1 00:00:00,400 --> 00:00:03,280 Speaker 1: Jersey and Amanda jam Nation. 2 00:00:03,600 --> 00:00:06,600 Speaker 2: She is the editor of The Daily Oz. M Gillespie 3 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:08,039 Speaker 2: is here with That's entertainment. 4 00:00:08,240 --> 00:00:12,920 Speaker 3: Hello, well, it's real life succession. This week, the Murdoch 5 00:00:13,039 --> 00:00:17,239 Speaker 3: family are in court fighting against each other in a 6 00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,239 Speaker 3: honestly a case that could be another season of the 7 00:00:20,440 --> 00:00:24,080 Speaker 3: HBO show that We Love and Miss Succession. Rupert Murdoch 8 00:00:24,160 --> 00:00:27,960 Speaker 3: and his son Lachlan are going against three of Rupert 9 00:00:28,040 --> 00:00:32,640 Speaker 3: Murdoch's other kids, James, Elizabeth and Prudence because Rupert wants 10 00:00:32,680 --> 00:00:35,879 Speaker 3: to break up this family trust to give all the 11 00:00:35,920 --> 00:00:39,000 Speaker 3: power of Fox News and News Corp after he dies 12 00:00:39,280 --> 00:00:40,440 Speaker 3: to his son Lachlan. 13 00:00:40,560 --> 00:00:42,120 Speaker 1: But people for many years have been wondering what the 14 00:00:42,120 --> 00:00:44,640 Speaker 1: succession plan would be, and for while it looked like James, 15 00:00:44,800 --> 00:00:47,400 Speaker 1: someone said the Elizabeth that Elizabeth is actually the media 16 00:00:47,479 --> 00:00:50,360 Speaker 1: genius in the family, but she set aside some time ago. 17 00:00:50,920 --> 00:00:52,159 Speaker 1: Why is he changing it? 18 00:00:52,640 --> 00:00:55,960 Speaker 3: So? Lachlan Murdock has been the boss of Fox News 19 00:00:56,200 --> 00:00:59,960 Speaker 3: for five years now. He became CEO in twenty nineteen, 20 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:02,320 Speaker 3: and then last year Rupert announced he was stepping back 21 00:01:02,520 --> 00:01:05,240 Speaker 3: from News Corps as well, and Lachlan was appointed chair 22 00:01:05,280 --> 00:01:10,120 Speaker 3: of that organization. And it's obvious to everyone from the 23 00:01:10,160 --> 00:01:14,600 Speaker 3: outside looking in that Lachlan really is daddy's protege. Lachlan 24 00:01:14,800 --> 00:01:18,319 Speaker 3: is the Kendall Roy of this situation, and he's really 25 00:01:18,400 --> 00:01:21,920 Speaker 3: been groomed over many, many years to kind of take 26 00:01:21,959 --> 00:01:25,559 Speaker 3: over the reins. He's very politically aligned with Rupert. He's 27 00:01:25,640 --> 00:01:29,280 Speaker 3: super right wing conservative. His agenda is very much playing 28 00:01:29,319 --> 00:01:32,480 Speaker 3: out by the minute on Fox News over in the US. 29 00:01:32,600 --> 00:01:35,080 Speaker 3: Very pro Trump, very make America great again. 30 00:01:37,760 --> 00:01:40,360 Speaker 1: Fox News is huge. 31 00:01:39,720 --> 00:01:43,120 Speaker 2: Huge if you're dealings with Lachlan. He seems like a 32 00:01:43,120 --> 00:01:45,119 Speaker 2: pretty reasonable guy who rides motorbikes. 33 00:01:45,160 --> 00:01:48,440 Speaker 1: He's got to take He's a great guy, but this 34 00:01:48,520 --> 00:01:49,320 Speaker 1: is his allegiances. 35 00:01:49,560 --> 00:01:52,960 Speaker 3: I think that's kind of the danger or the prominence 36 00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:54,960 Speaker 3: of his power, is that he's a player that kind 37 00:01:54,960 --> 00:01:58,040 Speaker 3: of can seem like a reasonable, nice, normal guy, but 38 00:01:58,080 --> 00:01:59,760 Speaker 3: at the end of the day, he's he's willing to 39 00:01:59,760 --> 00:02:03,400 Speaker 3: make tough cause like his dad. But what's interesting about 40 00:02:03,440 --> 00:02:06,440 Speaker 3: this legal battle is the four kids that I mentioned 41 00:02:06,440 --> 00:02:09,560 Speaker 3: a part of what's called an irrevocable trust. Now, this 42 00:02:09,720 --> 00:02:12,799 Speaker 3: was set up in nineteen ninety nine after Rupert Murdoch 43 00:02:12,880 --> 00:02:17,040 Speaker 3: divorced Anna, who is the mum of Lachlan, James and Elizabeth. 