
Murdoch family (39% voting power)[1]
c. 25,000 (2023)
News Corp and 21st Century Fox are two companies that succeeded the original News Corp., which included Fox Entertainment Group and other broadcasting and media properties.[4] The spin-out was structured so that 21CF was the legal continuation of the original News Corp., with the new News Corp being a new company formed by a stock split.
Since March 19, 2019, Fox Corporation, which holds 21st Century Fox's national broadcasting, news and sports assets (following its sale to Disney the next day), is the sister company of News Corp under the Murdoch family's control.[5][6]
On September 21, 2023, Rupert Murdoch announced he would step down as News Corp's chairman by November.[7]
History[edit]
Formation[edit]
On June 28, 2012, Rupert Murdoch announced that News Corporation's publishing operations would be spun off to form a new, publicly traded company.[8][9] Murdoch stated that performing this split would "unlock the true value of both companies and their distinct assets, enabling investors to benefit from the separate strategic opportunities resulting from more focused management of each division". The move also came in the wake of a series of scandals that had damaged the reputation of multiple News Corporation-owned properties.[8][10]
Robert Thomson, then editor of The Wall Street Journal, was announced as the initial chief operating officer for the company. While Murdoch did not serve as CEO, he remained chairman and a shareholder of the new News Corp.[8][11] Thomson promised that the new company would "cultivate a start-up sensibility even though we already work for the world's most established and prestigious diversified media and information services company" and would emphasize building new business models around its properties and content.[12] The logo of the new News Corporation was unveiled at an investor presentation on May 28, 2013; the handwritten logo uses script based on Murdoch's own handwriting.[12]
News Corp's board approved the split on May 24, 2013, while shareholders approved the split on June 11;[10][13][14]
Preliminary trading on the Australian Securities Exchange of the new News Corp's class B stock began on June 19, 2013, at around $15 per share; a value slightly lower than expected by some analysts. The shares fell in price by 3% to $14.55 per share, valuing the new company at around $7.9 billion US.[15][16] The corporate split was finalized on June 28, 2013; during the stock splitting process, one share of the new News Corp was given to shareholders for every four shares they owned in the former News Corp.[16]
The current News Corp began trading on the Nasdaq stock exchange under the symbol "NWS" on July 1, 2013; at the same time, the former News Corporation (which encompassed purely of media properties, such as Fox Entertainment Group and 20th Century Fox) was renamed 21st Century Fox.[17][18]