Cold decisions': will heir to Murdoch's empire keep newspapers at its heart?

"Don't let the boys sell the papers after I die, a former senior executive in the Murdoch empire recalls Rupert saying in more than one meeting over the years. Murdoch, who was practically born with ink in his veins, built a media empire spanning Fox News and the Wall Street Journal in the US, and the Sun and Times newspapers in the UK."

"Following his $3.3bn (about 2.4bn) deal to end the long-running family feud over the future control of his business, that decision on whether to sell the papers will be down to his eldest son, Lachlan. The 54-year-old has been heir-apparent since his younger brother, James, resigned from the board of News Corp five years ago citing disagreements about editorial content, and has chaired the media group and Fox Corp since 2023."

"After an embarrassing failed legal attempt to strip voting power from his siblings, James, Elisabeth and Prue who combined could have wrested control of the Murdoch empire after Rupert's death Lachlan will now have sole control over a new family trust, with about a third of the votes in the two listed media companies. The structure ensures that the conservative political slant of most of the group, and in particular the rightwing commercial juggernaut Fox News, which continues to thrive in the Trump era, will be preserved."

Rupert Murdoch built a global media empire including Fox News, the Wall Street Journal, the Sun and the Times. A $3.3bn (about 2.4bn) deal resolved a long-running family feud and left decision-making about selling the newspapers to eldest son Lachlan. Lachlan, 54, became heir-apparent after James resigned from the News Corp board over editorial disagreements and has chaired News Corp and Fox Corp since 2023. A failed legal attempt by James, Elisabeth and Prue to strip voting power resulted in Lachlan gaining sole control of a new family trust holding about a third of votes in the listed companies. The trust structure preserves the group's conservative editorial slant and Fox News's commercial strength, while raising questions about leadership relationships and the future direction of the newspapers.

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