Inside the ‘Shakespearean Drama’ of the Murdoch Family

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When Rupert Murdoch married for the fifth time this past June, the wedding was absent a few notable guests: three of his four eldest children, James, Elisabeth and Prudence.

“That was a sign to ‘Murdoch watchers’ that something was up,” said Jim Rutenberg, a New York Times reporter who broke the news about Mr. Murdoch’s engagement. Mr. Rutenberg, who writes about politics and culture, has long reported on the Murdoch family. In 2019, he and Jonathan Mahler wrote an exhaustive article for The Times Magazine about the Murdochs’ sprawling media empire and its global influence.

“That, for better or worse, sort of cemented us as the experts on this family,” said Mr. Mahler, who covers various topics for the magazine, including politics and entertainment.

Last month, the reporters published an article that exposed the familial rift: According to a sealed court document, Mr. Murdoch, 93, alongside his eldest son and chosen successor, Lachlan, is locked in a secret legal battle against three of Lachlan’s siblings. The outcome will determine who will have control of the empire after Mr. Murdoch’s death.

In a recent interview, Mr. Rutenberg and Mr. Mahler spoke about the challenges of their reporting and why they think readers are so fascinated by the Murdoch family drama. These are edited excerpts.

How did you find out about this legal battle?

JIM RUTENBERG We can’t really talk about the origins of the story because it was based on a sealed court record. What we can say is that we’re constantly checking in on this family. We’d always known there was a potential to be an ultimate clash over the trust and the future of the company when Rupert died, with three children on one side and Lachlan and his father on the other.