Lachlan Murdoch’s resignation has set off a media open-season on Murdoch family dynamics and News Corp. succession. Monday, The Wall Street Journal explored the role of Rupert Murdoch’s third wife, Wendi Deng, and the couple’s two young children, as well as the divorce settlement with second wife Anna that protects the inheritance of Murdoch’s four adult children. The NYTimes takes another bite of the apple today “An Empire Shaken.” As high-powered divorce lawyer William Zabel explains, “It does not matter who can get money from the trust. Control is the key power because that determines ultimately how the money flows.” The Journal continues its coverage with a look at a possible struggle for control over the Fox TV stations, suggesting the younger Murdoch’s departure could set off a power struggle between News Corp. President & COO Peter Chernin and Fox News head Roger Ailes. The stations, both papers report, were a matter of contention between father and son.
Expect more of the same—and conjecture that News Corp. won’t survive Rupert Murdoch intact—as long as the papers are willing to grant anonymity.