Five of the biggest takeouts from James Murdoch’s bombshell interview
James Murdoch, the sidelined youngest son of Rupert, has broken silence on the workings of his powerful family and its ongoing legal battle over control of its powerful media empire.
James, 52, and wife Kathryn spoke exclusively to The Atlantic’s McKay Coppins over the past year about the turmoil within the Murdoch family.
James, along with sisters Elisabeth and Prudence, was blindsided in November 2023 when it was revealed that their father planned to dismantle the Murdoch family trust to secure sole control of Fox and News Corp for brother Lachlan.
Although Rupert and Lachlan lost the legal fight in December, they have since appealed the ruling.
Coppins’ article, published over the weekend, offers rarely heard insights into the deliberations of the Murdochs and how they engage in and influence world events.
Here are five of the most significant revelations of The Atlantic interview.
Succession obsession
There have been obvious comparisons between the Murdoch family and the fictitious Roys of TV hit Succession, but according to James some of his family members are obsessed with how closely the show resembles real life.
While James had found watching Succession “too painful”, other family members were fascinated by the extent to which it mirrored their lives.
You might like
“Throughout my reporting, I heard constant speculation about which family members might secretly have leaked to the show’s writers,” Coppins wrote.
“James and Kathryn, I was told, thought his sister Liz was responsible. Liz swore she wasn’t, though for a while she was convinced that her ex-husband was talking with the writers – and, in fact, she later learned that he’d repeatedly offered his services, but the showrunner, Jesse Armstrong, had declined.
“Armstrong told me that he and his writers simply drew on press reports.”
The Murdochs were reportedly fascinated with the plot lines of Succcession. Photo: HBO
What divided the Murdochs
James made it clear he felt Fox News had become a “blight” on the family’s reputation and a “menace to American democracy” after its reporting of the 2020 US election.
Fox News is headed by James’ older brother, Lachlan.
According to The Atlantic, James’ criticism of Fox and what was perceived by some as his father’s obsession with tabloid reporting culminated in the legal fight over the family trust and how control of the empire would be divided.
“[James] believed that drastic changes were needed to save the [Murdoch] companies from the consequences of his father’s reckless mismanagement,” Coppin wrote.
“If lying to your audience is how you juice ratings’, [James] would tell me, ‘a good culture wouldn’t do that’.
“Determined to retain a voice in the business, James and his older sisters had moved to block Rupert from changing the trust.”
No happy birthday?
Stay informed, daily
During the legal fight surrounding the Murdoch family trust, James said he faced uncomfortable questioning from his father’s lawyers, including on why he had not said happy birthday.
The questions included: “Have you ever done anything successful on your own?” and “Why were you too busy to say ‘Happy birthday’ to your father when he turned 90?”.
James theorised his father was sending the questions to his lawyer during the deposition.
“He was texting the lawyer questions to ask,” James was quoted as saying. “How f–king twisted is that?”
Australian retreat
According to The Atlantic, Rupert Murdoch invited his family to a “family-counselling retreat” in Australia to settle any differences.
Things did not go well as sessions reportedly fell into “posturing, gaslighting, and recriminations” as each family member spun their own version of past events.
“It was a car crash,” James was quoted as saying. “Everyone was more alienated from each other at the end.”
‘Our old man has gone crazy’
After reports in 2011 that UK tabloid News of the World had hacked the phones of families of soldiers killed in Afghanistan and a murdered schoolgirl – among many others – James said he texted Lachlan to express concerns over Rupert’s leadership.
“Dude, our old man has gone crazy,” James Murdoch reportedly told his brother. “This is terrible.”
James was executive chairman of News International, publisher of News of the World, from 2007 until his forced resignation in 2012.
According to The Atlantic, James’s sister Elizabeth ultimately recommended making him the scapegoat for the hacking debacle, something she said she regrets.
The report said that Elizabeth, who lived in London and had sold her production company, Shine, to News Corp earlier that year, was a constant presence throughout the phone hacking crisis and offered advice and comfort to Rupert.
At one point, while talking with Rupert in the office he’d commandeered as a war room, she reportedly made the case that a member of the family would have to take the fall for the scandal – and that person should be James.
The Atlantic report said Rupert reportedly replied that he’d think about it. The next day, he told Elizabeth he liked the idea.
