logo
episode-header-image
Aug 2024
27m 12s

The Secret Succession Fight That Will De...

The New York Times
About this episode

For years, Rupert Murdoch seemed content to let his children battle it out for control of his conservative media empire once he’s gone.

Jim Rutenberg, who writes about media and politics for The Times, discusses how a secret change to that plan by Mr. Murdoch touched off an ugly family squabble that could influence how much of the world sees the news.

Guest: Jim Rutenberg, a writer at large for The New York Times and The New York Times Magazine.

Background reading: 

  • Mr. Murdoch has moved to preserve his media businesses as a conservative force. Several of his children are fighting back.
  • The 93-year-old media tycoon spent the past 70 years building a global media empire that gave him influence in journalism, politics and pop culture. Here’s how.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Up next
Yesterday
'The Interview': Jen Hatmaker's Life Exploded in Middle Age. So She Built a Better One.
The former evangelical star on waking up halfway through her life. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. 
45m 43s
Aug 22
California Strikes Back at Texas’ Power Grab
Texas is about to gerrymander five new house seats, and California is ready to retaliate. Gov. Gavin Newsom says that his state will also redraw its congressional maps to create five new districts, effectively fighting fire with fire.Laurel Rosenhall, who covers California’s gove ... Show More
28m 44s
Aug 21
The Right-Wing Provocateur Who Has Trump’s Ear
Warning: This episode contains strong language.In President Trump’s second term, Laura Loomer has emerged as the most influential outside adviser, telling the president whom to fire and shaping major policy decisions.Ken Bensinger, who covers media and politics, explains how a so ... Show More
37m 7s
Recommended Episodes
Oct 2024
The Murdoch succession saga
It has already inspired the hit HBO television series Succession, but now Rupert Murdoch’s family drama is playing out in real life in a courtroom in the US state of Nevada. The 93-year-old media mogul is trying to change the terms of a family trust he made years ago that states ... Show More
17m 24s
Sep 2024
Rupert Murdoch’s Succession Drama Goes to Court
This week, a trial got under way to determine whether Rupert Murdoch can change a trust holding the family’s assets for his children. Murdoch wants to ensure that when he dies control of the trust passes to his oldest son, Lachlan. Three of his other children, James, Elisabeth an ... Show More
18m 23s
Feb 2025
How the Right Took Over the Media
Ben Smith, former media columnist at the New York Times and now the editor-in-chief of Semafor, joins Dan to talk about today's ultra-challenging news media landscape. The industry is significantly weaker than it was in 2016, and Trump's aggressive lawsuits have the executives in ... Show More
1h 8m
Sep 2024
Bonus: The Global Story - The secret battle for the Murdoch empire
A bonus episode from The Global Story. Rupert Murdoch is locked in a secret court battle with three of his eldest children, over the future of his media empire. 
26m 53s
Apr 2023
Has Fox News learned a $787 million lesson?
Fox News, accused of repeatedly and knowingly spreading lies about Dominion Voting Systems, opted Tuesday to fork over $787 million rather than find out what its correspondents had to say under oath in a court of law. Vox’s Peter Kafka talks to NPR's David Folkenflik about what, ... Show More
30m 39s
Jan 2024
Christopher R. Martin, "No Longer Newsworthy: How the Mainstream Media Abandoned the Working Class" (Cornell UP, 2019)
Until the recent political shift pushed workers back into the media spotlight, the mainstream media had largely ignored this significant part of American society in favor of the moneyed upscale consumer for more than four decades. Christopher R. Martin now reveals why and how the ... Show More
51m 9s
Jun 12
Same news story: why Murdoch endures
The all-famous Murdoch clan is engaged in a fierce battle over control of the family’s media companies. Our correspondent explains why turmoil at the top has not deterred investors. After decades of fruitless research into Alzheimer’s, there are finally some new drugs in the pipe ... Show More
18m 57s
Jun 2017
What Peter Thiel’s war against Gawker can tell us about Trump (Brian Knappenberger, director, "Nobody Speak")
Director Brian Knappenberger talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about his new documentary "Nobody Speak: Trials of the Free Press," which premieres on Netflix on June 23. In it, Knappenberger connects venture capitalist Peter Thiel's successful lawsuit against Gawker Media, by way o ... Show More
27m 38s
Sep 2024
A Second Apparent Attempt on Trump’s Life
A.M. Edition for Sept. 16. Donald Trump is safe after Secret Service agents opened fire on a gunman yesterday at the former president’s West Palm Beach golf club. Plus, the WSJ’s Quentin Webb details a dramatic shift in investor expectations of how big a rate cut the Fed will mak ... Show More
14m 40s
May 2023
Meet the media insider who makes Succession feel real
Succession — the HBO drama about a Murdoch-ish family of media moguls — feels authentic thanks, in part, to consultant Merissa Marr. Marr covered the Murdochs and other media titans for years at The Wall Street Journal, and she’s worked with the creative team behind Succession si ... Show More
32m 8s