44 00:02:17,600 --> 00:02:21,359 Speaker 3: It's like a will, but it's a really intensely legally 45 00:02:21,600 --> 00:02:24,960 Speaker 3: binding document. It's essentially not meant to be able to 46 00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:28,400 Speaker 3: be changed. Once an irrevocable trust is finalized, its terms 47 00:02:28,480 --> 00:02:29,400 Speaker 3: cannot be changed. 48 00:02:29,480 --> 00:02:29,720 Speaker 1: Wow. 49 00:02:29,760 --> 00:02:33,800 Speaker 3: Now that trust dictates that those four children after Rupert 50 00:02:33,880 --> 00:02:37,840 Speaker 3: dies would be given equal voting rights and equal control 51 00:02:38,320 --> 00:02:39,799 Speaker 3: of his corporations. 52 00:02:39,840 --> 00:02:43,360 Speaker 1: So Newsport and is this because James in recent years 53 00:02:43,520 --> 00:02:47,040 Speaker 1: James in recent years has turned more leftish leaning, Yes, exactly. 54 00:02:47,080 --> 00:02:47,720 Speaker 1: Brought all this on. 55 00:02:47,919 --> 00:02:50,000 Speaker 3: James has come more to the center. I think it's 56 00:02:50,080 --> 00:02:53,040 Speaker 3: just that, you know, Lachlan has become the most involved 57 00:02:53,040 --> 00:02:56,040 Speaker 3: in the family business of any of Rupert Murdoch's kids, 58 00:02:56,080 --> 00:02:59,400 Speaker 3: So it makes sense from you know, that perspective. 59 00:02:59,639 --> 00:03:01,960 Speaker 1: But to take their voting away, obviously they're not happy. 60 00:03:01,960 --> 00:03:03,680 Speaker 1: That's why it's in court exactly so. 61 00:03:04,120 --> 00:03:07,320 Speaker 2: But also with the voting, with the media, people lean 62 00:03:07,400 --> 00:03:10,400 Speaker 2: into what's negative, so it's all about clickbait. 63 00:03:10,560 --> 00:03:13,600 Speaker 1: So I think James stepped away because he was concerned 64 00:03:13,639 --> 00:03:16,480 Speaker 1: about how Fox was covering climate change, and that's why 65 00:03:16,520 --> 00:03:17,760 Speaker 1: he thought I kin'dt align. 66 00:03:17,880 --> 00:03:19,880 Speaker 2: People don't want to hear about climate change, That's what 67 00:03:19,960 --> 00:03:21,160 Speaker 2: I want to hear that's the thing. 68 00:03:21,240 --> 00:03:23,200 Speaker 1: That's why we have Fox and that's why we have 69 00:03:23,240 --> 00:03:23,800 Speaker 1: other networks. 70 00:03:23,840 --> 00:03:25,399 Speaker 2: Do you know what I mean? If we talked about 71 00:03:25,440 --> 00:03:27,120 Speaker 2: climate change all the time, all the time, we would 72 00:03:27,160 --> 00:03:29,840 Speaker 2: lose listeners because people don't want to hear about it. 73 00:03:29,840 --> 00:03:32,560 Speaker 3: Well, particularly when it's an election year in the US. 74 00:03:32,600 --> 00:03:34,200 Speaker 3: I mean it's hard enough to get Australians to hear 75 00:03:34,240 --> 00:03:36,840 Speaker 3: about it, let alone Americans. But when you factor in 76 00:03:36,920 --> 00:03:39,600 Speaker 3: the political climate there, I think what seems like a 77 00:03:39,680 --> 00:03:42,640 Speaker 3: sort of family fight if you really sort of look 78 00:03:42,680 --> 00:03:45,240 Speaker 3: at the nitty gritty of it, If those voting rights 79 00:03:45,280 --> 00:03:48,400 Speaker 3: are lost to those other children, and if Lachlan has 80 00:03:48,440 --> 00:03:51,320 Speaker 3: full control, if you know, Rupert two point zero then 81 00:03:51,400 --> 00:03:54,680 Speaker 3: takes over after he dies, then you're essentially looking at 82 00:03:54,680 --> 00:03:57,440 Speaker 3: a future where Fox News has no hope of becoming 83 00:03:58,080 --> 00:04:00,000 Speaker 3: the once more moderate news. 84 00:04:00,240 --> 00:04:03,360 Speaker 2: Can we can I bookend this? If you were inherited, 85 00:04:03,520 --> 00:04:05,400 Speaker 2: if you were a Murdoch child, would you want to 86 00:04:05,400 --> 00:04:07,960 Speaker 2: be the sit back and cruise kid or the one 87 00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:09,440 Speaker 2: that wants to run the business? 