Why a Murdoch buying Vox and New York Magazine might not be like a bad episode of 'Succession'

A marquee digital media company sale is framed as likely to end badly, echoing a pattern of rapid shutdowns and asset stripping when profits fail to arrive quickly. The comparison is drawn to Succession’s fictional Roy family, closely modeled on the real Murdoch family, and to the purchase of half of Vox Media, including New York Magazine. The piece argues that reading real-world “tea leaves” is more complex than predicting scripted arcs. It then profiles James Murdoch as less rigid than his father and brother, noting his earlier advocacy against climate denial and his interest in new media. He served as CEO of 21st Century Fox until its 2019 sale to Disney, then founded Lupa Systems, and later resigned from the News Corp board in 2020.

"The sale of a marquee digital media company on Succession, the HBO series that ran from 2018-2023 , was always going to end badly. When Kendall Roy, heir-apparent to a fictional media conglomerate, bursts into the offices of his newly acquired hot media startup Vaulter, dripping with billionaire confidence, it doesn't take a degree in dramaturgy to guess where this is going. The moment the Roy family finds out Vaulter may not turn a profit quite as quickly as expected, they shut it down and strip it for parts."

"Considering the Roy family is primarily, almost explicitly based on the Murdoch family of News Corporation infamy, it's hard not to see the glint of the grim reaper's scythe in the news that James Murdoch has just purchased half of Vox Media, including all of New York Magazine. It certainly looks like a case of life imitating art that itself was imitating life. But reading the tea leaves of reality is more complicated than predicting the end of arcs on Succession, and early signs suggest doomsayers of the Murdoch deal may be in for a plot twist."

"Much like Kendall and Roman Roy, the Succession siblings played by Jeremy Strong and Kieran Culkin respectively, James and Lachlan Murdoch had long been vying to one day take over their father Rupert Murdoch's media empire. True to Kendall-form, James is less dyed-in-the-wool than his father and brother, advocating against climate denial as early as 2009, and he was also more interested in new media landscapes. He served as CEO of 21st Century Fox from 2015 until its sale to Disney in 2019, at which point he broke off from the Murdoch operation to found his own private investment and holding company, Lupa Systems."

Read at Fast Company