Murdoch melodrama
Revelations of a legal battle between Rupert Murdoch and three of his children come at a time when the influence of the mogul and the media industry more broadly is waning.
Putting aside the somewhat obvious comparisons to a certain HBO show that will go unnamed, the past couple of weeks have offered a real smorgasbord for Murdoch watchers.
This week, The New York Times published a bombshell report that Rupert Murdoch is locked in a private legal battle with three of his children over changes to the family’s irrevocable trust. The head of the imperial house reportedly wants to ensure that eldest son Lachlan retains control of the empire in order to preserve its conservative political stance, which Rupert believes is deeply integral to News Corp’s ongoing value.
But just how integral a role News Corp plays in politics these days is an open question. Rupert’s natural position of kingmaker in the Anglophone world once saw a starry-eyed Tony Blair fly all the way to Australia to kiss the ring and solicit the elder Murdoch’s support ahead of the 1997 general election in the UK.
Contrast those optics with Rupert’s comparatively meagre showing on the sidelines at the Republican National Convention last week, where he very much looked like a graciously tolerated guest of the Trump court — and not the other way around.
