Fox News’ fate uncertain as Murdoch family faces trial: NPR

The future of Fox News, one of the most influential players in television and conservative politics, is likely to be decided, surprisingly, by probate court officials in Reno, Nev. Unless a last-minute settlement is reached, the trial begins Monday.

The case broadly concerns the disposition of 93-year-old Rupert Murdoch’s global media empire, which also includes The Wall Street Journal, The Times of London, The Australian and The New York Post.

Murdoch wants to amend the trust deed to give full power to his eldest son, Lachlan, who currently runs the company. Lachlan’s three oldest brothers (who will share control with him after their father’s death) oppose the change. His two youngest children (daughters from Rupert Murdoch’s third marriage) have been promised equal shares of the fortune but no control over it.

The stakes and unfolding of the family’s struggle are Shakespearean, and the story has provided the basis for the HBO drama “Succession,” a dreary story that at times seems like “Seinfeld.” The legal battle is about money and power, but also about whether Fox News should remain ruthlessly partisan and right-wing as part of its business plan to get the best results.

Lachlan’s brothers seem less attracted to the far-right line, with his only younger brother, James, increasingly critical of the station’s pro-Trump, anti-news populism.

“If they change course and move[Fox News]in the direction of a CNN-like format or go in a half-assed direction, Fox News will lose its identity, lose its viewers and lose its revenue,” said Joe Peyronnin, a veteran network news executive who served as president of Fox News during its founding in the mid-1990s.

“I say this as a journalist and as someone who wants to see change,” Peronin added. “They have been the most divisive force in politics for the last 30 years. Without Fox News, the mudslinging would continue, but it wouldn’t be where it is today.”

Compromise to avoid messy divorce proceedings

Murdoch’s petition to change the terms of the trust was first cited in The New York Times and later confirmed to NPR by three people with ties to various interested parties, who spoke to NPR on the condition that they not be named because the probate judge ruled that the proceedings, and even the identities of the people involved, would remain confidential.

The probate judge denied a motion by NPR and other media organizations to open the trial to the public.

The legal battle has its roots in a fateful decision a generation ago: When Mr. Murdoch separated from his second wife, Anna Tauv Murdoch Mann, he agreed to set up an irrevocable family trust to avoid a bitter battle over his assets. He gave his four eldest adult children equal shares of his assets and equal control over them after his death.

In exchange for the settlement and a $110 million payment, Ms Murdoch Mann agreed to give up a long-running battle over her stake in the media assets.

(Rupert Murdoch’s two younger daughters with his third wife, Wendi Deng, were eventually given equal wealth to their siblings, but no voting rights in the trust. He had no children with his fourth wife, Jerry Hall. He married his fifth wife earlier this year.)

Rupert Murdoch believes Lachlan will continue on his path

A corporate rivalry ensued for years between James and Lachlan, but the brother won out. Lachlan is now chairman of Fox Corporation, the television arm of the Fox empire, and chairman of News Corporation, the publishing arm.

News Corp.’s shares have soared in the five and a half years since Mr. Lachlan took over, while Fox Corp.’s shares have been more volatile. Both divisions have been embroiled in costly and serious legal scandals, including a major wiretapping scandal involving News Corp.’s British tabloid newspapers and a series of defamation lawsuits involving Fox News.

In Reno, Rupert Murdoch argues that Prudence, Elizabeth and James are likely to undermine the network’s ideals, which would weaken its appeal to right-wing viewers. Rupert and his four older children are due to appear in court this week.

People who have worked for Rupert Murdoch say he is infuriated by the controversy.

He believes he was the sole driving force behind building a $32 billion, intercontinental media giant out of a single newspaper company in Adelaide, Australia, left to him by his father. He also believes he should be the one to decide who leads a company, even if it is a publicly listed company, to avoid confusion and litigation after his death. He believes his children were well taken care of when Fox sold its major entertainment assets to Disney in 2019, receiving $2 billion each. And he believes he and Lachlan have ably led their twin television and publishing companies since the sale.

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that after the sale to Disney, Rupert Murdoch asked each of his four eldest children to give more than $100 million. Lachlan, Prudence and Elizabeth agreed, but James refused. (The Wall Street Journal is ultimately controlled by Lachlan Murdoch, and its reporting has not been publicly criticized.)

Over the years, various children have fallen in and out of their father’s favor. Rupert especially pitted his two sons against one another. Prudence, his eldest daughter with his first wife, rejected any entrepreneurial ideas and often served as an advisor to her father. Elizabeth attended the Super Bowl with Rupert (and Elon Musk) in early 2023; she didn’t attend her father’s wedding earlier this year. The same was true of James. By then, they were already at odds in the courts.

Other Murdoch children question Rupert and Lachlan’s leadership

James and his wife, Katherine Murdoch, have emerged as philanthropists committed to climate change, voting rights and other liberal causes. James has pushed for Fox to become a more centrist, less confrontational news outlet closer to the European Sky News that James oversaw while under Murdoch’s control. James has criticized Murdoch’s Australian publications over their coverage of global warming and Fox over its handling of the 2020 election and the Jan. 6 siege of the U.S. Capitol.

People connected to James, Elizabeth and Prudence say the companies suffered major setbacks under their father and brother’s direction, a scandal that has plagued the empire on both sides of the Atlantic and has so far cost the company well over $2 billion. Lawsuits are ongoing.

They further argue that Fox News’ embrace of Trumpian conservatism endangers the network’s journalistic reputation as a news organization.

Last year, Rupert and Lachlan agreed to pay Fox a record $787.5 million to settle a defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems against Fox News over false claims of fraud in the 2020 election. Evidence made public included emails showing father and son supported network executives’ decision to tolerate former President Donald Trump’s lies in order to avoid losing viewership.

Rupert Murdoch formally gave up control of his company last year, a few months after the settlement, and has told people his actions were aimed only at clarifying the company’s strategy and adopting approaches that work.

In Reno, Probate Commissioner Edmund J. Gorman Jr. concluded that Rupert Murdoch has the right to amend the trust if it would benefit all of his heirs. Gorman must decide whether the media mogul represented himself in good faith that he intended to make the proposed changes.

Previous settlement attempts have failed. It would be financially difficult for Lachlan to buy the assets from his brothers, and even if the other brothers hold voting power, they may sell them rather than keep them for Lachlan to run. Perhaps after Lachlan joins Rupert Murdoch to try to wrestle away their influence, the other three brothers might remove him as CEO and replace him with someone else.