Lachlan Murdoch Pays Tribute to Fox News’ First Female CEO, Suzanne Scott

By Lachlan Murdoch

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – For Variety’s latest issue, we asked Lachlan Murdoch to write a tribute to Suzanne Scott, one of 50 people to make our New Power of New York list. Here’s why Scott, the CEO of Fox News Channel, represents a new generation of movers and shakers that capture the best of Manhattan. For the full list, click here .

Fox News Channel ended last year as No. 1 in all of cable for the second consecutive year and is on track to dominate again in 2018. The network continues to cultivate a deep bond with its audience that is far bigger than any one election cycle or any single on-air personality or show.

A key driver of this remarkable success is , whose promotion to CEO earlier this year capped a stellar run as president of programming. Over her more than two decades with FNC, Suzanne has worked nearly every shift, honing her keen understanding of the network’s audience and its connection with the brand.

Her vision and innovation have helped create some of the most popular primetime programs on cable. Last year, Suzanne revamped the daytime lineup, adding more live news programs and expanding to 20 hours of live programming a day. She also rolled out a primetime schedule that introduced two new primetime stars, Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham. All of the new programs debuted at No. 1 in the ratings.

Suzanne is leading the charge in creating new ways for the FNC audience to connect with the brand that it loves. At the top of the list is the exciting launch of Fox Nation, a subscription-based OTT platform debuting later this year that will feature exclusive opinion-driven programming and documentaries designed for the Fox News superfan.

It’s no small thing that Suzanne is FNC’s first female CEO and the only woman in our industry running a news division or cable news network. Indeed, her programming changes created the most gender-diverse lineup in all of cable news. These are distinctions that I am particularly proud of, and that I believe are contributing to a more collaborative environment at FNC that Suzanne is driving forward.

is executive chairman of 21st Century Fox and future chairman and CEO of New Fox, the company that will be formed after Disney acquires most of 21st Century Fox.