1 00:00:06,047 --> 00:00:08,049 [distant siren wailing] 2 00:00:10,969 --> 00:00:12,971 [car horns beeping] 3 00:00:14,848 --> 00:00:17,225 [ominous string music playing] 4 00:00:17,308 --> 00:00:20,103 [Jonathan Mahler] Jim Rutenberg and I started writing about the Murdochs 5 00:00:20,186 --> 00:00:22,063 more than 20 years ago. 6 00:00:24,691 --> 00:00:27,068 And, you know, I would say, with some humility, 7 00:00:27,152 --> 00:00:30,739 that I think we have, like, gotten to know the family pretty well. 8 00:00:33,283 --> 00:00:36,119 [Jim Rutenberg] One day, out of the blue, 9 00:00:36,202 --> 00:00:39,539 we get contacted by this mystery person, 10 00:00:39,622 --> 00:00:41,958 saying "You're gonna find this pretty interesting, 11 00:00:42,042 --> 00:00:44,169 given what you do and who you cover." 12 00:00:46,087 --> 00:00:48,298 So we agreed to meet. 13 00:00:51,760 --> 00:00:54,929 All I can say is the way that we had to get that first document 14 00:00:55,013 --> 00:00:56,347 was pretty involved. 15 00:00:56,431 --> 00:00:59,100 Nothing was gonna be given to us electronically 16 00:00:59,184 --> 00:01:00,310 'cause it's all so sensitive. 17 00:01:01,019 --> 00:01:06,107 So that meant meeting in secret locations, passing envelopes. 18 00:01:07,025 --> 00:01:11,696 [Jonathan] Until finally, we got our hands on these secret documents. 19 00:01:12,739 --> 00:01:14,824 We couldn't believe it. It was jaw-dropping. 20 00:01:14,908 --> 00:01:16,493 [dramatic music playing] 21 00:01:16,576 --> 00:01:21,289 This was thousands of pages. E-mails, text messages. 22 00:01:21,372 --> 00:01:25,376 Every page was unbelievable. 23 00:01:27,670 --> 00:01:31,382 [Jonathan] "You're being lobbied by James, and you're going to bend to his will." 24 00:01:32,133 --> 00:01:36,513 To this, Liz responds, "Do you think I'm a fucking moron?" 25 00:01:37,555 --> 00:01:42,894 [Jim] The family was airing decades of dirty laundry in a Nevada court. 26 00:01:43,728 --> 00:01:45,230 [Jonathan] That's when it dawned on us, 27 00:01:45,313 --> 00:01:49,192 that, oh my God, the Murdoch family is in a massive lawsuit against each other. 28 00:01:49,818 --> 00:01:51,528 [reporter 1] According to the New York Times, 29 00:01:51,611 --> 00:01:55,949 93-year-old Rupert Murdoch allegedly surprised three of his children 30 00:01:56,032 --> 00:01:58,326 by filing to change an irrevocable trust. 31 00:01:58,409 --> 00:02:01,955 -[reporter 2] It reads like Succession. -[reporter 3] A legal battle. 32 00:02:02,038 --> 00:02:05,542 [reporter 4] At issue, who controls his right-leaning media empire. 33 00:02:05,625 --> 00:02:08,086 [woman] Joining me, one of the reporters who broke this story. 34 00:02:08,169 --> 00:02:13,258 All right, Jim, why are the three siblings going up against Lachlan and Rupert? 35 00:02:13,341 --> 00:02:16,553 I just would say it's really why is Rupert, uh, 36 00:02:16,636 --> 00:02:18,596 going against the three siblings? 37 00:02:18,680 --> 00:02:20,682 [soft, intriguing music playing] 38 00:02:24,561 --> 00:02:26,104 [Jonathan] After our story ran, 39 00:02:26,187 --> 00:02:28,273 everyone knew the family was suing each other 40 00:02:28,356 --> 00:02:32,735 over Rupert's desire to lock in Lachlan's control over the company. 41 00:02:35,029 --> 00:02:37,657 [reporter 5] Morning. Anybody have any comment this morning? 42 00:02:37,740 --> 00:02:40,785 [Jonathan] But then there was no more information available. 43 00:02:40,869 --> 00:02:41,786 The case was sealed. 44 00:02:41,870 --> 00:02:43,079 [reporter 5] Any comment? 45 00:02:43,162 --> 00:02:45,248 [Jonathan] No one was really allowed to talk about it. 46 00:02:45,915 --> 00:02:48,918 And then we learned that all the Murdoch family members 47 00:02:49,002 --> 00:02:51,421 were going to actually testify against each other. 48 00:02:52,213 --> 00:02:54,007 [Jim] The Murdochs were going to war 49 00:02:54,090 --> 00:02:57,468 in a pitched court fight over the future of the entire empire. 50 00:03:00,722 --> 00:03:02,724 [intriguing music continues] 51 00:03:06,477 --> 00:03:08,688 [music ends] 52 00:03:13,651 --> 00:03:16,070 [McKay Coppins] In early 2024, 53 00:03:16,696 --> 00:03:18,990 before the New York Times piece came out, 54 00:03:20,158 --> 00:03:23,786 I approached James really just on a hunch 55 00:03:23,870 --> 00:03:26,456 that he would have an interesting story to tell. 56 00:03:26,539 --> 00:03:27,790 [intense music playing] 57 00:03:27,874 --> 00:03:29,918 He couldn't quite believe 58 00:03:30,001 --> 00:03:34,923 that his father was willing to divide the family, maybe permanently. 59 00:03:36,174 --> 00:03:41,763 So when James was deposed as part of the preparation for the trial, 60 00:03:41,846 --> 00:03:43,890 he was really ready to go to battle. 61 00:03:45,266 --> 00:03:48,478 James had spent 20 years as a senior executive. 62 00:03:49,479 --> 00:03:53,983 He had been in depositions where you have to be really aggressive. 63 00:03:54,651 --> 00:03:58,071 And so he decided that he was going to approach the whole thing 64 00:03:58,154 --> 00:04:00,031 in a spirit of corporate combat. 65 00:04:01,491 --> 00:04:05,828 But the deposition was much more difficult 66 00:04:05,912 --> 00:04:09,207 for James emotionally than I think he was prepared for. 67 00:04:10,083 --> 00:04:12,794 When he walked into the boardroom, 68 00:04:12,877 --> 00:04:18,257 James saw that it wasn't just his father's lawyer and his lawyer, 69 00:04:18,341 --> 00:04:20,468 but sitting in this office 70 00:04:20,551 --> 00:04:23,346 was his father himself. 71 00:04:23,429 --> 00:04:25,098 [music intensifies] 72 00:04:25,181 --> 00:04:27,433 James didn't know that Rupert would be there. 73 00:04:28,101 --> 00:04:33,815 This was the first time he had seen Rupert in years. They were fully estranged. 74 00:04:34,524 --> 00:04:37,527 His dad just sat down across from him. 75 00:04:38,528 --> 00:04:40,321 They didn't talk to each other. 76 00:04:40,405 --> 00:04:42,949 And for the next several hours, 77 00:04:43,032 --> 00:04:49,747 Rupert's lawyer just grilled James with incredibly witheringly personal questions. 78 00:04:49,831 --> 00:04:51,332 [music pauses] 79 00:04:52,250 --> 00:04:53,543 Questions like, 80 00:04:54,252 --> 00:04:56,879 "Have you ever accomplished anything on your own?" 81 00:04:56,963 --> 00:04:58,006 [music resumes] 82 00:04:58,089 --> 00:05:01,175 Or, "Why don't you ever take responsibility 83 00:05:01,259 --> 00:05:03,469 for the things that go wrong in your life?" 84 00:05:04,470 --> 00:05:09,100 Or, "Why were you too busy to call your dad on his 90th birthday?" 85 00:05:10,351 --> 00:05:15,106 James told me that he tried to concentrate on the lawyer's questions, 86 00:05:15,189 --> 00:05:20,570 but he just kept looking over at his dad, who was staring inscrutably at his son. 87 00:05:20,653 --> 00:05:24,741 And every once in a while, Rupert would pick up his phone 88 00:05:25,450 --> 00:05:27,076 and tap something out. 89 00:05:27,618 --> 00:05:30,371 And eventually, James realized 90 00:05:30,455 --> 00:05:36,252 that these super aggressive, mean-spirited, personal questions 91 00:05:36,336 --> 00:05:38,713 were actually coming from his father. 92 00:05:41,549 --> 00:05:44,844 I remember talking to James weeks later, 93 00:05:44,927 --> 00:05:47,805 and he was still sort of reeling from the experience. 94 00:05:48,306 --> 00:05:51,809 He couldn't quite believe what had happened. 