Rupert Murdoch’s succession drama is juicy enough to be a TV show

The real-life version of “Succession” continues to play out with the Rupert Murdoch family.

And this one is every bit as juicy as the TV show.

No wonder. The addictively hilarious and at the same time tragic HBO show is (wink, wink) loosely based on the media mogul, whose possessions include Fox News, The Wall Street Journal and the New York Post.

In fact, as you will see, sometimes life not only imitates art, it influences it.

On “Succession,” Logan Roy, the patriarch of the family, was constantly wooing, scheming and, at times, fending off his children in the event that he either died or parted ways with his company.

I won’t spoil the show if you haven’t seen it, but let’s just say there came a time when Roy’s WayStar Royco suddenly came up for grabs and there was a mad scramble to see who would ultimately take over.

So let’s go back to real life.

At 93 years old, Rupert Murdoch is trying to set up his company for the future, hoping to leave it in the hands of his eldest son, Lachlan. But in order to do so, Murdoch would need to change the family trust.

But a Nevada probate commissioner shot down those plans, according to a sealed court document obtained by The New York Times.

The Times’ Jonathan Mahler and Jim Rutenberg wrote, “The commissioner, Edmund J. Gorman Jr., concluded in a decision filed on Saturday that the father and son, who is the head of Fox News and News Corp., had acted in ‘bad faith’ in their effort to amend the irrevocable trust, which divides control of the company equally among Mr. Murdoch’s four oldest children — Lachlan, James, Elisabeth and Prudence — after his death.”

Mahler and Rutenberg said the ruling was, at times, “scathing.” Gorman wrote that Rupert and Lachlan’s plans to change the trust were a “carefully crafted charade” to “permanently cement Lachlan Murdoch’s executive roles.” And that they attempted to do so “regardless of the impacts such control would have over the companies or the beneficiaries” of the family trust.

So why all the family in-fighting? It’s more than just a scuffle for power. It’s all about the news.

Mahler and Rutenberg wrote in the Times, “The battle over the family trust is not about money — Mr. Murdoch is not seeking to diminish any of his children’s financial stakes in the company — but rather about future control of the world’s most powerful conservative media empire, which includes Fox News, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Post and major newspapers and television outlets in Australia and Britain.”

The Washington Post’s Jeremy Barr and Sarah Ellison wrote, “Lachlan is ideologically aligned with his father and would be expected to continue the editorial positioning that has made the company successful. There was concern that his three siblings could choose to reorient the company in a more moderate direction after their father’s passing. James, in particular, has become a vocal supporter of liberal causes since he formally exited his father’s media company in 2020, citing ‘disagreements over certain editorial content published by the Company’s news outlets and certain other strategic decisions.’ But the three other siblings have not publicly expressed any desire to replace Lachlan or to change the company’s editorial direction.”

OK, now get ready to have your mind blown. But first, let me warn you. If you haven’t seen “Succession” and still plan to watch it, spoiler alert. You might want to skip the rest of this item — or at least what is in the quote block.

If you have seen it, check this out — which proves that the Murdoch family drama and “Succession” really do have a lot in common.

The Times wrote:

The legal maneuvering came to a head during several days of sealed, in-person testimony in Reno in September by Mr. Murdoch, Lachlan, James, Elisabeth, Prudence and a number of their representatives on the trust. The proceedings revealed that Mr. Murdoch’s children had started secretly discussing the public-relations strategy for their father’s death in April 2023. Setting off these discussions was the episode of the HBO drama “Succession,” the commissioner wrote, “where the patriarch of the family dies, leaving his family and business in chaos.” The episode prompted Elisabeth’s representative to the trust, Mark Devereux, to write a “‘Succession’ memo” intended to help avoid a real-life repeat.

Are these serious people? If you watched the show, you’ll get that reference.

Meantime, this story still has many more episodes. The Times wrote, “The commissioner’s ruling, while significant, is not the final word in the case. The commissioner acts as a ‘special master’ who weighs the testimony and evidence and submits a recommended resolution to the Probate Court. It falls to a district judge to ratify or reject that recommendation. Even then, the losing party is free to challenge the determination, which could precipitate an intensive new round of litigation.”

Check out the Times’ story for many more interesting details.

Or go back and watch “Succession.” Or do both. Either way, watch “Succession.”

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‘It definitely feels different.’

