James Murdoch, son of media mogul Rupert and brother of News Corp CEO Lachlan, is in “advanced talks” to buy Vox Media’s New York magazine and podcast division, per Jessica Toonkel at the Wall Street Journal.
WSJ noted that the deal, which would be through Murdoch’s Lupa Systems investment company, is not final and could still fail to materialize.
Since leaving News Corp in 2020, James and his wife, Kathryn Murdoch, have pursued several trendy media properties through Lupa, including Tribeca Enterprises (which runs the Tribeca Film Festival) and MCH Group, the parent company of Art Basel. Kathyrn has also invested in the Bulwark.
It was first reported by Semafor’s Max Tani in March that Vox had been shopping its podcast network, which includes shows such as the soon-to-be-defunct A Touch More with Sue Bird & Megan Rapinoe, WNBA show Bird’s Eye View, and Not Just Football with Cam Heyward. It had also reportedly received an offer for New York Magazine as well as an offer to be bought outright.
Later that month, the New York Times reported that Versant, the newly formed parent company of CNBC and MS NOW, was in talks to acquire the podcast network and was among multiple suitors in discussions.
Vox Media originated as SB Nation before expanding into a broader media company. While it has survived longer than most of its digital media peers, it has done so through seemingly endless rounds of layoffs, resource shifts, and site and brand closures, with its valuation dropping from $1 billion in 2015 to half that by 2023. There have been reports that it could sell SB Nation as well, but that does not appear to be included in the Murdoch deal.
Ironically, New York Magazine, which launched in 1968, was owned by Rupert Murdoch from the late 1970s to 1991. Vox purchased it in 2019 for $105 million.
Once the chief executive of 21st Century Fox, Murdoch has carved out a unique path for himself separate from his family’s media interests. While many of News Corp’s properties lean conservative, James appears to be interested in more liberal and progressive causes. In his 2020 resignation letter from the News Corp board, he wrote that he was leaving “due to disagreements over certain editorial content published by the company’s news outlets and certain other strategic decisions,” criticizing the “ongoing denial of the role of climate change.”
So, in a surprising way, it does appear that a Murdoch owning a podcast network fronted by Kara Swisher isn’t as shocking as it sounds.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.