95 00:05:51,893 --> 00:05:54,062 He was constantly analyzing it 96 00:05:54,145 --> 00:05:57,774 and trying to make sense about why his dad did what he did. 97 00:05:58,983 --> 00:06:02,695 The question that kept coming back to him 98 00:06:04,530 --> 00:06:06,949 was, how did we let it come to this? 99 00:06:10,661 --> 00:06:12,955 [curious music playing] 100 00:06:14,957 --> 00:06:18,211 [Paul Barry] If you look at the succession in 2011, 101 00:06:18,294 --> 00:06:19,670 James is in the box seat. 102 00:06:19,754 --> 00:06:23,049 [commentator] But Binocular's been the challenger as they turn for home. 103 00:06:23,132 --> 00:06:24,884 Binocular now strikes the… 104 00:06:24,967 --> 00:06:28,679 [Paul] Elisabeth walked away, and Lachlan's back in Australia. 105 00:06:29,180 --> 00:06:32,517 [commentator] …Binocular, who had this patchy season, win the Champion Hurdle. 106 00:06:32,600 --> 00:06:34,310 [crowd cheering] 107 00:06:34,394 --> 00:06:36,646 [Paul] James is running News Corp in Britain, 108 00:06:36,729 --> 00:06:39,857 and their tabloids were making an absolute fortune. 109 00:06:40,817 --> 00:06:43,444 [David Folkenflik] He sits atop what's now called News UK, 110 00:06:43,528 --> 00:06:45,822 their publishing empire in Great Britain, 111 00:06:46,406 --> 00:06:48,366 the four newspapers that they own. 112 00:06:48,449 --> 00:06:51,202 Most importantly, the News of the World. 113 00:06:52,995 --> 00:06:55,540 [McKay] They have a villainous reputation in Britain 114 00:06:55,623 --> 00:06:58,835 for down-market tabloids and conservative politics. 115 00:07:00,002 --> 00:07:03,047 [Richard Cooke] One of Rupert's editors once gave a staff talk. 116 00:07:03,131 --> 00:07:06,092 He said, "Imagine the old man down the end of the bar." 117 00:07:06,843 --> 00:07:10,054 "Doesn't like immigrants. He doesn't like poofs." 118 00:07:10,138 --> 00:07:12,807 "He thinks that there's too much smut on TV." 119 00:07:13,391 --> 00:07:15,518 "But he wants to see tits in the newspaper." 120 00:07:15,601 --> 00:07:17,103 "That's who we're writing for." 121 00:07:17,854 --> 00:07:22,608 [David] You're feasting on the missteps and embarrassments of celebrities. 122 00:07:22,692 --> 00:07:24,527 That's a News of the World exclusive. 123 00:07:25,278 --> 00:07:27,989 [David] If you were a royal, if you were a politician, 124 00:07:28,072 --> 00:07:29,740 if you were some fancy actor, 125 00:07:30,324 --> 00:07:32,452 a sports star or a singer, 126 00:07:32,535 --> 00:07:33,828 you were fair game. 127 00:07:33,911 --> 00:07:36,789 [reporter 1] The News of the World is the jewel of Murdoch's empire. 128 00:07:36,873 --> 00:07:38,124 [reporter 2] Enormously profitable. 129 00:07:38,207 --> 00:07:40,042 [reporter 3] Britain's biggest newspaper 130 00:07:40,126 --> 00:07:43,296 with an unrivaled reputation for journalistic scoops. 131 00:07:43,379 --> 00:07:45,089 [music ends] 132 00:07:45,173 --> 00:07:47,175 [phone ringing] 133 00:07:47,925 --> 00:07:52,054 I went to work for the News of the World because I liked its reputation. 134 00:07:53,556 --> 00:07:56,976 It was like the Death Star. The dark heart of the evil empire. 135 00:07:58,144 --> 00:08:01,314 And that emanated from the characters who ran it. 136 00:08:01,397 --> 00:08:03,316 [indistinct speech] 137 00:08:03,399 --> 00:08:05,860 [Paul McMullan] Piers Morgan, who you might've heard of, 138 00:08:05,943 --> 00:08:07,153 was my first boss. 139 00:08:07,236 --> 00:08:10,323 One day, I turned up with a load of stolen photographs. 140 00:08:10,406 --> 00:08:12,325 [intriguing music playing] 141 00:08:12,408 --> 00:08:14,702 Pictures of Naomi Campbell, 142 00:08:14,785 --> 00:08:16,287 Eva Herzigová, 143 00:08:16,871 --> 00:08:18,122 Carla Bruni, 144 00:08:18,206 --> 00:08:19,707 all of them topless. 145 00:08:21,667 --> 00:08:23,503 I gave them to the picture editor, and he said, 146 00:08:23,586 --> 00:08:26,005 "You can't use these. They're stolen pictures." 147 00:08:26,088 --> 00:08:29,508 And Piers went, "Bollocks to it. Stick it in. Good work." 148 00:08:31,469 --> 00:08:33,137 And on the basis of that, 149 00:08:33,221 --> 00:08:37,516 I got my staff job at the News for stealing, basically. 150 00:08:40,269 --> 00:08:41,520 [music ends] 151 00:08:41,604 --> 00:08:45,066 One thing which is interesting about Rupert Murdoch and his corporate culture 152 00:08:45,149 --> 00:08:48,778 is a sense that anything can be achieved by a force of will. 153 00:08:49,695 --> 00:08:53,533 This is a really important characteristic of the people who worked for him. 154 00:08:54,033 --> 00:08:56,911 [Paddy Manning] He needed people that would do whatever it took 155 00:08:56,994 --> 00:08:59,247 to continue his way of doing business. 156 00:08:59,330 --> 00:09:00,748 [intriguing music playing] 157 00:09:00,831 --> 00:09:04,293 And at the News of the World, that was Rebekah Brooks. 158 00:09:05,086 --> 00:09:07,713 [Paul] Rebekah Brooks was the features editor. 159 00:09:07,797 --> 00:09:10,675 Used to work as a secretary in the magazine. 160 00:09:10,758 --> 00:09:15,972 And Murdoch made her editor of the biggest newspaper in the world. 161 00:09:17,348 --> 00:09:22,186 [Jonathan] Rebekah Brooks was the daughter that Rupert never had 162 00:09:22,270 --> 00:09:26,274 because she was unfailingly loyal to him. 163 00:09:26,357 --> 00:09:29,569 [Paul] Elisabeth Murdoch hated her, but Murdoch loved her. 164 00:09:30,069 --> 00:09:35,992 Rebekah Brooks is an excellent example of a senior Rupert Murdoch executive. 165 00:09:36,075 --> 00:09:37,034 [camera clicking] 166 00:09:37,118 --> 00:09:39,203 Moves at 800 miles an hour. 167 00:09:39,287 --> 00:09:43,040 Knows all about newspapers, makes quick decisions, is resourceful. 168 00:09:43,541 --> 00:09:45,209 Quite hot. Nice arse. 169 00:09:47,128 --> 00:09:50,298 She'd walk through with bits of paper, just throwing them behind her, 170 00:09:50,381 --> 00:09:52,008 "This is shit, this is shit." 171 00:09:52,091 --> 00:09:55,469 And her secretary's scurrying behind her, picking up the bits of paper. 172 00:09:55,553 --> 00:09:57,263 [indistinct speech] 173 00:09:57,346 --> 00:09:59,974 [Graham] There was no moaning or excuses. 174 00:10:00,474 --> 00:10:02,893 It was, "Get the story at any cost." 175 00:10:05,354 --> 00:10:06,939 [Sarah Ellison] Throughout the 2000s, 176 00:10:07,023 --> 00:10:09,191 the News of the World was going gangbusters. 177 00:10:09,275 --> 00:10:15,656 They were getting great scoops about celebrities, politicians, football stars. 178 00:10:15,740 --> 00:10:20,369 I mean, every entity in the UK was trying to get to the bottom of, 179 00:10:21,120 --> 00:10:22,830 how are they doing that? 180 00:10:23,456 --> 00:10:25,291 [pulsing electronic music playing] 181 00:10:25,374 --> 00:10:28,377 [Graham] The Murdoch organization at the News of the World 182 00:10:28,461 --> 00:10:30,755 was an organized crime group, by any definition. 183 00:10:31,797 --> 00:10:34,884 Scores of people were involved. 184 00:10:34,967 --> 00:10:38,721 Journalists and private detectives trading unlawful information. 185 00:10:39,347 --> 00:10:42,475 They were spending millions of pounds a year on gathering it. 186 00:10:43,100 --> 00:10:44,977 And it went on all over the world. 187 00:10:45,686 --> 00:10:47,938 It was called the Dark Arts. 188 00:10:48,814 --> 00:10:50,483 [man 1] Where have you gone, Kate Hudson? 