News Corp would do well not to keep it in the Murdoch family

[CHIMO]

The chances that Rupert Murdoch would choose to shut a 168-year-old newspaper, a profitable one at that, are nil. The News of the World's closure is a sure sign that the man at the top, known for calling all the shots himself, isn't alone any more.

News Corp is a family-run company – and, more and more, a family imbroglio. Some of the intrigue: Rupert has ceded substantial power to his son James, who made the decision to close the NoW. While James's power is part of a calculated succession plan, he also has his own leverage: he is his father's closest family ally in accommodating Wendi, the patriarch's divisive third wife. His father needs his support.

James has an often tense relationship with his sister, Elisabeth, who has a tense relationship with Wendi. Elisabeth has built her own media company, which her father bought this year, giving her great say within the company. James and Elisabeth's relationship, indeed many of the family relationships, are facilitated by Elisabeth's husband Matthew Freud, the most famous, and most famously slippery, PR man in London. One of Freud's closest friends is Rebekah Brooks, the CEO of News International, who almost everybody believes needs to be fired.

Rebekah, counselled by Matthew, has become James's most dedicated lieutenant. James and Matthew are determined not to fire her (indeed, she is an important instrument in Matthew's business).

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/jul/08/news-corp-murdoch-news-of-the-world-closure

[randr]

1. The kids must be looking at their fortune disappearing

and wondering if it is time to remove the old coot.

[Warpy]

2. It will be very sweet to see Murdoch forced out

even in favor of some bloodless corporate drone.

It looks like his sonny boy is already out. All we need now is for the old man to go. Ailes is likely to follow.

[totodeinhere]

3. How can he be forced out? He controls a majority of voting stock.

There is no way to force the old man out. He will leave either when he decides to do so on his own terms, or when he dies. And I don't see Ailes leaving either. Fox News Channel is very profitable for NewsCorp.

[BR_Parkway]

4. That reads like a script from "Dynasty" or something

[Demeter]

5. He should have spun it off, or sold it

This is either union-busting, or big publicity ploy, or both.

[The Backlash Cometh]

6. The family is only slightly less complicated than the Vangar family.