By Dawn Chmielewski
(Reuters) – A hearing to determine control of Rupert Murdoch’s global television and publishing empire concluded Monday in a Reno, Nevada, courtroom, though the outcome remained unclear.
Murdoch, 93, is attempting to change the terms of the family’s trust — which holds significant stakes in Fox News parent Fox and Wall Street Journal owner News Corp. The billionaire is looking to ensure that, upon his death, the media companies remain under control of his eldest son, Lachlan Murdoch, according to the New York Times, which obtained a sealed court document detailing the succession drama.
A hearing to determine whether Murdoch is acting in good faith took place over the past week in probate court, where the proceedings were closed to the public.
A Nevada judge rejected an appeal by Reuters and other news organizations to open the hearings to the public.
The group appealed the ruling to the Nevada Supreme Court, and sought to halt the proceeding until the issues could be resolved. One of the family members, identified as Doe 9, countered that stopping the hearings midstream would be harmful to the dozens of people who upended their lives to come to Reno to participative.