189 00:10:50,566 --> 00:10:54,111 [Paul] Dark Arts are hiring private investigators, 190 00:10:54,195 --> 00:10:56,322 sitting in surveillance vans. 191 00:10:56,405 --> 00:10:58,366 [Graham] Getting phone bills, medical records, 192 00:10:58,449 --> 00:11:01,202 bank records, flight details. 193 00:11:02,244 --> 00:11:04,080 [photographer 1] Paris! Paris! 194 00:11:04,664 --> 00:11:07,666 [Graham] And what that means is you can get to the story first. 195 00:11:08,501 --> 00:11:11,087 It gave Murdoch the competitive advantage 196 00:11:11,587 --> 00:11:13,964 against other newspapers on exclusive stories. 197 00:11:15,341 --> 00:11:16,550 [photographer 2] Hello, dear. 198 00:11:19,804 --> 00:11:22,682 [Graham] I had a contact who'd give me stories on Prince Charles, 199 00:11:22,765 --> 00:11:25,309 who was having an affair with Camilla Parker Bowles. 200 00:11:25,393 --> 00:11:26,435 She's the queen now. 201 00:11:26,519 --> 00:11:28,312 So I knew her inside movements. 202 00:11:28,396 --> 00:11:31,315 I'll wield my bullwhip at you in a minute. 203 00:11:34,151 --> 00:11:36,570 [Paul] I spent the last month of Diana's life 204 00:11:36,654 --> 00:11:38,406 just chasing her around the world. 205 00:11:38,906 --> 00:11:40,783 I can see why Harry hates us. 206 00:11:41,283 --> 00:11:42,243 Sorry, Harry. 207 00:11:45,788 --> 00:11:46,956 Wherever you went, 208 00:11:47,456 --> 00:11:51,794 bang, out came a pap, and you thought, "How do they know where I am?" 209 00:11:53,421 --> 00:11:58,426 I got sent to LA to follow Hugh Grant, crawling for Black hookers. 210 00:12:00,261 --> 00:12:03,514 So what did Murdoch want us to do? 211 00:12:03,597 --> 00:12:07,476 Find the girl, give her $250,000 212 00:12:09,270 --> 00:12:14,066 to tell us all about what Hugh Grant asked you to do in his car. 213 00:12:14,567 --> 00:12:15,943 All the dirty details. 214 00:12:18,237 --> 00:12:20,448 [Hugh] I thought, "This is part of my punishment." 215 00:12:21,365 --> 00:12:24,952 But, uh, life at that time was extremely difficult, 216 00:12:25,035 --> 00:12:28,289 because their power grew and grew and grew. 217 00:12:29,206 --> 00:12:32,918 I mean, you know, you could do anything as long as you didn't get caught. 218 00:12:33,961 --> 00:12:37,590 But it's important that the wall is maintained, 219 00:12:37,673 --> 00:12:41,010 so the Murdochs can't see how the sausage is made, 220 00:12:41,093 --> 00:12:43,512 even though they know how it's done. 221 00:12:43,596 --> 00:12:46,807 So there's plausible deniability at every level. 222 00:12:46,891 --> 00:12:50,019 That's really important in a Murdoch organization. 223 00:12:52,188 --> 00:12:55,357 [Paul Barry] Technically, James is in charge of all of Murdoch's papers 224 00:12:55,441 --> 00:12:56,817 in Britain at the time. 225 00:12:56,901 --> 00:13:00,070 But he doesn't really care about newspapers that much. 226 00:13:00,154 --> 00:13:01,947 He was very much interested in tech. 227 00:13:02,656 --> 00:13:05,034 And he was making investments all over the place. 228 00:13:05,659 --> 00:13:07,453 I think he was trying to say, you know, 229 00:13:07,536 --> 00:13:09,705 "This is not my daddy's old media company." 230 00:13:09,789 --> 00:13:11,790 [dynamic music playing] 231 00:13:12,875 --> 00:13:13,959 [reporter 4] BSkyB, 232 00:13:14,043 --> 00:13:17,129 Britain's most lucrative satellite TV provider. 233 00:13:17,213 --> 00:13:22,510 [reporter 5] News Corp is trying to buy the 60% of BSkyB it doesn't already own. 234 00:13:23,511 --> 00:13:24,720 [Paul] At that point, 235 00:13:24,804 --> 00:13:27,890 James is right on the cusp of getting this deal with BSkyB, 236 00:13:27,973 --> 00:13:30,184 which would make a huge amount of money for them. 237 00:13:30,684 --> 00:13:34,438 [Sarah] BSkyB is an incredibly powerful satellite television operation. 238 00:13:35,147 --> 00:13:38,025 And it will give the Murdochs a launch pad 239 00:13:38,108 --> 00:13:42,279 to control the media environment around the world. 240 00:13:42,363 --> 00:13:46,242 [James] We're about to complete the merger of the three European Sky businesses, 241 00:13:46,325 --> 00:13:49,745 which, uh, you know, creates something really new. 242 00:13:49,829 --> 00:13:53,165 A real 21st century digital television company. 243 00:13:53,249 --> 00:13:57,378 [Sarah] James sees that if he's able to bring BSkyB into the fold. 244 00:13:57,461 --> 00:13:59,755 That will be his crowning achievement. 245 00:14:00,589 --> 00:14:05,427 But in order to be approved, you need to be, quote unquote, "fit and proper," 246 00:14:05,511 --> 00:14:08,973 which means your newspapers are not doing things 247 00:14:09,056 --> 00:14:11,058 that are illegal or untoward. 248 00:14:11,642 --> 00:14:14,853 This requires an enormous amount of review by the British government. 249 00:14:16,063 --> 00:14:18,732 And it's James's job to get it across. 250 00:14:20,025 --> 00:14:24,572 James has managed to befriend and ingratiate himself with Jeremy Hunt, 251 00:14:24,655 --> 00:14:26,073 a key Cabinet figure. 252 00:14:26,949 --> 00:14:30,244 And Rebekah Brooks is a close friend and confidante 253 00:14:30,327 --> 00:14:32,746 of the new prime minister, David Cameron. 254 00:14:33,956 --> 00:14:38,460 So everything seems aligned perfectly to go James's way 255 00:14:40,421 --> 00:14:45,175 when a headline erupts in early July of 2011. 256 00:14:46,135 --> 00:14:48,053 [sparse, solemn music playing] 257 00:14:48,137 --> 00:14:50,890 -[reporter 6] Heinous, despicable. -[reporter 7] Shock and anger. 258 00:14:50,973 --> 00:14:53,058 [reporter 8] Going too far to get a story. 259 00:14:53,142 --> 00:14:55,352 [reporter 9] Allegations against the News of the World. 260 00:14:55,436 --> 00:14:56,812 [reporter 10] Hacked into… 261 00:14:56,896 --> 00:14:58,856 [reporter 11] …families of murder victims. 262 00:14:58,939 --> 00:15:01,275 [reporter 12] The murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler. 263 00:15:02,818 --> 00:15:08,532 [Graham] Milly Dowler was a schoolgirl who was abducted and murdered. 264 00:15:09,533 --> 00:15:10,993 And before she was… 265 00:15:11,493 --> 00:15:13,037 Before her body was found, 266 00:15:13,120 --> 00:15:15,998 the News of the World were hacking her phone. 267 00:15:16,498 --> 00:15:18,125 [poignant piano music playing] 268 00:15:20,961 --> 00:15:25,633 The way to hack someone's phone is to make sure they're asleep or engaged. 269 00:15:25,716 --> 00:15:28,093 You just ring 'em up on one phone, they answer it, 270 00:15:28,177 --> 00:15:31,180 then dial again on the other one and get through to their messages. 271 00:15:31,263 --> 00:15:32,931 [voicemail] Enter your security code. 272 00:15:33,015 --> 00:15:35,476 And the private investigator has given you the code, 273 00:15:35,559 --> 00:15:38,145 so you put the code in and you listen to their messages. 274 00:15:38,228 --> 00:15:40,272 [reporter 13] When the voicemail became full, 275 00:15:40,356 --> 00:15:42,983 messages were deleted so that more could be left. 276 00:15:43,067 --> 00:15:46,070 [woman 1] A private detective working for the News of the World 277 00:15:46,153 --> 00:15:47,863 deleted some of those messages, 278 00:15:47,947 --> 00:15:52,117 giving her family the false hope that she might still be alive. 279 00:15:52,201 --> 00:15:54,244 -I rang her phone. -[man 2] Yes. 280 00:15:54,328 --> 00:15:58,332 And it clicked through onto her voicemail, so I heard her voice. 