Next week, a probate official will hear evidence in a clash between Rupert Murdoch and some of his children over who should control his media companies after he dies.

The bankers are trying to crunch me. They’ll fail.” Rupert Murdoch looked frazzled but defiant. We were having what was supposed to be a friendly coffee, but this was 2006 and he was under siege from bankers who were trying to cope with his financial over-reach.

Rupert Murdoch, owner of Fox news and the Wall Street Journal, is fighting to change his trust and give son Lachlan full control of media empire.

A battle over control of Rupert Murdoch’s global television and publishing empire begins Monday in a Reno, Nevada courtroom, where a judge will consider the contentious matter of succession.

The secret family affair now playing out inside a Reno, Nevada, courtroom like a page ripped from the scripted fireworks of the HBO show “Succession,” won’t be seen on television, or even in the written press.

A unique court case has begun in Nevada this week. At stake is the future of the Murdoch empire and the decision about his succession plan.

Thanks to billionaire Rupert Murdoch’s outsize personality, his vast sway within the news industry and his role as a kingmaker in conservative politics, there’s long been heightened interest in his megadeals,