The Heir of His Ways

All politics is local. And with our current divides, it can be as local as one’s own dinner table. So in some ways, the political divide in the Murdoch family isn’t that different from any other. But in most ways, it’s very different. Some families fight about politics. Some family fights shape politics. The lastest chapter in the Successionesque family drama: Rupert Murdoch wants to make sure his political leanings drive the news at his media properties long after he dies. That leaves the current family trust with some major daddy issues. “The trust currently hands control of the family business to the four oldest children when Mr. Murdoch dies. But he is arguing in court that only by empowering Lachlan to run the company without interference from his more politically moderate siblings can he preserve its conservative editorial bent, and thus protect its commercial value for all his heirs.” (This is the first time we’ve associated the word trust with Murdoch news orgs.) NYT (Gift Article): The Secret Battle for the Future of the Murdoch Empire. “Mr. Murdoch has called his effort to change the trust Project Harmony because he hoped that it might head off a looming family struggle when he dies, according to a person with knowledge of the family. But it has had the opposite effect.” (So has Fox News.)