281 00:15:58,415 --> 00:16:01,126 -[man 2] Yes. -And I was… It was just like… I jumped. 282 00:16:01,210 --> 00:16:03,754 "She's picked up her voicemails, Bob! She's alive." 283 00:16:03,837 --> 00:16:06,298 [Kara] They made the parents think the girl was alive. 284 00:16:06,382 --> 00:16:08,092 It just was… who… who would do that? 285 00:16:10,094 --> 00:16:12,388 That's when I started calling him Uncle Satan. 286 00:16:12,471 --> 00:16:16,141 [chanting] Boycott Murdoch! Boycott Murdoch! 287 00:16:16,225 --> 00:16:20,104 [Sarah] There had been stories about celebrities getting hacked. 288 00:16:20,187 --> 00:16:23,649 But there's not as much sympathy 289 00:16:23,732 --> 00:16:26,694 for the victims of those stories because these are wealthy people. 290 00:16:27,528 --> 00:16:29,822 [David] But when it was a schoolgirl, 291 00:16:30,322 --> 00:16:33,075 people realized this stuff could happen to anybody. 292 00:16:33,158 --> 00:16:35,494 This was fiendishly vile. 293 00:16:35,577 --> 00:16:39,456 [chanting] Money, power, lies by the hour Rupert Murdoch… 294 00:16:39,540 --> 00:16:41,667 [Paul McMullan] We were reviled by 295 00:16:42,543 --> 00:16:45,546 everybody. My wife fucking hated me for my job. 296 00:16:45,629 --> 00:16:48,882 "You're a fucking lowlife!" This is my wife, you know. 297 00:16:48,966 --> 00:16:50,801 [chanting] Boycott Murdoch! Boycott Murdoch! 298 00:16:50,884 --> 00:16:53,262 [Graham] A cover-up started to take place. 299 00:16:53,345 --> 00:16:56,306 Deletions of emails and destruction of evidence. 300 00:16:58,142 --> 00:17:01,562 The private eye I used to use, he burned all his records quickly. 301 00:17:02,730 --> 00:17:05,816 [David] This developed into a raging, roiling scandal. 302 00:17:05,899 --> 00:17:08,527 It affected the law enforcement establishment, 303 00:17:08,610 --> 00:17:10,571 top officials at Scotland Yard, 304 00:17:10,654 --> 00:17:13,490 who had essentially looked the other way for years, 305 00:17:13,574 --> 00:17:18,412 and politicians, who appeared compromised by their ties to the Murdochs. 306 00:17:18,912 --> 00:17:22,791 What I've read in the papers is quite, quite shocking. 307 00:17:22,875 --> 00:17:26,545 [reporter 14] Britain's prime minister vowing no stone will be left unturned. 308 00:17:27,129 --> 00:17:29,590 [reporter 15] James Murdoch and other News Limited executives 309 00:17:29,673 --> 00:17:32,426 could face charges over a suspected cover-up 310 00:17:32,509 --> 00:17:37,389 with reports millions of emails were deleted from an internal archive. 311 00:17:37,890 --> 00:17:42,561 [McKay] According to James, he immediately ordered the lawyers 312 00:17:42,644 --> 00:17:45,564 to turn over everything they had to the police, 313 00:17:45,647 --> 00:17:48,233 to start cooperating with an investigation, 314 00:17:48,859 --> 00:17:51,445 over Rupert's objections. 315 00:17:54,114 --> 00:17:56,825 [reporter 16] Detectives made their first arrest and seized evidence. 316 00:17:56,909 --> 00:17:58,994 [reporter 17] Thousands of pages of notes were seized. 317 00:17:59,078 --> 00:18:00,704 [reporter 18] More alleged crimes. 318 00:18:00,788 --> 00:18:05,084 Rampant computer hacking, stolen bank data, even break-ins. 319 00:18:06,043 --> 00:18:08,128 [McKay] This was not a one-off thing. 320 00:18:08,212 --> 00:18:11,507 Journalists at News of the World had been working with private investigators 321 00:18:11,590 --> 00:18:14,384 to hack voicemails for years. 322 00:18:15,010 --> 00:18:16,887 They'd hacked the voicemails 323 00:18:16,970 --> 00:18:21,767 of parents of a child who was murdered by a pedophile, 324 00:18:21,850 --> 00:18:27,189 and troops who were killed in combat in Afghanistan and Iraq. 325 00:18:27,731 --> 00:18:30,692 [chanting] Rupert Murdoch's got to go to, say hey! 326 00:18:30,776 --> 00:18:33,195 [protestors chanting] 327 00:18:33,278 --> 00:18:35,155 [Matthew Belloni] This was emotional stuff, 328 00:18:35,239 --> 00:18:38,951 and Rupert was very much painted as the villain here. 329 00:18:39,034 --> 00:18:42,538 [people chanting] Boycott Murdoch! Boycott Murdoch! 330 00:18:42,621 --> 00:18:46,083 [Jim] One thing we understand about Rupert with his executives is, 331 00:18:46,708 --> 00:18:49,461 if you win, you can do whatever you want. 332 00:18:49,962 --> 00:18:51,213 Just keep winning. 333 00:18:51,839 --> 00:18:56,802 But hacking showed just how far his executives were willing to take that. 334 00:18:57,302 --> 00:18:59,388 This was a crossed line. 335 00:19:00,889 --> 00:19:03,267 [Matthew] Here was pretty good evidence 336 00:19:03,350 --> 00:19:07,187 that they were leveraging these papers to push agendas 337 00:19:07,271 --> 00:19:12,067 and to blackmail people and to invade people's privacy. 338 00:19:12,150 --> 00:19:15,904 All the stuff that you kind of suspected but didn't know, 339 00:19:15,988 --> 00:19:17,573 it was all out there and laid bare. 340 00:19:18,532 --> 00:19:20,242 I'm not making any comments. 341 00:19:21,285 --> 00:19:26,707 [reporter 19] Stock in parent company News Corp has dropped nearly 15%. 342 00:19:26,790 --> 00:19:28,500 [reporter 20] Advertisers leaving in droves. 343 00:19:28,584 --> 00:19:30,919 [reporter 21] The prime minister, David Cameron, 344 00:19:31,003 --> 00:19:34,798 joined opposition politicians in parliament to call on Rupert Murdoch… 345 00:19:34,882 --> 00:19:37,801 [reporter 22] The prime minister has promised a public inquiry. 346 00:19:37,885 --> 00:19:42,014 The people involved, however high or low they go, 347 00:19:42,097 --> 00:19:44,016 they must not only be brought to justice, 348 00:19:44,099 --> 00:19:49,062 they must also have no future role in running a media company in our country. 349 00:19:49,813 --> 00:19:55,194 [reporter 23] Three principal executives are called to testify before parliament. 350 00:19:56,028 --> 00:19:58,238 [man 3] I think they are in a lot of trouble. 351 00:19:58,322 --> 00:20:02,075 [reporter 24] This could be the moment his newspaper power crumbles. 352 00:20:02,743 --> 00:20:05,287 The question was, how high up was this scandal gonna go? 353 00:20:05,370 --> 00:20:07,539 Would there be a Murdoch scalp? 354 00:20:11,627 --> 00:20:13,670 [indistinct chattering] 355 00:20:13,754 --> 00:20:15,339 [James] Mr. Chairman, thank you very much. 356 00:20:15,422 --> 00:20:19,176 First of all, I would like to say as well just how sorry I am 357 00:20:19,259 --> 00:20:22,095 and how sorry we are, uh, 358 00:20:22,179 --> 00:20:26,183 to particularly the victims of illegal voicemail interceptions 359 00:20:26,266 --> 00:20:28,060 and to their families. 360 00:20:28,143 --> 00:20:31,813 Before you get to that, I would just like to say one sentence. 361 00:20:31,897 --> 00:20:35,317 -This is the most humble day of my life. -[man 4] Thank you. 362 00:20:35,943 --> 00:20:40,989 So, in order to claw out from under this Milly Dowler scandal, 363 00:20:41,073 --> 00:20:42,741 he gives an apology. 364 00:20:42,824 --> 00:20:47,412 Rupert clearly knows that that's the posture that he has to strike. 365 00:20:47,496 --> 00:20:51,208 At what point did you find out criminality was endemic at News of the World? 