What is the history of the Murdoch family's involvement in conservative politics?
Executive summary
The Murdoch family’s involvement in conservative politics is rooted in Rupert Murdoch’s building of a global media empire that has repeatedly aligned editorially with center-right and conservative parties and causes, shaping political debates in the UK, U.S. and beyond [1] [2]. In recent years that alignment has produced a family feud over succession and editorial control — with younger Murdochs breaking from the conservative orthodoxy while others, notably Lachlan, are seen as intent on preserving it [3] [4].
1. The rise of Rupert Murdoch and the forging of a conservative media machine
Rupert Murdoch transformed a small Australian newspaper business into a multinational media conglomerate whose flagship titles and channels — including The Sun, The Times, The Wall Street Journal and Fox News — became influential platforms for conservative viewpoints, a trajectory described repeatedly in profiles of the family and company [1] [2]. Those outlets’ endorsements and editorial stances mattered: Murdoch’s press wielded real political weight in Britain, famously shifting support among major parties in ways that became political events in their own right [3].
2. Political interventions and the British turning points
Murdoch’s papers played overt roles in British politics across successive governments, from antagonism with the unions during the Wapping dispute — which critics tied to close ties with Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government — to later oscillations between Labour under Tony Blair and back to the Conservatives under David Cameron, illustrating an editorial strategy that often intersected with power in Westminster [3].
3. Fox News and the American conservative ecosystem
In the U.S., Fox News emerged under the Murdoch umbrella as a central node in conservative media, amplifying Republican messaging and reshaping cable news dynamics; observers and reporting link the Murdoch-owned network directly to the family’s broader conservative influence in American politics [5]. The network’s coverage of presidential politics — particularly during the Trump era — underscored how Murdoch-controlled outlets could become active participants in partisan battlefields [6].
4. A family split: liberal heirs and conservative heirs
The family’s internal politics have diverged sharply: James Murdoch, long labeled the most liberal of Rupert’s children, publicly distanced himself from the company over editorial disagreements and donated to Democratic and progressive causes with his wife Kathryn — a contrast to the dynasty’s conservative reputation [1] [7]. That divergence is not merely private; it has driven resignations from corporate boards and public critiques of editorial choices [1].
5. Succession battles as a fight over political legacy
Rupert Murdoch’s attempts to alter family trusts to concentrate voting control — reportedly to ensure the companies “remain politically conservative” and to favor Lachlan’s stewardship — turned succession into political as well as financial conflict, with siblings challenging those moves in court and commentators framing the dispute as a contest over the ideological future of News Corp and Fox Corp [3] [4]. Media coverage portrays Lachlan as more conservative and as the figure most likely to preserve the outlets’ right-leaning slant, a motivation cited in the family litigation and succession maneuvering [8] [4].
6. Money, influence and the modern Murdoch imprint
The modern Murdoch influence is twofold: institutional — via editorial control of major outlets that have shaped party fortunes and public debate — and financial/political, through donations and PAC activity by family members on both sides of the ideological divide, with James and Kathryn funding Democratic causes even as other branches of the family support GOP-aligned initiatives [5] [7]. Reporting suggests both conscious strategy (to protect commercial and ideological value) and internal disagreement about the ethical and political consequences of that strategy [3] [7].
Conclusion: power, personality and the politics of inheritance
The Murdoch story is not a single-minded political project but a contested dynasty: Rupert’s long career built a conservative media architecture whose future is now the subject of legal battles, public resignations and diverging political donations by family members; the outcome will determine whether the empire continues to be synonymous with a particular brand of conservatism or becomes a more ideologically pluralistic media holding, a reality made plain by the reporting on the family’s disputes and differing public actions [3] [1] [7].