Murdoch, He Wrote

With all due disrespect to Musk, Trump, Zuck, and our disinformation peddling foreign adversaries, the name most associated with the cesspoolization of media and politics in America and beyond, is Murdoch. And it turns out, the intrafamilial intrigue and infighting that has plagued the family makes Succession look like Happy Days. What will the post-Rupert empire look like? The answer depends on court decisions and kids. “The legal drama was set to play out far from public view, in a Reno probate court—Nevada is known for its flexible estate laws—but it had global significance: The trial would determine who controlled the most powerful conservative media force in the world, one that had toppled governments and delivered Donald Trump to the White House. For the Murdochs, the stakes were also intensely personal. Depositions and discovery were surfacing years of painful secrets—intra-family scheming and manipulation, lies and leaking and devious betrayals. James and Rupert had barely spoken in years.” McKay Coppins in The Atlantic (Gift Article): Growing Up Murdoch. “For now, James is left struggling to answer the question he found himself asking in the courtroom—how did we let it come to this? His 93-year-old father will, despite his most fervent wishes, die one day. And when he does, he will leave behind a family at war with itself—a bevy of estranged children and ex-wives exchanging awkward greetings at an expensive funeral.” (I guess I’m lucky to have a healthy relationship with my family. I’d estimate at least 75% of my siblings are still subscribers.)