366 00:20:56,171 --> 00:20:57,881 "Endemic" is a very hard… 367 00:20:58,423 --> 00:20:59,925 a very wide-ranging word. 368 00:21:00,592 --> 00:21:05,138 I was absolutely shocked, appalled, and ashamed 369 00:21:05,222 --> 00:21:08,350 when I heard about the Milly Dowler case only 370 00:21:09,643 --> 00:21:10,477 two weeks ago. 371 00:21:11,979 --> 00:21:15,023 -[Sarah] He mumbled. -I don't know anything about that. 372 00:21:15,107 --> 00:21:18,443 He seemed like a confused, older man. 373 00:21:19,111 --> 00:21:19,987 I forget the date. 374 00:21:20,070 --> 00:21:22,239 [Sarah] This was not the fearsome media mogul 375 00:21:22,322 --> 00:21:25,075 that people expected that they were going to see. 376 00:21:25,158 --> 00:21:29,496 And it was a very effective performance, whether it was real or not. 377 00:21:29,579 --> 00:21:32,332 I don't remember meeting him. I might have shaken hands, 378 00:21:32,416 --> 00:21:34,251 but I don't have any memory. 379 00:21:34,334 --> 00:21:35,460 I just don't remember. 380 00:21:36,253 --> 00:21:38,255 I literally turned to someone, I was like, 381 00:21:38,338 --> 00:21:42,843 "He's pretending he's addled? Are you kidding me? This guy is a viper." 382 00:21:43,552 --> 00:21:47,180 [Sarah] Rupert said he had no idea. James said he had no idea. 383 00:21:47,264 --> 00:21:48,140 [James hesitates] 384 00:21:48,223 --> 00:21:50,517 There is… I have… I have no knowledge 385 00:21:50,600 --> 00:21:56,565 and there is no, uh, evidence, uh, that… uh, that I'm… that I'm aware of that… 386 00:21:56,648 --> 00:22:00,777 [Paul McMullan] They all stood back. Him, James, Rebekah. 387 00:22:00,861 --> 00:22:04,489 All said, "We knew nothing about that. It's just the journalists did it." 388 00:22:05,198 --> 00:22:06,241 They let me down, 389 00:22:06,325 --> 00:22:09,911 and I think they behaved, uh, disgracefully 390 00:22:09,995 --> 00:22:12,247 and betrayed the company and me. 391 00:22:12,331 --> 00:22:14,958 Okay. Whilst it has been obvious to most of us… 392 00:22:15,042 --> 00:22:17,544 You know, Rebekah Brooks, by all accounts, 393 00:22:17,627 --> 00:22:21,798 would have been the natural scapegoat for all of this, right? 394 00:22:22,549 --> 00:22:26,511 She was running News of the World, and then the newspaper division. 395 00:22:27,179 --> 00:22:30,223 But Rupert loved Rebekah Brooks 396 00:22:30,307 --> 00:22:35,145 and was more loyal to Rebekah Brooks than he was to James. 397 00:22:35,228 --> 00:22:37,064 [man 5] Can I ask, in 2008… 398 00:22:37,147 --> 00:22:42,110 In fact, there's this moment where one of the members of parliament 399 00:22:42,194 --> 00:22:47,240 asks Rupert about a specific incidence of phone hacking, 400 00:22:47,324 --> 00:22:51,453 and Rupert, rather than answer, says… 401 00:22:52,162 --> 00:22:56,124 I think my son can perhaps answer that in more detail. He was a lot closer. 402 00:22:57,167 --> 00:23:00,379 Rupert really threw James to the wolves on that one. 403 00:23:00,462 --> 00:23:04,049 [woman 2] Had you been made aware prior to the Milly Dowler story breaking 404 00:23:04,132 --> 00:23:07,594 that your reporters hacked into the phones of any other crime victims? 405 00:23:07,677 --> 00:23:10,639 No, I had not. I had not been… I had not been made aware of that. 406 00:23:11,139 --> 00:23:14,768 Most of this hacking took place before James came into the job. 407 00:23:14,851 --> 00:23:17,729 [Sarah] But then it comes out that James has in fact 408 00:23:17,813 --> 00:23:20,232 been on an email chain approving a settlement 409 00:23:21,316 --> 00:23:24,486 in order to keep the phone hacking situation quiet. 410 00:23:24,569 --> 00:23:27,656 [man 5] When you signed off the Taylor payment, 411 00:23:27,739 --> 00:23:32,077 did you see or were you made aware of the "For Neville" email? 412 00:23:32,160 --> 00:23:35,038 [hesitates] No. I… I was not aware of that at the time. 413 00:23:35,539 --> 00:23:38,542 James approved a million-pound settlement 414 00:23:38,625 --> 00:23:43,130 to an official with a football association that they had hacked into. 415 00:23:43,880 --> 00:23:45,715 James said the fact of the payment 416 00:23:45,799 --> 00:23:48,718 was on an email chain that he read over the weekend. 417 00:23:48,802 --> 00:23:51,221 He hadn't really realized what he was signing off on. 418 00:23:51,847 --> 00:23:54,349 Mr. Murdoch, you must be the first mafia boss in history 419 00:23:54,433 --> 00:23:56,810 who didn't know he was running a criminal enterprise. 420 00:23:56,893 --> 00:23:59,938 Mr. Watson, please. I think that's inappropriate. 421 00:24:00,730 --> 00:24:03,900 [Sarah] So at the hearing with James and Rupert 422 00:24:03,984 --> 00:24:05,610 is Wendi Deng Murdoch, 423 00:24:05,694 --> 00:24:07,112 who is there by his side. 424 00:24:07,195 --> 00:24:09,197 So then there's this crazy moment 425 00:24:09,281 --> 00:24:15,120 where this guy rises to smash a cream pie into Murdoch's face, 426 00:24:15,203 --> 00:24:18,582 like he's on some sort of Benny Hill slapstick episode. 427 00:24:18,665 --> 00:24:20,083 [clamoring] 428 00:24:20,167 --> 00:24:23,003 [David] And Wendi knocks it out of his hand, 429 00:24:23,503 --> 00:24:25,172 which is incredible television. 430 00:24:25,255 --> 00:24:29,092 It's an absurd moment, but it's also really destabilizing. 431 00:24:29,968 --> 00:24:31,845 [man 6] The sitting suspended for ten minutes. 432 00:24:31,928 --> 00:24:34,264 [David] It creates sympathy for Murdoch. 433 00:24:34,347 --> 00:24:39,060 The instant Murdoch was hit with that pie, News Corp's stock spiked. 434 00:24:39,144 --> 00:24:42,772 This is brilliant! He needs to be hit with more pies. 435 00:24:44,399 --> 00:24:46,610 [Matthew] I think that the spectacle of the pie 436 00:24:46,693 --> 00:24:52,282 did distract a bit from the substance of the allegations. 437 00:24:52,365 --> 00:24:54,868 And it turned the whole thing into a farce 438 00:24:54,951 --> 00:24:59,039 when the issues that were being litigated were very serious. 439 00:24:59,122 --> 00:25:02,501 -Thank you, Mr. Chairman. -Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 440 00:25:02,584 --> 00:25:04,169 [Rupert] Thank you, all members. 441 00:25:04,252 --> 00:25:05,754 [Graham] It didn't bring justice, 442 00:25:05,837 --> 00:25:09,591 and it didn't get to the truth of this organized crime group. 443 00:25:14,095 --> 00:25:16,890 [Matthew] I must have watched that video a hundred times. 444 00:25:16,973 --> 00:25:23,605 It's striking because Wendi has such protectionism instincts for him. 445 00:25:23,688 --> 00:25:26,816 And James does not, which is the interesting thing. 446 00:25:26,900 --> 00:25:28,735 Your wife has a very good left hook. 447 00:25:29,569 --> 00:25:31,488 I have to say, she was fast. 448 00:25:31,571 --> 00:25:34,783 I wrote her, "Wow, you're fast. I'm not getting in your way, friend." 449 00:25:34,866 --> 00:25:39,704 I am not a big proponent of the four-decade marriage age gap. 450 00:25:39,788 --> 00:25:42,415 -But… -[laughter] 451 00:25:42,499 --> 00:25:46,711 …if ever there was a situation where it would pay dividends… 452 00:25:46,795 --> 00:25:49,172 [laughter] 453 00:25:49,256 --> 00:25:51,591 -…it would be an ambush like that. -[applause] 454 00:25:52,175 --> 00:25:56,346 [Sarah] It's very good for Wendi's brand because she's seen as Rupert's protector. 455 00:25:56,846 --> 00:25:58,223 And a badass. 456 00:25:58,306 --> 00:26:00,183 [interviewer] And who's the jury… 457 00:26:00,267 --> 00:26:03,853 [Jim] Wendi is just a much hipper person than Murdoch is. 458 00:26:03,937 --> 00:26:05,605 She's young. She's with it. 459 00:26:06,314 --> 00:26:10,110 She would call Rupert an old man. She would say that he was stupid. 