Hope Hicks, former Top Trump assistant, joins Fox as Head of Communications

The Murdoch family, reshaping its media empire, is recruiting an experienced lieutenant in chaotic environments: former President Trump's communications director, Hope Hicks.

Beginning next year, Ms. Hicks, one of the oldest of Trump's most famous White House personalities, will become Fox's Communications Officer, the company that will be acquiring most of 21st Century Fox by the Walt Disney Company.

She plans to move to Los Angeles as part of her new job. Originally from Greenwich, Connecticut, she had been living in Manhattan since leaving the White House earlier this year.

Ms. Hicks, 29, was an obscure public relations assistant with no political experience when Mr. Trump removed her from her family's company in 2015 to serve as a press assistant when she applied for the job. presidential. What followed was a remarkable ascent, while Ms. Hicks had to deal with staff reshuffles and a dilapidated office environment to become the closest helper to the most powerful man of the world.

In her new role, Ms. Hicks will work closely with Lachlan Murdoch, the eldest son of nabob Rupert Murdoch. Lachlan Murdoch is expected to become president and CEO of the re-created Fox company, which will include Fox News, Fox Sports and the broadcast network.

Hicks will hold a management position, but the main asset of her new employer is Fox News, the cable network closely linked to the Trump administration. The stars of the channel at prime time are Mr. Trump's incessant boosters; his former co-chair, Bill Shine, now serves as Trump's assistant chief of staff for communications.

In addition to her special contacts, Ms. Hicks has always worked with the heirs of dynastic families – a desirable trait for the Murdoch clan, whose financial and personal lives are in the public eye.

Medicated by critics as an aid, Hicks was seen by many journalists as a key point of contact in the West Wing, able to channel the thought of her stormy boss and argue an interview with her alone. Mr. Trump in the Oval. Office.

His appointment comes at a time of transition for the Fox Empire.

Under a $ 71.3 billion deal expected to be finalized next year, the Walt Disney Company is expected to acquire most of Murdochs' entertainment and media assets, which will dramatically alter the Hollywood landscape. For Rupert Murdoch and his children, this agreement represents a significant reduction in numbers – and a reorientation of efforts towards information and sport.

As far as the press is concerned, Murdoch has long relied on the advice of 21st Century Fox communications director Julie Henderson and informal advisors such as New York public relations guru Steven Rubenstein.

Mrs. Hicks' mandate in the White House has not been without controversy. His role in drafting a statement by Donald J. Trump Jr. about a 2016 meeting with Russian officials at Trump Tower attracted the attention of the federal investigators and she testified for eight hours before the House Intelligence Committee shortly before leaving the West Wing.