The parents of Austin Tice, the journalist and Marine Corps veteran who was kidnapped while reporting in Syria in 2012, told NBC “Nightly News” anchor Lester Holt on Monday that they believe their son is alive. Now that the Assad government has been overthrown, they are hopeful to be reunited with their son.

Tice’s mother, Debra, said, “It definitely feels different.” Debra said they have had “verifiable intel” that Tice is alive and has been cared for.

Tice’s father, Marc, said, “Yeah, very much feels different. In fact, we had several meetings here in Washington, both the State Department and the White House, and one of the things that we kept saying, and ended up being echoed by them, was that, you know, in chaos, there's opportunity. This is an opportunity, and it feels stronger than any that we've seen or felt in a long time.”

Debra told Holt that there’s no clarity on who is holding Austin, saying, “We're just waiting to see because they're attending to the prisons little by little — and some of the larger prisons, we know those are not places that Austin is.”

On the move

Ali Vitali is leaving her role as NBC News Washington correspondent to become the host of MSNBC’s “Way Too Early” — the 5 a.m. Eastern show that precedes “Morning Joe.”

Vitali, who has been with NBC News for a decade, starts her new gig on Jan. 6.

In a statement to Variety’s Brian Steinberg, Vitali said, “I’m thrilled to join the Way Too Early team, anchoring a show that’s been helmed by some of the smartest reporters in Washington — including my friend Jonathan Lemire, who can thankfully now set his alarm the tiniest bit later in the morning. I’ll continue working my sources and bringing viewers into the halls of power with fresh reporting and news-making interviews from Capitol Hill and across Washington.”

So what is up with Lemire, the current host of “Way Too Early?” He will be taking up an expanded role as co-host of the 9 a.m. hour of “Morning Joe,” alongside Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski and Willie Geist.

Also on the move

Matea Gold, a managing editor for The Washington Post who was believed to be considered for the Post’s top editor’s role at one point, is moving over to The New York Times, where she will be a senior editor in its Washington, D.C., bureau. She will report to new Washington bureau chief Dick Stevenson.

Gold had been a managing editor at the Post for a little more than a year, in charge of the paper’s political, local and investigative coverage. She also has been the Post’s national editor. She joined the Post a decade ago from the Los Angeles Times.

The New York Times’ Benjamin Mullin and Katie Robertson have more.

Meanwhile, NPR’s David Folkenflik writes, “Top 'Washington Post' editor kills article on deputy's departure.”

Brady’s good day

Just a few weeks ago, there was plenty of buzz wondering if Fox Sports made a massive mistake making Tom Brady its top NFL analyst, not to mention giving him a massive 10-year, $375-million contract. And all of that — the lofty position and ridiculous money — done without Brady having ever broadcast a game in his life.

Not all the fears have gone away. But, in the past couple of weeks, Brady has gotten better. Much better. And this past Sunday, while calling the Los Angeles Rams’ thrilling 44-42 victory over the Buffalo Bills, Brady gave his best performance so far.

In his single best moment of his broadcast career, so far, Brady told viewers why the Bills should pass, and not run, the ball with just over a minute left. The Bills were trailing 44-35 and had the ball at the 1-yard line. If they were stopped on the run, Brady said, the Bills would probably be forced to call a valuable timeout.

That’s exactly what happened. The Bills were stopped and had to burn a timeout. They scored on the next play, but with only two timeouts left, they were then forced to try an onside kick to get the ball back. Onside kicks are rarely successful in the NFL. The Rams recovered the kick, and the Bills couldn’t stop the Rams from running out the clock — all because of a wasted timeout. Even before all this happened, Brady warned that the Bills should not run the ball and lose that much-needed timeout.

Brady said, “To me, you take three shots throwing and don’t use a timeout, and then you can kick it deep and use your three timeouts and still get the ball with good time. It changes the entire complexity of the last 1:02 of the game. … I did not like that one bit. That could have just cost them the game right there.”

Brady then followed up when it became clear that the Bills had no chance to come back.

“The way these onside kicks are, there is a very low percentage of doing it. Not to harp on it but I thought that quarterback sneak on first down was absolutely the wrong decision. It just puts you in a situation now where they could have kicked it deep, still with a lot of time remaining and get a much better chance of field position after getting a stop.”

He needed to harp on it. That’s what he did and that’s the kind of commentary any good football analyst should deliver.