460 00:26:10,193 --> 00:26:12,654 She belittles him in private, 461 00:26:12,737 --> 00:26:15,573 and then, over time, socially in public as well. 462 00:26:15,657 --> 00:26:19,119 [in Mandarin] Do you understand, "beating and scolding means you are in love"? 463 00:26:19,202 --> 00:26:21,454 -[in English] Yeah, she's very tough. -Really? 464 00:26:21,538 --> 00:26:22,497 [laughter] 465 00:26:23,123 --> 00:26:27,502 And she is linked to a number of other prominent figures, 466 00:26:27,586 --> 00:26:28,795 uh, romantically. 467 00:26:28,878 --> 00:26:30,714 [intriguing music playing] 468 00:26:30,797 --> 00:26:34,175 [Matthew] There were rumors about a relationship with Tony Blair. 469 00:26:36,261 --> 00:26:39,389 [Sarah] Rupert grilled his staff to figure out if that was true or not. 470 00:26:40,223 --> 00:26:44,769 The family went crazy. They were like, "All hands on deck. Get rid of her." 471 00:26:45,270 --> 00:26:47,314 [Sarah] James and Lachlan got together 472 00:26:47,397 --> 00:26:51,735 and created a dossier on Wendi to present to their father. 473 00:26:52,235 --> 00:26:53,987 And this included a note 474 00:26:54,070 --> 00:26:58,408 that Wendi had written to herself in her diary and then thrown away. 475 00:26:59,451 --> 00:27:03,788 A housekeeper who was cleaning up in Rupert and Wendi's triplex 476 00:27:03,872 --> 00:27:05,749 found that piece of paper. 477 00:27:06,666 --> 00:27:10,462 And in that note, she was describing her feelings for Tony Blair. 478 00:27:12,297 --> 00:27:15,800 There were exchanges about the curve of his bottom. 479 00:27:16,885 --> 00:27:19,179 [Richard] How hot he looked when he was on stage. 480 00:27:20,013 --> 00:27:21,723 [David] His piercing blue eyes. 481 00:27:22,223 --> 00:27:24,768 [Sarah] And how attracted to him she was. 482 00:27:25,852 --> 00:27:31,107 And when James and Lachlan presented that to their father, that was the last straw. 483 00:27:31,608 --> 00:27:34,110 He was convinced to divorce Wendi. 484 00:27:34,194 --> 00:27:38,406 [reporter 25] Media mogul Rupert Murdoch is heading for divorce court again, 485 00:27:38,490 --> 00:27:41,117 ending a 14-year marriage to his third wife. 486 00:27:42,660 --> 00:27:45,872 [Richard] A Vanity Fair story about the alleged relationship 487 00:27:45,955 --> 00:27:50,585 between Wendi Deng and Tony Blair is published, 488 00:27:51,378 --> 00:27:55,590 and it had access to the private note written by Wendi Deng. 489 00:27:57,509 --> 00:27:59,678 [David] This was deeply humiliating for Rupert. 490 00:28:00,178 --> 00:28:03,014 But it was perfect tabloid fodder. 491 00:28:03,098 --> 00:28:08,436 And because Rupert has always made his money on sex and scandal, 492 00:28:08,520 --> 00:28:13,775 a lot of people felt that he had finally gotten his just desserts. 493 00:28:18,154 --> 00:28:19,906 [man 7] A complete bombshell. 494 00:28:19,989 --> 00:28:22,242 After 168 years in print, 495 00:28:22,325 --> 00:28:25,829 this Sunday's edition of the News of the World will be the last. 496 00:28:25,912 --> 00:28:28,832 [reporter 26] Britain's biggest newspaper was dramatically killed off. 497 00:28:28,915 --> 00:28:32,460 [man 7] Staff gasped in shock. Others reduced to tears. 498 00:28:33,128 --> 00:28:35,422 [Graham] Closing the News of the World, to Rupert Murdoch, 499 00:28:35,505 --> 00:28:39,801 is like Paul McCartney deleting The White Album. 500 00:28:39,884 --> 00:28:42,178 It would have been heartbreaking for him. 501 00:28:42,262 --> 00:28:44,806 It not only made his fortune, 502 00:28:44,889 --> 00:28:47,809 it was also a massive part of British popular culture. 503 00:28:49,352 --> 00:28:53,481 They were trying to protect their empire, and then they did what it took to fix it. 504 00:28:54,482 --> 00:28:57,277 They're good at sacrificing things they need to, to survive. 505 00:28:58,194 --> 00:29:00,363 [man 7] News International chairman James Murdoch 506 00:29:00,447 --> 00:29:03,032 said the paper's proud history had been tarnished 507 00:29:03,116 --> 00:29:05,660 by the behavior he called inhuman. 508 00:29:06,286 --> 00:29:09,372 [Paul McMullan] We all got sacked. 200 journalists got laid off. 509 00:29:09,456 --> 00:29:12,083 Then he decided to turn us over to the cops. 510 00:29:12,167 --> 00:29:14,252 And I just thought, "You fucker." 511 00:29:16,504 --> 00:29:18,923 [James] Actions taken by certain individuals 512 00:29:19,007 --> 00:29:22,719 in what had been a good newsroom have breached the trust 513 00:29:23,219 --> 00:29:26,222 that the News of the World has with its readers. 514 00:29:26,306 --> 00:29:29,851 [Paul] The main private eye, Glenn Mulcaire, got arrested, 515 00:29:29,934 --> 00:29:31,227 got sent to jail, 516 00:29:31,311 --> 00:29:33,646 as well as a bunch of reporters. 517 00:29:34,147 --> 00:29:37,650 I am baffled by the decision to charge me today. 518 00:29:37,734 --> 00:29:40,236 [Paul] Rebekah Brooks was arrested. 519 00:29:40,320 --> 00:29:42,197 Rebekah played a blinder. 520 00:29:42,280 --> 00:29:45,533 "I had no idea. I was so far above. I didn't know what they were doing." 521 00:29:46,534 --> 00:29:49,454 I really, really do want to understand what happened. 522 00:29:49,537 --> 00:29:51,539 I think all of us do because that's… 523 00:29:51,623 --> 00:29:52,999 [Paul] But she was smart. 524 00:29:53,082 --> 00:29:54,375 Really manipulative. 525 00:29:54,459 --> 00:29:55,460 Thank you, Chairman. 526 00:29:56,377 --> 00:29:57,921 [Paul] She walked free. 527 00:29:58,797 --> 00:30:00,924 We've finished our meal, and we're going home. 528 00:30:01,007 --> 00:30:04,552 [Matthew] James really took a hit from the hacking scandal. 529 00:30:04,636 --> 00:30:08,723 That UK parliamentary committee did issue a very searing opinion. 530 00:30:08,807 --> 00:30:13,853 The younger Murdoch deemed, quote, "Not fit to run a major company." 531 00:30:14,521 --> 00:30:16,397 [Sarah] This is a moment when, 532 00:30:16,481 --> 00:30:21,486 if he was able to finally purchase the entirety of BSkyB, 533 00:30:21,986 --> 00:30:26,282 the company as a whole was there for James's taking. 534 00:30:26,366 --> 00:30:28,243 And the phone-hacking crisis 535 00:30:28,326 --> 00:30:31,579 just puts an absolute end to all of that. 536 00:30:32,789 --> 00:30:33,998 [man 8] Shame on you! 537 00:30:34,082 --> 00:30:36,084 [reporter 27] Rupert Murdoch is backing down. 538 00:30:36,167 --> 00:30:39,754 [reporter 28] Murdoch to withdraw News Corporation's takeover bid 539 00:30:39,838 --> 00:30:40,880 for broadcaster BSkyB. 540 00:30:40,964 --> 00:30:44,384 [reporter 29] The hacking scandal forced him to pull the plug on that deal. 541 00:30:44,467 --> 00:30:47,303 [reporter 30] Media tycoon Rupert Murdoch in retreat. 542 00:30:50,056 --> 00:30:53,393 [David] The Murdochs have had to pay vast sums of money 543 00:30:53,476 --> 00:30:57,272 as a result of this hacking scandal. It's well over £1.5 billion. 544 00:30:59,774 --> 00:31:05,029 [Jonathan] That scandal did so much damage to the Murdoch name. 545 00:31:06,281 --> 00:31:10,577 Rupert is chased out of London and shouted down anywhere he goes. 546 00:31:10,660 --> 00:31:12,078 He's public enemy number one. 547 00:31:12,161 --> 00:31:14,789 I was appalled to find out what had happened. 548 00:31:16,082 --> 00:31:20,086 And I apologized. And I have nothing further to say. 549 00:31:21,588 --> 00:31:22,672 [man 9] Elisabeth! 