“Suits” meets “Succession” meets “The Social Network”

Yesterday, two court cases kicked off that have the potential to reshape America’s media landscape.

The fate of Fox News and Rupert Murdoch’s media empire hang in the balance. The 93-year-old Murdoch wants to amend a trust created in 1999 to ensure his eldest son, Lachlan, remains in control of the family’s newspapers and TV networks upon his death, per the Wall Street Journal and NY Times. The trust gives the family eight votes; four are split between Lachlan and his three more politically moderate siblings, while the other four are controlled by Rupert, with the trust stipulating these votes will be passed to his four children equally once he passes away. Rupert reportedly wants to leave Lachlan – who shares his views – in charge of the family’s conservative media empire to preserve its right-wing slant, and thus its commercial value. His three other children involved oppose this change.

The fate of TikTok also hangs in the balance. Opening arguments began yesterday in the DOJ’s case against TikTok. One interesting thing: The DOJ needs to prove TikTok is a national security threat in order for it to be divested – but the DOJ doesn’t want to show the defendant its evidence due to it being classified, arguing that by saying why TikTok is a threat would be a threat in itself. If TikTok loses the case, it would have to sell its US operations or effectively be banned in America, leaving Gen Z to join millennials on Instagram Reels.