88 00:04:09,480 --> 00:04:09,680 Speaker 3: I don't. 89 00:04:11,760 --> 00:04:13,840 Speaker 1: They're not like the kids of property developers. They've been 90 00:04:13,840 --> 00:04:14,800 Speaker 1: groomed to run back. 91 00:04:14,920 --> 00:04:17,440 Speaker 2: I think about James Packer when Kerry died and James 92 00:04:17,520 --> 00:04:19,680 Speaker 2: inherited all that, and then he said, right, I'm going 93 00:04:19,720 --> 00:04:22,120 Speaker 2: to do this, going to make this giant casino empire. 94 00:04:22,400 --> 00:04:24,400 Speaker 2: If he just got all the billions of dollars off 95 00:04:24,400 --> 00:04:26,440 Speaker 2: his dad put it in the bank, he'd probably be 96 00:04:26,480 --> 00:04:27,120 Speaker 2: in the same position. 97 00:04:27,279 --> 00:04:29,880 Speaker 3: Well. I think he's a really good example for a 98 00:04:29,920 --> 00:04:32,440 Speaker 3: local example of what it would be like to have 99 00:04:32,520 --> 00:04:36,880 Speaker 3: an extremely powerful and influential father who is not only rich, 100 00:04:36,920 --> 00:04:41,680 Speaker 3: but incredibly ambitious and incredibly passionate about his business projects. 101 00:04:41,680 --> 00:04:44,360 Speaker 3: And I think same thing with the Murdoch kids. It's 102 00:04:44,440 --> 00:04:46,320 Speaker 3: nice to think that if you were the kid of 103 00:04:46,320 --> 00:04:48,520 Speaker 3: a billionaire, Yeah, you'd fly around on your private get 104 00:04:48,560 --> 00:04:51,200 Speaker 3: and live life large. But the pressure I think that 105 00:04:51,320 --> 00:04:54,080 Speaker 3: is put on them and the psychological impacts of that, 106 00:04:54,400 --> 00:04:57,000 Speaker 3: I don't think that they can sort of just sit still. 107 00:04:57,040 --> 00:04:59,440 Speaker 3: There's that sort of constant fire burning in them to 108 00:04:59,480 --> 00:05:01,120 Speaker 3: want to I want to please daddy. 109 00:05:01,200 --> 00:05:03,400 Speaker 1: And also, as we saw in Succession, it was the 110 00:05:03,440 --> 00:05:05,719 Speaker 1: idea that they were running a media empire got lost 111 00:05:05,720 --> 00:05:09,960 Speaker 1: in the ambition fight. It's a hugely responsible job to 112 00:05:10,040 --> 00:05:12,440 Speaker 1: run a network, and that's what we're seeing, As you 113 00:05:12,480 --> 00:05:15,919 Speaker 1: said with Lachman at the Helm that's Fox's fate ready 114 00:05:15,920 --> 00:05:16,240 Speaker 1: to go. 115 00:05:16,360 --> 00:05:20,560 Speaker 2: I see on a sun lounge on a massive ozone 116 00:05:20,560 --> 00:05:21,520 Speaker 2: hole making yacht. 117 00:05:22,080 --> 00:05:24,719 Speaker 3: That's well, this is going to play out over the 118 00:05:24,760 --> 00:05:27,679 Speaker 3: next two weeks. My favorite thing about this is the 119 00:05:27,720 --> 00:05:31,560 Speaker 3: cases being heard in Reno, Nevada, which is a famously 120 00:05:32,400 --> 00:05:37,560 Speaker 3: dead end because family trust law in Nevada, in the 121 00:05:37,560 --> 00:05:41,240 Speaker 3: state of Nevada, is quite loose or favorable towards what 122 00:05:41,320 --> 00:05:44,440 Speaker 3: Rupert is trying to achieve. There's also no tax on 123 00:05:44,520 --> 00:05:48,359 Speaker 3: any kind of estates, so there it's favorable conditions and 124 00:05:48,400 --> 00:05:50,719 Speaker 3: really strict privacy laws that would allow him to make 125 00:05:50,800 --> 00:05:53,240 Speaker 3: changes that he wouldn't necessarily have to disclose to the 126 00:05:53,279 --> 00:05:55,840 Speaker 3: rest of the trust. But I just love imagining this 127 00:05:55,960 --> 00:05:59,720 Speaker 3: family camped out in Reno, Nevada for two weeks. Can 128 00:05:59,760 --> 00:06:00,280 Speaker 3: you think. 129 00:06:00,160 --> 00:06:02,839 Speaker 2: Because it's pretty down, it's pretty down, run deep. It is. 130 00:06:02,920 --> 00:06:04,320 Speaker 1: The private jets and a tent. 131 00:06:05,000 --> 00:06:07,960 Speaker 2: Plenty of places park. Thank you, am, thank you.