550 00:31:22,755 --> 00:31:24,757 [man 10] Good morning, Elisabeth. This way, please. 551 00:31:24,841 --> 00:31:27,135 Every time Liz left her house, she'd be swarmed. 552 00:31:27,218 --> 00:31:28,928 People would be yelling things at her. 553 00:31:30,471 --> 00:31:35,727 So Elisabeth urges her father to fire James. 554 00:31:35,810 --> 00:31:37,812 [tense string music playing] 555 00:31:38,354 --> 00:31:40,690 [McKay] I talked to James and Liz about this. 556 00:31:41,357 --> 00:31:47,488 James is hunkered down in his office, working on a response, 557 00:31:47,572 --> 00:31:53,119 and Liz comes into his office and tells James, 558 00:31:54,287 --> 00:31:55,914 "Dad and I were talking, 559 00:31:55,997 --> 00:32:00,335 and we really think that you need to resign 560 00:32:01,961 --> 00:32:03,713 and take the fall for this." 561 00:32:03,796 --> 00:32:06,215 "Because people are so upset, 562 00:32:06,299 --> 00:32:11,220 and it's not going to do to simply fire lower-level executives." 563 00:32:11,304 --> 00:32:14,432 "It has to be a Murdoch, and we think you should be it." 564 00:32:15,558 --> 00:32:18,603 As you can imagine, James was furious. 565 00:32:18,686 --> 00:32:21,731 Not just with the idea that he would be the one to take the fall 566 00:32:21,814 --> 00:32:26,903 but with the idea that his father wasn't willing to come and tell him. 567 00:32:27,403 --> 00:32:30,281 And what James said in that moment was, 568 00:32:30,365 --> 00:32:32,617 "If Dad wants to fire me, he can do it himself." 569 00:32:32,700 --> 00:32:34,911 And then he threw Liz out of his office. 570 00:32:34,994 --> 00:32:36,663 [music ends] 571 00:32:37,413 --> 00:32:42,335 That ended up being a defining moment in his relationship with Liz. 572 00:32:42,835 --> 00:32:47,173 And he and Liz barely spoke to each other for years afterward. 573 00:32:51,469 --> 00:32:53,763 [Jonathan] One thing that's fascinating about this family 574 00:32:53,846 --> 00:32:56,182 is that there's so much maneuvering 575 00:32:56,265 --> 00:32:58,476 and there are billions of dollars at stake, 576 00:32:58,976 --> 00:33:03,189 but at the end of the day, they are family. 577 00:33:03,272 --> 00:33:06,234 They do love each other on some level. 578 00:33:08,695 --> 00:33:10,822 [McKay] When James was at his breaking point, 579 00:33:11,447 --> 00:33:15,618 Lachlan ended up flying to London in the midst of this whole scandal 580 00:33:15,702 --> 00:33:19,914 to calm his dad down and convince him not to fire James. 581 00:33:20,873 --> 00:33:24,377 So, instead, James was given an exit ramp. 582 00:33:24,460 --> 00:33:28,756 He had a job set up in New York that was presented as a promotion, 583 00:33:28,840 --> 00:33:30,883 but everybody knew it wasn't. 584 00:33:32,969 --> 00:33:37,223 But it was one of the last moments of brotherly solidarity 585 00:33:38,683 --> 00:33:42,520 where Lachlan really ended up supporting James. 586 00:33:43,521 --> 00:33:44,647 [man 11] You are a Murdoch. 587 00:33:44,731 --> 00:33:47,567 It's a blessing or a curse, but it's there, like it or not. 588 00:33:47,650 --> 00:33:50,319 It's obviously been a very big year. 589 00:33:50,403 --> 00:33:53,781 It's obviously been a very nightmare year for the family. 590 00:33:54,449 --> 00:33:56,951 [Paul Barry] Elisabeth thinks the hacking scandal's a disaster 591 00:33:57,034 --> 00:34:00,163 and it would never have happened if the company had been run properly. 592 00:34:02,457 --> 00:34:07,170 [Jim] Liz is outside of News Corp, building her own company, Shine. 593 00:34:07,670 --> 00:34:09,422 [woman 3] You are the biggest loser! 594 00:34:09,505 --> 00:34:13,426 [Sarah] She helps make a huge success of The Biggest Loser, 595 00:34:13,509 --> 00:34:16,304 a perfect Murdochian type of show. 596 00:34:16,387 --> 00:34:18,681 Shut up and focus. 597 00:34:19,640 --> 00:34:21,726 [Paul] She has shown that she's got talent 598 00:34:21,809 --> 00:34:25,396 for the sorts of things that you need in running a media company. 599 00:34:25,480 --> 00:34:27,607 [man 12] Elisabeth, do you mind, please? 600 00:34:27,690 --> 00:34:30,026 [reporter 31] Elisabeth has her own production company 601 00:34:30,109 --> 00:34:32,236 that was recently bought by News Corp. 602 00:34:32,320 --> 00:34:36,532 An indication, some say, that she may be directly next in line. 603 00:34:37,033 --> 00:34:40,745 [Sarah] Rupert buys Shine, and she makes a lot of money. 604 00:34:41,329 --> 00:34:44,499 And so she was brought back inside his orbit. 605 00:34:45,249 --> 00:34:49,420 [McKay] Whenever he wanted one of his kids to work for him and they were resisting, 606 00:34:50,671 --> 00:34:53,591 Rupert would just throw enough money at the problem 607 00:34:53,674 --> 00:34:58,137 that he could buy them off and force them back into his employ. 608 00:34:58,721 --> 00:35:02,391 Do you feel that in succession terms, or in sort of family terms, 609 00:35:02,475 --> 00:35:04,644 that you've been overlooked for the top job? 610 00:35:04,727 --> 00:35:06,771 [Elisabeth] No, but I don't think that way. 611 00:35:06,854 --> 00:35:11,901 I always think about what can be done, so I never feel completely satisfied. 612 00:35:11,984 --> 00:35:14,320 You always think of what more you can do. 613 00:35:14,403 --> 00:35:18,199 [Sarah] Elisabeth is probably the media executive 614 00:35:18,282 --> 00:35:23,287 who has had the greatest success outside the Murdoch company of any of the kids. 615 00:35:24,038 --> 00:35:26,874 But Rupert is of a certain generation, 616 00:35:26,958 --> 00:35:32,421 and so he always saw either James or Lachlan as the most likely successor. 617 00:35:34,549 --> 00:35:38,511 [McKay] James, for what it's worth, told me that Rupert is a misogynist 618 00:35:38,594 --> 00:35:41,931 and never considered Liz a viable successor. 619 00:35:42,431 --> 00:35:44,350 [David] So she is dispirited. 620 00:35:44,892 --> 00:35:47,812 She clearly does really admire and respect him, 621 00:35:47,895 --> 00:35:52,024 but she cannot deny the damage done by the family empire. 622 00:35:52,859 --> 00:35:56,279 Please welcome the one and only Elisabeth Murdoch. 623 00:35:56,779 --> 00:35:58,781 [cheering and applause] 624 00:35:59,532 --> 00:36:01,993 [Paul] Elisabeth goes to Edinburgh Television Festival 625 00:36:02,076 --> 00:36:04,704 to give a very prestigious lecture. 626 00:36:04,787 --> 00:36:09,876 Being asked to give the James MacTaggart Memorial Lecture 627 00:36:09,959 --> 00:36:13,379 has been quite a welcome distraction 628 00:36:13,462 --> 00:36:18,467 from some of the other nightmares much closer to home. 629 00:36:19,385 --> 00:36:23,764 Yes, you have met some of my family before. 630 00:36:24,348 --> 00:36:26,934 [Paul] Elisabeth makes this absolutely scorching speech. 631 00:36:27,018 --> 00:36:30,188 She says all the sort of stuff that you don't want to see in public. 632 00:36:30,271 --> 00:36:32,857 Speaking of independence, 633 00:36:33,524 --> 00:36:38,487 my brother James spoke about it in his MacTaggart three years ago. 634 00:36:39,238 --> 00:36:41,449 James ended his lecture 635 00:36:41,532 --> 00:36:43,492 with a line in which he claimed… 636 00:36:43,576 --> 00:36:48,581 [both] The only reliable and perpetual guarantor of independence 637 00:36:48,664 --> 00:36:49,790 is profit. 638 00:36:50,291 --> 00:36:54,086 The reason his statement sat so uncomfortably 639 00:36:54,170 --> 00:36:59,050 is that profit without purpose is a recipe for disaster. 