During the COVID-19 Emergency, Media Mogul Rupert Murdoch Also Returns Salary

Media Emperor Rupert Murdoch. Photo by Bloomberg

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] Fox Group, which includes Fox News, announced on the 22nd (local time) that Chairman Rupert Murdoch and other executives will take pay cuts. This is a measure to prepare for potential management difficulties caused by the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

According to the New York Times (NYT) on the same day, Fox Group notified its 7,700 employees about the pay cuts for executives and others. Approximately 700 executives had their salaries reduced. Fox Group explained to its employees, "In a situation where we do not know when daily life will return and normal company management will be possible, we have taken several measures to ensure the company remains strong and responds well until this crisis passes."

As part of this measure, the Fox Group's owning family agreed to forgo their salaries entirely until September. Rupert Murdoch, the founder of Fox Group, receives a salary of $5 million. Lachlan Murdoch, CEO of Fox Group and Rupert Murdoch's eldest son, receives $3 million in salary. Additionally, John Nallen, Chief Operating Officer (COO), Viet Dinh, head of the legal division, and Steve Tomsic, Chief Financial Officer (CFO), also agreed to return their full salaries to the company.

Furthermore, executives at the CEO level will have their salaries cut by 50%, and vice president-level executives will see about a 15% reduction. Fox Group also decided to freeze employee salary increases.

Fox Group plans to release its first-quarter earnings on the 6th of next month. Fox News is expected to achieve sales of $3.3 billion, a 22% increase compared to the same period last year. However, Fox Group anticipates a sharp decline in advertising revenue due to the cancellation of major league sports games and other events this year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.