More likely “the Biden Gang is taking its toll on Fox News.”
Rupert Murdoch's Son's 'Mission in Life' Is to 'Destroy Fox News'
By Dustin Rowles | TV | April 12, 2023 | 63 Comments
For those who love Succession and are eager to learn more about the family upon which it is based, the Murdochs, Vanity Fair has a riveting piece up today exploring the family dynamics. Rupert Murdoch remains the Logan Roy of the family and has no intention of retiring, but he is 92 years old now and has had a number of health scares in recent years.
When Murdoch eventually dies, control over Fox News will likely pass to one of his eldest sons, James or Lachlan, and the decision is likely to be made by Lachlan, James, and Elisabeth (his children with Anna Torv’s aunt, Anna Torv) and Prudence, the firstborn daughter and basically the Conner Roy of the family. Elisabeth — the Shiv of the Murdoch family — has essentially renounced any claim to the future throne because Rupert doesn’t believe that a woman should take over. Prudence, being the Conner, is not in the running, so that leaves James — a liberal who owns a stake in Vice and other liberal-leaning companies— and Lachlan. Lachlan is the eldest son, his politics align with Rupert’s, and he is currently in control of Fox News and is buddies with Tucker Carlson, but he’s reportedly not that keen on working after his father passes (he’d rather be rock climbing).
When Rupert Murdoch dies, each of the four children receives one vote in deciding who will take over the company, and there is a fear inside of Fox News that the sisters will side with James and vote him in, though he essentially split from the network after Charlottesville in 2017 (“I can’t even believe I have to write this: standing up to Nazis is essential; there are no good Nazis. Or Klansmen, or terrorists,” he wrote at the time).
After Roger Ailes was ousted, there was a brief power struggle inside Fox News and James Murdoch tried to steer the network into more respectable politics, but Rupert and Lachlan won out, which resulted in the Fox News that exists today (and Dominion’s $1.6 billion lawsuit against it). However, if the sisters vote for James — who is said to be biding his time — he would either pivot the network into a center-right answer to CNN or completely sell Fox News off because he sees it as such a toxic asset. “Inside the network, there’s a visceral fear of what a James-led future would mean. ‘James sees destroying Fox News as his mission in life,’” one Fox News employee told Vanity Fair.
Given Rupert Murdoch’s age, it may not be too much longer before we find out how the real-life Succession will finally play out.