Murdoch family holds its breath as future of media empire hangs in the balance
The fate of Rupert Murdoch’s vast media empire, including Fox News, is now in the hands of a Reno probate commissioner, who will decide whether the 93-year-old media mogul can change his succession plan to preserve the right-wing editorial bent of his influential outlets.
Murdoch and his eldest children descended on a Reno courthouse to appear for evidentiary hearings in a secret trial to determine whether the 93-year-old can alter the family trust that he established decades ago, giving his four oldest children equal votes over the future of his conservative media empire after he dies.
Murdoch wants to amend the trust so that his eldest son and chosen successor, Lachlan, will remain in charge for decades to come.
Rupert Murdoch, centre, and his wife Elena Zhukova Murdoch arrive at the Second Judicial District Court in Reno, Nevada, Monday September 16. (Andy Barron/AP via CNN Newsource)
But the three other Murdoch children — James, Elisabeth and Prudence — oppose the change, and have challenged it in court. According to The New York Times and Wall Street Journal, Murdoch fears his other three children could moderate the highly profitable and famously right-wing slant promoted by some of his outlets like Fox News, which he believes would diminish the company’s value.
The legal proceedings, which took place outside of public view, wrapped up on Tuesday. Now, the family members wait for a decision.
In the coming days or weeks, a probate commissioner will issue a report and recommendation on whether Murdoch can change the family trust, according to Elyse Tyrell, an attorney in Las Vegas who specialises in trusts and estates. The opinion will not be made public.
Rupert Murdoch with his wife Anna and their son Lachlan at their home in New York City, circa 1983. (Getty)
But it could be a while before that happens.
Each party will then have 10 days to object to his report and recommendation, Tyrell said. Any objection — which is expected in this case — would then be sent to a judge, who could rule on the case, or send it back with notes for the commissioner to reconsider.
“Unfortunately, there’s no telling how quick that process is,” Tyrell said. “There’s no timeframe for that.”
Ruperrt Murdoch with his sons Lachlan and James in 2014. (Getty)
An eventual ruling by the judge could be appealed to the Nevada Supreme Court because the trust’s assets, which include The Wall Street Journal, New York Post, and television and print outlets in Australia and the UK, are valued at more than $US5 million ($7.27 million), Tyrell said.
The high-stakes succession fight took place behind closed doors in Nevada, which offers one of the most private court settings for issues like family trust decisions, allowing parties and courts to lock the cases behind closed doors to such an extreme degree that their very existence is not even publicised on court dockets.
In recent days, a coalition of news organisations that includes CNN has petitioned the Nevada Supreme Court to unseal the case, arguing “the succession will affect thousands of jobs, millions of worldwide media consumers, and the American political landscape”.
