Washington: Securing Lachlan Murdoch as the successor to the News Corp media empire is hardly the dawn of a new era, but it does clear the way for Rupert Murdoch’s elder son to steer the ship unencumbered.
On board that ship is valuable cargo, especially here in the United States – even if, like most media brands, the company faces economic headwinds amid changing consumer behaviour.
Lachlan Murdoch is regarded as the most conservative of his father’s children.Credit: Marija Ercegovac
News Corp products are central in the political discourse, especially under President Donald Trump, who keenly watches Fox News and regularly appears on it, as do his cabinet secretaries and close aides.
It was Fox News’ strident conservatism that particularly aggrieved Lachlan’s brother, James, who publicly slammed News Corp and Fox’s coverage of climate change in 2020. This settlement, which buys out siblings James, Elisabeth and Prudence MacLeod for about $5 billion in total, effectively ends their potential bid to challenge Lachlan for control after Rupert’s death.
“It may have been an option until this point, but with the decision today … that kind of closes the book on things,” said Bruce Drushel, an emeritus professor of media at Miami University.
The assumption is that Lachlan will maintain the conservative position of most News brands. He is regarded as the most conservative of Rupert’s children – perhaps more so than his father, whose editorial sympathies have been capricious or expedient over the years.
The deal cements Lachlan Murdoch’s control over the empire until at least 2050.Credit: The New York Times
But the Murdoch brands don’t all sing from the same song sheet on US politics and the Trump administration. That was made clear on Tuesday (AEST) when The Wall Street Journal – which Murdoch bought in 2007 – again angered the White House by breaking news on the friendship between Donald Trump and now-disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. It was the biggest story of the day in the US.
On Fox, though, prime-time host Sean Hannity was more interested in violent crime in Chicago and Charlotte – an important story, certainly – and Americans’ declining faith in capitalism alongside the success of democratic socialist New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani.