The Athletic’s Richard Deitsch wrote, “This is what Fox had in mind when they gave Brady a 10-year, $375 million contract — what a Hall of Fame-to-be quarterback thinks about in game-defining moments such as these.”

On his Monday podcast, The Ringer’s Bill Simmons said Brady was “fantastic” on Sunday and, about that sequence said, “(Brady) spelled out everything that was about to happen, and then it happened.”

Simmons said Brady has changed a couple of things over the course of his rookie season as a broadcaster.

“It feels like you’re hanging out with him a little bit more,” Simmon said. “He’s reacting to what he’s seeing. He’s not doing like, ‘Oh I have prep on this situation and now I’m going to do my prep.’ It doesn't feel like he’s overproduced.”

Granted, Brady was helped by, arguably, the most exciting game of the season with two elite quarterbacks (Buffalo’s Josh Allen and the Rams’ Matthew Stafford) playing incredibly well — something Brady could easily relate to.

But he showed enthusiasm for the game, too, with his voice going hoarse at one point.

It was another step in the right direction for Brady as he gears up to call this season’s Super Bowl.

“I think the Brady thing, it started out as rocky as you would have thought,” Simmons said, “I thought it was getting worse like around week seven, week eight. … Thanksgiving was a little better. And I thought (Sunday) was really encouraging. I really feel like he’s getting the hang of it.”

Deitsch wrote, “Brady is a much looser broadcaster in Week 14 than he was earlier in the year.”

Netflix NFL studio show

Speaking of NFL broadcasts, Netflix will air an NFL doubleheader on Christmas Day and has put together a high-profile studio cast, according to Front Office Sports’ Michael McCarthy.

McCarthy reports that Netflix has lined up Robert Griffin III in what will be RG3’s first TV appearance since being caught up in ESPN layoffs before the season. McCarthy also wrote that YouTube and FanDuel (and former NFL Network) host Kay Adams will host the Netflix studio show, and will be joined by ESPN’s Mina Kimes and former NFL quarterback Drew Brees. Adams, Kimes and Brees have been linked to the show in various previous reports. In addition, former college star and NFL player Manti Te’o will be a part of the studio show.

Netflix is scheduled to air two good games on Christmas: the Pittsburgh Steelers versus the Kansas City Chiefs, and the Baltimore Ravens against the Houston Texans.

The streaming service might be holding its breath a bit, considering some of the issues it had with buffering and freezing during its airing of the Mike Tyson-Jake Paul boxing match last month.

Media tidbits

• The Hollywood Reporter’s Rick Porter with “The Sky Isn’t Falling for Cable News TV Ratings (Yet).”
• Superb reporting from NBC News’ Brandy Zadrozny in “Trump's FBI pick co-hosted a show for a conspiracy-filled, far-right media organization.”
• OPB’s Ryan Haas with “AI slop is already invading Oregon’s local journalism.”
• After 40 years as a reporter, editor, editorial writer, and for the past six years as a metro/city columnist, Sharon Grigsby is leaving The Dallas Morning News. She is joining a new project called the Child Poverty Action Lab. Morning News manager editor Amy Hollyfield has more on Grigsby’s career.
• Washington Post media critic Erik Wemple did a lively live chat with readers. Here is the transcript.
• Golden Globe nominations came out on Monday. Here’s the full list from Deadline’s Andreas Wiseman.
• Here’s The New York Times’ Kyle Buchanan with snubs and surprises from the Golden Globe nominations.
• And here’s The Washington Post’s Sonia Rao and Jada Yuan with “The biggest surprises (and snubs) from the 2025 Golden Globe nominations.”

Hot type

• For Houston Landing, Dion Nissenbaum with “Texas’ restrictive abortion law sends Houston teen on cross-country odyssey for help.”
• The Atlantic’s Caitlin Flanagan with “Walk on Air Against Your Better Judgment. What Seamus Heaney gave me.”
• Also in The Atlantic, David Sims with “The 10 Best Movies of 2024.”

More resources for journalists

• Peak Producing: Elevate Your Newsroom, Accelerate Your Career
• Are you an up-and-coming newsroom manager?
• Lead With Influence is for leaders who manage big responsibilities but have no direct reports.

Have feedback or a tip? Email Poynter senior media writer Tom Jones at [email protected].