Succession drama Fox News fate at stake as Murdochs take family shares to court

One family succession battle is gripping the media and dominating water cooler conversations at the New York headquarters of Fox News.

- Edward Helmore

Rupert Murdoch last week began a legal effort to amend a family trust he established a quarter of a century ago that gives his four older children equal votes over the future of his media empire after he dies.

Now 93, Murdoch wants to change the structure to allow his eldest son and chosen successor, Lachlan - who shares his politics - to remain in charge for decades to come. His three other older children, who do not share his worldview, are fighting the change.

The legal arguments that began last week in a Reno, Nevada, courthouse are not being made public; only the judge and court staff, Rupert Murdoch, his first and second set of children and an army of lawyers are privy to the details.

But the court's decision could in time affect millions globally. At stake could be the fate of one of the world's most powerful media empires and, in the shape of Fox News in the US, one that has been a driving force behind Donald Trump's Maga movement just as he seeks to return to the White House.