James Murdoch refers to Roseanne scandal

Media companies have to make hard choices to disassociate themselves from even the most lucrative content like ABC's Roseanne when they become tainted by offensive sentiments, 21st Century Fox CEO James Murdoch says.

"You have to make the right call," he said on Tuesday in an interview on stage at the Code Conference in California.

"It's not just about keeping the audience going. It's what's the right thing to do for your company."

Acknowledging that his own father gave up on Twitter after getting flak for some of his tweets, Murdoch commented on the double-edged sword social media can often be.

"I think people tweeting in a public space, there's always risk there," he said. "There's a balance between them having a voice out there and what they are doing for their brand and the business overall. You have to be careful about that."

Murdoch acknowledged that his own company has had to deal with significant controversies, particularly at Fox News.

He said management had been aggressive about enacting new measures ensuring the kind of sexual harassment alleged to have occurred during the Roger Ailes era is no more.

"If somebody doesn't know now at Fox News that nothing is going to protect them if they have behave that way, that would be incredible to me," he said.