Lachlan Murdoch is to take control of the Australian operations of News Corporation, the media group chaired and controlled by his father, Rupert Murdoch. Murdoch juniors upward move came on Tuesday with the announcement that his fathers longest-serving lieutenant, Ken Cowley, would retire in June as executive chairman of News Ltd, the groups Australian arm. Announcing the changes, Rupert Murdoch said Cowleys retirement meant that his eldest son Lachlan, 25, would assume overall responsibility for our Australian operations. No mention was made of the chairmans position in the News Ltd structure, implying there would be no replacement for Mr Cowley in either an executive or non-executive capacity.