Rupert Murdoch has taken charge of US network Fox News after chief executive Roger Ailes quit in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations.
The 85-year-old media mogul has stepped in as chairman and acting chief executive of Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network, replacing the former NBC executive he hired as founding CEO 20 years ago.
"I am personally committed to ensuring that Fox News remains a distinctive, powerful voice," Mr Murdoch said.
"Our nation needs a robust Fox News to resonate from every corner of the country."
Mr Murdoch, executive chairman of 21st Century Fox and a US citizen since 1985, will remain in place until a replacement is found.
21st Century Fox announced Ailes' resignation on Thursday (US time), without addressing the widening scandal.
Ailes' downfall began with the July 6 filing of a lawsuit by Gretchen Carlson, who charged that Ailes sabotaged her career because she refused his suggestions for sex and had complained about a pervasive atmosphere of sexual harassment at Fox.
Ailes has denied the charges, but 21st Century Fox hired a law firm to investigate.
Several Fox employees jumped to Ailes' defence, but notably not Megyn Kelly, one of Fox's top personalities.
In rapid succession, it was reported that Kelly was among other women who had told investigators about harassment and that Murdoch - and sons James and Lachlan - determined that Ailes had to go.
Within two weeks of the court filing, Carlson's lawyers also said more than 20 women had contacted the firm with stories of alleged harassment by Ailes either against themselves or someone they knew. Two came forward publicly.
Mr Murdoch paid tribute to Ailes as 21st Century Fox confirmed his departure.
"It is always difficult to create a channel or a publication from the ground up and against seemingly entrenched monopolies. To lead a flourishing news channel, and to build Fox Business, Roger has defied the odds," Mr Murdoch said in a statement.
"His grasp of policy and his ability to make profoundly important issues accessible to a broader audience stand in stark contrast to the self-serving elitism that characterises far too much of the media."
Fox now heads into a US election campaign in its customary spot at the top of the ratings, but without the man who set its editorial tone every day.
The blustery, 76-year-old media executive built a network that both transformed the news business and changed the political conversation.
Fox News Channel provided a television home to conservatives who had felt left out of the media, and played a part in advancing a rough-and-tumble style of politics that left many concerned that it was impossible to get things done in government.
AAP/AP
