Rupert Murdoch's family feud over future of News Corp and Fox plays out in Nevada court

A secretive court battle over the future of Rupert Murdoch's media empire is underway in the US state of Nevada.

Transcript

00:00At 93 years of age, Rupert Murdoch is involved in yet another battle for the future of his

00:08media empire.

00:10But on this occasion, it's about what happens to his media empire after he dies.

00:15The sequence of arrivals today illustrates the schism at the heart of the Murdoch family.

00:22Rupert Murdoch arrived with his eldest son, Lachlan Murdoch, who is his chosen successor

00:28and is currently the chair of both Fox Corporation and News Corporation.

00:34Arriving separately but together were the three other eldest Murdoch children, that

00:39is Prudence, Elizabeth and James Murdoch.

00:42And this is all about the future of the Murdoch family trust, which as it is currently written,

00:49will split control of the family trust between the four eldest children.

00:54But what Rupert and Lachlan want is for control to rest with Lachlan Murdoch, mainly because

01:00they're concerned that the other three children will vote away Lachlan's control.

01:05And that could mean the end of both News Corporation and Fox Corporation as a force for conservatism

01:13both here in the United States, but also in Australia and the United Kingdom.

01:18At risk are some of the most major media assets in those three countries, including newspapers

01:24like The Australian in Australia and Sky News.

01:27In the UK, you have The Times and The Sun newspapers.

01:31And here in the United States, you have The Wall Street Journal, but also perhaps most

01:35controversially Fox News, the cable news channel, which has been so influential here in the

01:42United States in politics.

01:44Michael Wolff has written a biography of Rupert Murdoch, and he says the stakes couldn't

01:49be higher for both Rupert and Lachlan.

01:52The Murdoch family business is headed for a breakup.

01:57Lachlan is headed to lose his job.

02:01Lachlan will lose his job when his father dies, as things now stand.

02:07This family trust was supposed to be irrevocable, but what Rupert and Lachlan need to convince

02:13the judge here in Reno is that the changes to the conditions of the trust will ensure

02:22all trustees receive benefit.

02:25That is not only the four eldest Murdoch children, but also Rupert Murdoch's two younger girls

02:31who he had with Wendy Deng, that is Chloe and Grace.

02:36But you did have this extraordinary scene this morning of the five Murdoch family members,

02:42Rupert, Lachlan, James, Prudence, and Elizabeth arriving at this court.

02:48We don't know what occurred inside because Nevada has very restrictive settings when

02:54it comes to these type of disputes, and there was no media access allowed despite the petitioning

03:01of the court by major news organizations including Reuters, CNN, and the New York Times.

03:08We are expecting that these proceedings could take at least a week.

03:13We may never know exactly what occurred within that courtroom, but they could have a major

03:20impact on the future of both Fox and news corporations, and could determine whether

03:25or not they remain a force for conservatism well after Rupert Murdoch passes away.