(Bloomberg) -- James Murdoch, a son of Fox Corp. founder Rupert Murdoch, said he doesn’t watch the company’s flagship news channel and sees a lot to like in Democratic presidential contender Pete Buttigieg.

Murdoch, speaking at Vanity Fair magazine’s New Establishment Summit conference on Wednesday, said cable news channels have become too one-sided politically and “there’s plenty on Fox News I disagree with.”

The 46-year-old executive, who worked at his father’s business empire for 25 years, said he was disappointed to hear that Shepard Smith, one of the main hard-news voices at Fox News, had left the network.

He also said he doesn’t watch “Succession,” the HBO series modeled in part after the Murdoch family.

Murdoch said social issues, such as rising mortality rates for mothers in the U.S., concern him and his wife, Kathryn. While stopping short of an endorsement, Murdoch said he thought Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and one of the first openly gay candidates for president, “has the composure, character, thoughtfulness and courage to handle some of the hardest challenges we have.”

He said he would like to see politicians rethink how taxes are collected and allocated and recognizes that the wealthy may end up paying more.

James, the youngest of three children from Rupert’s second marriage, has always been considered the most progressive member of the clan. He said he does benefit from the success of Fox News, indirectly through a family trust which his father controls.

Through his investment firm, Lupa Systems, Murdoch has taken stakes in a number of new-media companies, including the millennial news outlet Vice Media and the Void, a virtual-reality entertainment provider.

To contact the reporter on this story: Christopher Palmeri in Los Angeles at cpalmeri1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Nick Turner at nturner7@bloomberg.net, John J. Edwards III

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