As Lachlan Murdoch welcomed guests to a black-tie dinner to mark 60 years of The Australian, moves to hand him the media empire his father still controls were reportedly being challenged in court.
Reportage originating from News’ Wall Street Journal, said Rupert Murdoch was engaged in a legal fight with “some of his children” – implying James, Elisabeth and Prudence – who opposed his attempts to hand control of News Corp and Fox to Lachlan, his eldest son.
Previously, voting in the trust that controls the two media giants would have passed to these four of his children on his death, but Rupert (93) is understood to want to amend this to consolidate power in Lachlan’s hands, leading to a legal battle currently playing out in a Nevada probate court, “a person familiar with the case” told the WSJ.
Meanwhile, everyone from Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese to entertainers Missy Higgins and Budjerah, was in town last night for the dinner at the Australian Museum. Speakers included Murdoch, Albanese, journalist Chris Uhlmann, Holocaust survivor Nina Bassat, indigenous senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, novelist Shankari Chandran, broadcaster Cheng Lei – who was detained in a Chinese prison for 1184 days –The Australian’s editor-at-large Paul Kelly and editor-in-chief, Michelle Gunn, and News Corp Australasia executive chairman Michael Miller.
Guests at the dinner included past prime ministers and other politicians and leaders from business and the world of sport.
Lachlan Murdoch, who is chairman of News Corp, spoke of the importance of “real journalism” and quoted the WSJ that Elon Musk’s Grok AI platform – which aggregates content from X accounts – was automatically producing “what can only be called ‘fake’ news.
“What Musk has touted as – and I quote – ‘the new model of news’ is in fact so riddled with errors and made-up stories that it can’t be trusted. Just last week it told its millions of users that it was Kamala Harris, not Donald Trump, who was shot in Pennsylvania.”
Meanwhile, Rupert Murdoch continues to be seen out and about, The Australian republishing an AFP picture of the grim-faced patriarch, pointing, at the Republican National Convention last week.
Pictured: Lachlan Murdoch and Anthony Albanese (Photo, The Australian, Max Mason-Hubers)