A feud involving the family of media mogul Rupert Murdoch and his children is allegedly threatening the future of Fox News and other media assets. 

The alleged feud began when Murdoch, 93, abruptly moved to change the terms of their family trust to ensure that Lachlan, his eldest son, would have sole control of the family's media empire, which includes major television networks and newspapers such as Fox News, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Post, the Australian, the Sun, and the Times in the UK, as first reported by the New York Times. 

Currently, control of the trust will be handed to Murdoch's four oldest children, including Lachlan, when he passes away. Murdoch, however, is now arguing in court that allowing Lachlan to run his company without interference from his other children can help preserve its value as a right-leaning media company. 

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Why Is Murdoch Choosing Lachlan?

Lachlan is seen as the most conservative of Murdoch's children. According to Claire Atkinson, a writer for the Daily Beast and an author of a biography of Rupert, the 93-year-old head believes his other children---James, Liz, and Prudence---will attempt to neutralize Fox News and break up the wider company if they get control of the media empire. 

The family's trust can be rewritten if Murdoch is able to prove that he is acting "in good faith" to protect the value of his assets. A trial in September set by a Nevada probate commissioner will determine whether Murdoch is resetting the terms of the trust in "good faith."

Lachlan is currently serving as the chair of News Corporation and Fox Corporation, the parent company of Fox News. 

Initially, James was seen as the potential successor for Murdoch's media empire. However, James became a vocal critic of the Fox media assets' denial of climate change.

"They are particularly disappointed with the ongoing denial among the news outlets in Australia given obvious evidence to the contrary," a spokesperson for James and his wife Kathryn said in comments to the Daily Beast. 

James also criticized the US media for "propagating lies" that led to the devastating Jan. 6 insurrection. 

"The damage is profound. The sacking of the Capitol is proof positive that what we thought was dangerous is indeed very much so," he said. "Those outlets that propagate lies to their audience have unleashed insidious and uncontrollable forces that will be with us for years."

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