A feudal fight for Fox News: Rupert Murdoch’s last act

Rupert Murdoch’s attempt to rewrite his Fox Corp succession plan is turning into an epic family feud that smacks of King Lear crossed with HBO’s Succession. At stake is the crown jewel of his empire: Fox News. The cast is fit for tragicomedy, with Donald Trump as the Court Jester and the Murdoch heirs circling like vultures around an aging patriarch — seized by a sudden, desperate need to ensure his legacy lives on as he built it.

Lachlan, the eldest son, is in a Nevada courtroom battling his three siblings because Rupert decided to amend their irrevocable trust to ensure his mini-me gets full control. It’s Lear’s desperate need to control his empire from beyond the grave, playing out in real time.

But here’s the rub: Rupert spent his formative years as a newspaper baron in England, playing the role of an Aussie gadfly to the British aristocracy. He upbraided the establishment and reveled in his role as an anti-establishment provocateur. So it’s beyond ironic that he’s ending his career acting like a British aristocrat in America. After all, this legal saga is an Americanized version of primogeniture — a foolish and inherently unfair relic of the British aristocracy that designates the eldest son as the sole heir to the family’s wealth.

Trumpism, troll farms, and Rupert’s role

I took a lot of flak for denouncing Rupert as the wizard of Trumpism. I did so because he uses Fox News the same way Russian President Vladimir Putin uses troll farms. Both seem hell-bent on turning America into a country so divided against itself that it makes the biblical Babylonia (of Tower of Babel fame) look like Nirvana.

We may have to wait for Putin to meet his maker to get his comeuppance. But Murdoch got a taste of his when he had to pay nearly $800 million to settle a lawsuit on the eve of a defamation trial. Everyone knew his Fox News would be found liable for propagating Trump’s “big lie” that systemic fraud caused him to lose the 2020 presidential election.

Murdoch betraying children to preserve his legacy

Predictably, his forsaken children — James, Elisabeth, and Prudence — are suing because they refuse to be treated like Lear’s outcast daughters, left to howl at the moon for their birthright. Again, Rupert is aping British aristocrats who pass their wealth to the eldest son, regardless of merit or damage to family harmony. Like the landed gentry of old, Murdoch’s decision is more about preserving his power and ego than ensuring the future success of his heirs.

If justice prevails, Rupert will lose. But if the judge rules in his favor, Lachlan will continue steering the empire — ensuring Fox News remains the Pied Piper of yellow, partisan journalism. This means more Hannity, more Tucker wannabes, and more electoral chaos. If the court sides with the other siblings, however, Fox News could take on a more reputable shape, even emulating BBC America. The collateral damage, of course, is that another Fox wannabe, like Newsmax or NewsNation, could become the new MAGA media standard-bearer, spewing even more dangerous nonsense than Rupert’s flagship ever dared.

Ultimately, Murdoch has forced his children into an internecine struggle that risks turning Fox Corp into a cautionary tale of ambition and betrayal. The court’s decision hinges on whether Rupert is acting “in good faith” for the benefit of his heirs. Good faith? From the man whose empire legitimized “alternative facts” and fanned the flames of Trumpism? That’s like asking if Trump acted in good faith for the benefit of the country when he tried to overturn the peaceful transfer of power. So, there’s that.