The fate of Rupert Murdoch’s?vast?media empire,?including Fox News,?is now in the hands of a Reno probate commissioner, who will decide whether the 93-year-old media mogul can?change his succession plan to preserve the right-wing editorial bent of his influential outlets.
Murdoch and his eldest children?descended on?a Reno?courthouse?to appear?for?evidentiary?hearings?in?a secret trial to determine whether the 93-year-old can alter the?family trust that he established decades ago,?giving?his four oldest children equal votes over the future of his conservative media empire after he dies.?Murdoch?wants to?amend?the?trust?so that his eldest?son?and chosen successor, Lachlan, will remain in charge for decades to come.
But the three other Murdoch children — James, Elisabeth and Prudence — oppose the change, and have challenged it in court. According to The New York Times and Wall Street Journal, Murdoch fears his other three children could moderate the highly profitable and famously right-wing slant promoted by some of his outlets like Fox News, which he believes?would?diminish the company’s value.
The?legal proceedings, which took place outside of public view,?wrapped up on Tuesday. Now,?the family members?wait?for a decision.
In the coming days or weeks,?a?probate commissioner will?issue a?report and recommendation on whether Murdoch?can change the family?trust, according to Elyse Tyrell, an attorney in Las Vegas who specializes in trusts and estates.?The opinion will not be made public.
But it could be a while before that happens.
Each party will then have 10 days to object to his report and recommendation, Tyrell said. Any?objection — which is expected in this case — would then be sent to a judge, who could rule on the case, or send it back with notes for the commissioner to reconsider.
“Unfortunately, there’s no telling how quick that process is,” Tyrell said. “There’s no timeframe for that.”
Under Nevada law, an eventual ruling by the judge could be appealed directly to the Nevada Supreme Court because the trust’s assets — which include The Wall Street Journal, New York Post, and television and print outlets in Australia and the UK — are valued at more than $5.43 million,?Tyrell said.
The?high-stakes?succession?fight?took place?behind closed doors?in Nevada,?which?offers one of the most private?court settings for issues like family trust?decisions, allowing parties and courts to lock the cases behind closed doors to such an extreme?degree?that their very existence is not even publicized on court dockets.
In recent days, a coalition of?news organizations that includes CNN?has petitioned the Nevada Supreme Court to?unseal the case, arguing “the succession will affect thousands of jobs, millions of worldwide media consumers, and the American political landscape.”
