logo
episode-header-image
Oct 2024
17m 24s

The Murdoch succession saga

Bbc World Service
About this episode

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 that after his death, his four eldest children should get equal voting rights in his empire. Murdoch wants to alter it to give his eldest son Lachlan greater control.

We hear from outside the courtroom, look back at Murdoch’s extraordinary career, and talk to two people who know the Murdoch family story well. And we reflect on what the court case might mean for one of the world’s most powerful media empires.

(Picture: Rupert Murdoch arriving at a courthouse in Reno, Nevada. Credit: Reuters)

Presented and produced by Gideon Long

Up next
Yesterday
The impact of 'thirsty' data centres
We're in the US state of Georgia, where huge data centres need water to keep cool. But how is this need for cloud storage and AI capability affecting local residents and the environment?Presenter: Michelle Fleury Producer: Nathalie Jimenez(Image: Georgia resident Beverly Morris l ... Show More
17m 50s
Jul 8
Does university still get you a well-paid job?
Graduates are facing one of the toughest jobs markets in decades. We hear from students in India, the US and UK about whether they feel a university or college degree is worth it as we discuss the cost of attending university around the world and what your job prospects might be ... Show More
17m 27s
Jul 7
Returning to Ukraine?
The UN estimates that nearly seven million Ukrainians have left their home country since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. Many have set up businesses in their new country - around 90,000 of those in Poland. We hear about the challenges they’ve faced, and the sectors ... Show More
17m 30s
Recommended Episodes
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
Aug 2024
The Secret Succession Fight That Will Determine the Future of Fox News
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 ... Show More
27m 12s
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
Dec 2024
Rupert Murdoch denied bid to alter family trust; Documentarian Nic Stacey on the perils of over-consumption
Rupert Murdoch wants to update his family trust in favor of his son Lachlan, who runs the Fox News empire. What’s behind Nevada commissioner Edmund J. Gorman Jr.’s decision to block the move? Kim Masters and Matt Belloni investigate.  Plus, Masters talks to documentarian Nic Stac ... Show More
30m 2s
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
Sep 2024
The Murdoch family’s own private ‘Succession?’; Encore: Writer Justin Kuritzkes on ‘Challengers’
Kim Masters and Matt Belloni examine the secret battle for succession among the family of billionaire Rupert Murdoch. They also take a look at a curious Wall Street Journal profile on Disney Parks Chairman Josh D’Amaro.  Plus, we revisit Masters’ conversation with writer Justin K ... Show More
30m 1s
Jan 2025
Rupert Murdoch newspaper group offers full apology for intrusion into Prince Harry's private life
Rupert Murdoch’s newspaper group offers full apology for intrusion into Prince Harry's private life – and agrees to pay substantial damages. The move, by the owners of The Sun tabloid, ends a long-running legal battle. 
33m 10s
Nov 2021
The inside story of HBO, with Jim Miller
HBO has brought us nearly 50 years of riveting movies and TV shows; the behind-the-scenes stories are equally compelling. Journalist James Andrew Miller, who has written definitive oral histories of media institutions like Saturday Night Live and ESPN, tells Recode’s Peter Kafka ... Show More
58m 4s
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