Donald Trump spent election night attacking Fox News as his party suffered a historic defeat. Shortly after, Rupert Murdoch's Wall Street Journal declared Trump the "main architect" of the loss, while the New York Post splashed a giant blue tsunami across its front page depicting a helpless Trump being engulfed by a wave. Even on Fox News, where Trump has long enjoyed support, the mood turned muted as Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham discussed the role of the Iran conflict. A former senior News Corp executive stated Rupert Murdoch "does not want to be with a loser" and now "cares about the audience." Tuesday's results were described as a "crushing verdict" on the Republican Party. Murdoch's media empire, including the Times and Sun in the UK, faces a commercial dilemma: retaining the core audience while appealing to younger viewers as rival Newsmax waits to capitalize on any shift.
Rupert Murdoch has long sought to identify political winners early to shape their agendas. Last year, he agreed to pay more than $3bn to three of his children to give control of his media empire to his eldest son, Lachlan, ensuring it remains right-leaning. The shift comes as Republicans reckon with the scale of their electoral defeat and the future of an alliance that has sustained Trump's dominance of US conservatism over the past decade.
Source: Financial Times Companies · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing