An heir to the American traditional media is taking a step toward building an “anti-algorithm” and “anti-commodity” model for journalism in the age of artificial intelligence. James Murdoch , Rupert's son, is investing approximately $300 million in acquiring about 50% of Vox Media .
The transaction places assets such as New York Magazine, Vox.com, and the Vox Media podcast network under the umbrella of Lupa Systems – an investment holding company created by James in 2019, shortly after the sale of 21st Century Fox to The Walt Disney Company for US$71 billion.
At the same time, it leaves out properties more dependent on traditional digital traffic and advertising, such as The Verge and Eater. It is this decision by James that carries a series of symbolic implications for the global media industry.
With the deal , Rupert Murdoch 's youngest son seeks to find scarce assets in the new information economy, such as publishing brands with a strong identity, a qualified (and loyal) audience, and intellectual property capable of circulating across platforms.
Their investment portfolio at Lupa Systems includes stakes in the company that owns the Tribeca Film Festival, Art Basel, streaming businesses in India, and media startups such as The Bulwark and The 19th.
Vox Media is part of a select group of digital media companies that rose to prominence in the 2010s. Along with BuzzFeed and Vice Media, they raised hundreds of millions of dollars betting on scale, viral marketing, and endless digital audience growth.
The problem is that this thesis depended on pillars such as the continuous growth of traffic coming from Google and Facebook, expanding programmatic advertising, and relatively low distribution costs.
As these three pillars crumbled, platforms began to prioritize their own products. Jim Bankoff, CEO of Vox Media, uses the term "decimation of search traffic" to talk about the transformation of the segment.
Now, Murdoch is betting on communities, subscriptions, experiences, and formats in which the relationship between creator and audience is more direct.
Podcasts, for example, appear to be the most valuable asset of the operation. Last year, this segment generated over US$80 million in revenue for Vox.
The company's catalog includes nearly 50 podcasts, such as those by Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway. It is this authenticity that makes Murdoch's heir believe that, while most digital publishers struggle to monetize page views, Vox Media has managed to build a highly profitable audio operation.
Surname and influence
The youngest son of Australian-American businessman Rupert Murdoch, James stood alongside his father in building major journalism brands at NewsCorp.
The patriarch built one of the largest media empires over more than five decades. He constructed influence and transformed local media outlets that went on to influence politics, culture, and public opinion in numerous countries.
Under his leadership, media outlets such as Fox News , The Wall Street Journal, The Times of London, The New York Post, HarperCollins, and the 21st Century Fox studios were born or gained global prominence.
His model has always been associated with scale, mass distribution, and an enormous capacity to capture attention.
The youngest son, however, decided to pursue a model that was almost the opposite of the one his father had built.
Instead of 24-hour news channels, mass audiences, and daily journalism based on breaking news, James Murdoch wants to build a conglomerate supported by long-form journalism, podcasts, and premium cultural brands.
James Murdoch left the News Corp board in 2020 following disagreements over the group's editorial direction and criticism of its coverage related to climate change.
