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Top of the Ticker: The Succession-inspired feud taking place within Rupert Murdoch’s family over control of the mogul’s media empire—which includes Fox News—has inspired two deep dives from The New York Times and The Atlantic.
The New York Times’ extensive story looks at the messy legal battle that took place out of the public view in a Reno, Nev. courtroom as Murdoch attempted to change the terms of his family trust to benefit his eldest son and designated heir apparent, Lachlan Murdoch. A Nevada commissioner ruled against the Australian media titan last year, and the case is currently under appeal.
Meanwhile, The Atlantic’s April issue features a lengthy profile of James Murdoch and his wife, Kathryn, in which they discuss the ongoing feud and what it has done to the family. They also talk about whether Fox News’ conservative bent could be realigned.
“There’s this tabloid culture that’s contrarian for the sake of it, and delights in poking people in the eye,” the younger Murdoch son says in the piece. “At its worst, it metastasizes into something nasty and scary and manipulative.”
Looking Ahead: With SpinCo set to separate from NBCUniversal sometime in the next few months, Variety’s Michael Schneider looks at what the future holds for MSNBC and CNBC. Both networks will be considered pivotal blocks within this new empire, which could potentially reinvent what is currently seen as an out-of-fashion business model.
Roll Tide: It will be a few months before we see some meaningful NFL and college football action. In the meantime, Fox News’ streaming platform Fox Nation is set to debut a new six-part gridiron docuseries. Premiering Feb. 19th, The Tides That Bind: Inside Alabama Football takes viewers behind the scenes of the University of Alabama’s elite football squad to chronicle its first season after legendary coach Nick Saban’s retirement.
Dateline en Espanol: Spanish-language episodes of Dateline will air on Telemundo starting Feb. 15 at 7 p.m. ET. Noticias Telemundo anchor Julio Vaqueiro will host the special encore presentations. The first episode is titled Un Largo Camino and reveals how an Orange County investigator and prosecutor solved a 20-year-old murder case.
Hosted by @TelemundoNews anchor @JulioVaqueiro, the special encores of #Dateline mark the first time the newsmagazine is expanding to translate episodes fully in another language.
https://t.co/6esqtzkHwO— NBC News PR (@NBCNewsPR) February 11, 2025
