In the TV drama Succession, the Roy siblings do not get what they crave.
Kendall is left, walking disconsolately by the water; Roman is drinking alone at a bar; and a pregnant Shiv is locked in a seemingly loveless marriage with Tom. It is he, Tom Wambsgans, who secures the prize, being made chief executive of Waystar Royco, their family’s media vehicle, albeit in reduced form as part of the Gojo group belonging to tech mogul, Lukas Matsson.
So it is in real-life, with the three elder children of Rupert Murdoch. Elisabeth, James and Prudence sought a share of control of their father’s business empire. They wished to stop their brother, Lachlan, taking sole charge but that has not happened. They are then, crushed. Not quite. The blow is sweetened by the payment of $1.1 billion each, to add to the billions they’ve inherited from their father.
Still, Lachlan emerges triumphant in a way the Roy brothers and sister, and Tom, do not. He is the one stepping into Rupert’s shoes, the only Murdoch child at the top of Fox News and News Corp. They are effectively his to do as he pleases.
His success has come at personal cost. The trio tried to prevent Rupert and Lachlan writing them out of the family trust that controlled the twin TV and newspaper strands. Father and son called their wrestling Project Family Harmony, a misnomer if ever there was one, as the resulting court battle proved. In legal evidence that would have done the Succession scriptwriters proud, the mutual animosity between them and the three was laid bare.
Rupert, too, got his way and in that sense, he is also victorious. As he once wrote to his former wife Anna and the mother of Elisabeth, Lachlan and James: “Would love nothing more than peace all around. But the fact remains, Lachlan is the best to run the business – greatly respected inside and outside!”
Not entirely. The veteran tycoon did not secure anything like peace all around. His manoeuvring only served to highlight the deep discord at the heart of the dynasty.
Little has changed. Lachlan has been running the show for some time, with Rupert exerting considerable influence in the background. The threat, though, to Lachlan’s primacy has vanished. What has also dissipated is the possibility that Fox may change; that the network may relax its firm, pro-Trump stance. Indeed, another who can derive satisfaction from the outcome is the US President. If Elisabeth, James and Prudence had won, Fox’s Maga zeal would have been curtailed.
Where does it leave the four? Lachlan must manage TV and newspapers. He professes to love newspapers, which ought to be welcome for the employees of its main titles, The Times and Sunday Times, The Sun in the UK, The Wall Street Journal and The Australian. Doubts remain, however, as to how committed he really is. Certainly, he has exhibited little of Rupert’s inky-fingered passion for the papers. The old man was schooled in their journalism and production. He was across all aspects of the operation, eating and breathing them and their content, look and feel, and how many copies they were selling.
In time, they and their nascent TV and radio interests, together with the rest of News Corp, which includes publisher Harper Collins, could find themselves sold as Lachlan concentrates on Fox, where he does have an affinity. Fox is walking a tightrope where Trump is concerned – it has supported him over his dealings with Jeffrey Epstein, although it is questionable how sustainable that is, should opinion against the President on the issue harden. The crude drawing, said to have been produced by Trump for Epstein’s 50th birthday, is dominating US headlines. Trump says the sketch, complete with his signature, is not his.
News of the cartoon’s existence was revealed by The Wall Street Journal, which Trump is suing. Quite how that suit will proceed, now that the picture has been published, isn’t clear. It seems contradictory that Rupert would sanction one of his products to so inflame Trump while another is supportive. But unpredictability has always been his hallmark. They have different audiences and Rupert was playing to them both. It is unlikely that Lachlan will display the same trait and while he talks a good fight, tackling someone as powerful as Trump will not surely appeal.
The challenge Lachlan faces is from the myriad social media and channels crowding into Fox’s space and that of the newspapers. He has been given the keys to the kingdom but it is far from ring-fenced.
Elisabeth, James and Prudence will probably stay as they are – investing in businesses and causes that interest them.
While Lachlan will keep alive the Murdoch flame, it is not guaranteed. Rupert will be relieved but it is not the ending he would have wanted or that is in keeping with his character.
Ideally, he would have wished for all four to somehow be involved and possibly relished the prospect of their bouncing off each other, with Lachlan having the final say. Like Logan Roy, he would have enjoyed watching the sparks fly, believing it was good for energy and creativity.
Rupert and Lachlan have won all right, but something is lost.
KINGDOM%20OF%20THE%20PLANET%20OF%20THE%20APES
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
match info
Union Berlin 0
Bayern Munich 1 (Lewandowski 40' pen, Pavard 80')
Man of the Match: Benjamin Pavard (Bayern Munich)
Day 5, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance
Moment of the day When Dilruwan Perera dismissed Yasir Shah to end Pakistan’s limp resistance, the Sri Lankans charged around the field with the fevered delirium of a side not used to winning. Trouble was, they had not. The delivery was deemed a no ball. Sri Lanka had a nervy wait, but it was merely a stay of execution for the beleaguered hosts.
Stat of the day – 5 Pakistan have lost all 10 wickets on the fifth day of a Test five times since the start of 2016. It is an alarming departure for a side who had apparently erased regular collapses from their resume. “The only thing I can say, it’s not a mitigating excuse at all, but that’s a young batting line up, obviously trying to find their way,” said Mickey Arthur, Pakistan’s coach.
The verdict Test matches in the UAE are known for speeding up on the last two days, but this was extreme. The first two innings of this Test took 11 sessions to complete. The remaining two were done in less than four. The nature of Pakistan’s capitulation at the end showed just how difficult the transition is going to be in the post Misbah-ul-Haq era.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Barcelona v Liverpool, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE).
Second leg
Liverpool v Barcelona, Tuesday, May 7, 11pm
Games on BeIN Sports
The specs
Engine: 8.0-litre, quad-turbo 16-cylinder
Transmission: 7-speed auto
0-100kmh 2.3 seconds
0-200kmh 5.5 seconds
0-300kmh 11.6 seconds
Power: 1500hp
Torque: 1600Nm
Price: Dh13,400,000
On sale: now
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
England squad
Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford, Nick Pope, Aaron Ramsdale
Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Conor Coady, Marc Guehi, Reece James, Harry Maguire, Tyrone Mings, Luke Shaw, John Stones, Ben White
Midfielders: Jude Bellingham, Conor Gallagher, Mason Mount, Jordan Henderson, Declan Rice, James Ward-Prowse
Forwards: Tammy Abraham, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Harry Kane, Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith Rowe, Raheem Sterling
Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
Read more about the coronavirus
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Scream%20VI
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
Results
2pm: Serve U – Maiden (TB) Dh60,000 (Dirt) 1,400m; Winner: Violent Justice, Pat Dobbs (jockey), Doug Watson (trainer)
2.30pm: Al Shafar Investment – Conditions (TB) Dh100,000 (D) 1,400m; Winner: Desert Wisdom, Bernardo Pinheiro, Ahmed Al Shemaili
3pm: Commercial Bank of Dubai – Handicap (TB) Dh68,000 (D) 1,200m; Winner: Fawaareq, Sam Hitchcott, Doug Watson
3.30pm: Shadwell – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh100,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Down On Da Bayou, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer
4pm: Dubai Real Estate Centre – Maiden (TB) Dh60,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Rakeez, Patrick Cosgrave, Bhupat Seemar
4.30pm: Al Redha Insurance Brokers – Handicap (TB) Dh78,000 (D) 1,800m; Winner: Capla Crusader, Bernardo Pinheiro, Rashed Bouresly
More coverage from the Future Forum
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The years Ramadan fell in May
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The five pillars of Islam
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