640 00:36:59,133 --> 00:37:00,593 [tense music playing] 641 00:37:00,676 --> 00:37:05,264 [Paddy] News Corp has been accused of putting profits first and nothing else. 642 00:37:05,973 --> 00:37:07,808 [Paul] Elisabeth's saying the same thing 643 00:37:07,892 --> 00:37:09,977 everyone's said about Murdoch to this point. 644 00:37:10,061 --> 00:37:13,981 Profit must be our servant, 645 00:37:14,065 --> 00:37:16,442 not our master. 646 00:37:16,943 --> 00:37:18,527 And so she's aligning herself 647 00:37:18,611 --> 00:37:21,072 with the enemies of James and the enemies of her father. 648 00:37:22,365 --> 00:37:25,409 [Sarah] We see all of this play out in public. 649 00:37:25,493 --> 00:37:28,496 The deep, deep fissures in the Murdoch family. 650 00:37:29,664 --> 00:37:32,792 Not surprisingly, her father doesn't speak to her for nine weeks. 651 00:37:33,626 --> 00:37:36,587 [McKay] Liz ended up leaving the company altogether, 652 00:37:36,671 --> 00:37:37,755 setting out on her own. 653 00:37:39,006 --> 00:37:44,303 She wants to get away from all of the toxicity of the family empire. 654 00:37:45,388 --> 00:37:47,598 And the phone-hacking scandal 655 00:37:47,682 --> 00:37:49,767 was her opportunity to do that. 656 00:37:50,268 --> 00:37:51,727 [man 13] Yup, thanks. Bye. 657 00:37:53,187 --> 00:37:55,022 [music ends] 658 00:37:55,690 --> 00:37:57,483 [man 14] Good morning, Mr. Murdoch. 659 00:37:57,566 --> 00:38:00,319 You're gonna retire soon, finally, huh, and have a good life? 660 00:38:00,403 --> 00:38:01,696 -[Rupert] No way. -[man 14] Oh! 661 00:38:02,196 --> 00:38:04,865 [Sarah] The time after the phone-hacking scandal 662 00:38:04,949 --> 00:38:09,912 was a real ebb in Murdoch's professional and personal life. 663 00:38:10,538 --> 00:38:12,999 BSkyB has been denied to him. 664 00:38:13,082 --> 00:38:15,835 [reporter 32] The stalled deal and the scandal that caused it 665 00:38:15,918 --> 00:38:18,963 has thrown open the question of succession in the Murdoch empire. 666 00:38:19,630 --> 00:38:22,842 He thought he was rolling to world domination, 667 00:38:22,925 --> 00:38:25,469 and now things are starting to fall apart. 668 00:38:25,553 --> 00:38:27,263 [tense string music playing] 669 00:38:28,556 --> 00:38:30,141 [music ends abruptly] 670 00:38:30,224 --> 00:38:31,684 [Jim] Earlier in his life, 671 00:38:31,767 --> 00:38:33,936 Rupert reveled in the idea 672 00:38:34,020 --> 00:38:37,440 of a battle royal between his children to succeed him. 673 00:38:37,523 --> 00:38:39,317 [enigmatic music playing] 674 00:38:39,400 --> 00:38:41,402 [McKay] Rupert pitted them against each other, 675 00:38:41,485 --> 00:38:44,280 played them off each other, like they were cogs 676 00:38:44,363 --> 00:38:47,908 in this dynastic power game he was playing. 677 00:38:50,077 --> 00:38:55,541 But he allowed his quest for some kind of immortality 678 00:38:55,624 --> 00:39:00,337 to destroy his actual relationship with his actual kids. 679 00:39:01,464 --> 00:39:03,299 [David] This is about control 680 00:39:04,091 --> 00:39:07,636 and about the lack of respect that Rupert Murdoch is showing 681 00:39:08,137 --> 00:39:11,474 in his very last chapter in life. 682 00:39:12,850 --> 00:39:16,937 Basically saying to three of his children, "I don't think you have it." 683 00:39:20,524 --> 00:39:24,487 And this litigation brought all of it to the surface. 684 00:39:25,112 --> 00:39:27,114 [tense music playing] 685 00:39:29,533 --> 00:39:32,453 [reporter 33] This morning, the family believed to be the inspiration 686 00:39:32,536 --> 00:39:34,747 behind the HBO hit show Succession 687 00:39:34,830 --> 00:39:38,250 is locked in a similar battle playing out in real life. 688 00:39:38,334 --> 00:39:42,671 [reporter 34] This is a dispute about the Murdoch Family Trust, 689 00:39:42,755 --> 00:39:45,341 and this is very much shrouded in mystery, 690 00:39:45,424 --> 00:39:47,968 and we aren't sure exactly what's going on inside. 691 00:39:48,469 --> 00:39:52,765 [Jim] In September, we found out that the trial is about to start. 692 00:39:53,391 --> 00:39:57,144 The setting is Reno, Nevada, the birthplace of divorce in this country. 693 00:39:58,187 --> 00:40:01,649 Of all places for the Murdoch family to end up in court, in Reno, Nevada. 694 00:40:01,732 --> 00:40:03,150 No offense to Reno. 695 00:40:04,110 --> 00:40:07,488 [Jim] I personally went to that courthouse every day. 696 00:40:08,072 --> 00:40:10,449 The first day was just a bizarre scene. 697 00:40:11,951 --> 00:40:14,203 SUV, SUV, SUV. 698 00:40:14,703 --> 00:40:16,205 Press everywhere. 699 00:40:16,288 --> 00:40:18,666 Lawyers are swooping up the courthouse steps, 700 00:40:18,749 --> 00:40:20,334 and then the children come. 701 00:40:22,044 --> 00:40:25,131 [McKay] You know, so much of the Murdoch story 702 00:40:25,214 --> 00:40:29,802 has been narrated by anonymous sources and self-interested parties 703 00:40:29,885 --> 00:40:33,222 speculating about what was going on behind the scenes. 704 00:40:33,722 --> 00:40:36,267 But for the first time with this trial, 705 00:40:36,767 --> 00:40:39,395 we were getting the actual story. 706 00:40:39,979 --> 00:40:44,066 The real human drama of this family was being laid bare. 707 00:40:44,650 --> 00:40:47,236 -[photographers 1, 2] Rupert! -[photographer 1] Big smile! 708 00:40:47,736 --> 00:40:49,738 [reporter 35] Are you confident of victory? 709 00:40:51,157 --> 00:40:53,909 [Jim] Every major member of the family is testifying 710 00:40:53,993 --> 00:40:55,953 and in front of each other in court. 711 00:40:57,288 --> 00:40:58,914 Rupert went first. 712 00:41:00,666 --> 00:41:03,961 [Jonathan] And here is Rupert Murdoch taking the witness stand 713 00:41:04,044 --> 00:41:05,296 in defense of his effort 714 00:41:05,379 --> 00:41:08,716 to unilaterally change this inviolable family trust, 715 00:41:08,799 --> 00:41:13,095 even though, by definition, an inviolable trust cannot be changed. 716 00:41:13,929 --> 00:41:18,434 But on some level, you can understand why he would feel entitled to do it. 717 00:41:19,393 --> 00:41:20,436 He built this empire. 718 00:41:20,519 --> 00:41:24,440 He made everyone in this room a multibillionaire. 719 00:41:24,523 --> 00:41:26,192 And it's his money. 720 00:41:26,817 --> 00:41:30,654 The judge said that he was open to their argument 721 00:41:30,738 --> 00:41:34,533 if he can prove that he's doing it in good faith 722 00:41:34,617 --> 00:41:38,454 and for the sole benefit of his beneficiaries. 723 00:41:39,330 --> 00:41:43,083 But Rupert is a man who speaks his mind. He's a master of the universe. 724 00:41:43,167 --> 00:41:46,545 And so how disciplined is he gonna be on the witness stand, 725 00:41:46,629 --> 00:41:48,881 I think, is a question from the very beginning. 726 00:41:48,964 --> 00:41:52,509 What will become a problem is that when Rupert's cross-examined about this, 727 00:41:52,593 --> 00:41:53,802 he's incredibly honest. 728 00:41:54,595 --> 00:41:58,224 [McKay] He was very upfront about the fact that this was about his legacy 729 00:41:58,307 --> 00:42:03,187 and he didn't trust James or Liz or Prudence 730 00:42:03,270 --> 00:42:07,233 to retain the conservative political slant of his media outlets. 731 00:42:07,316 --> 00:42:10,903 That's why he wanted Lachlan to take control. 732 00:42:12,905 --> 00:42:15,282 I'm not a legal expert, but a legal expert would say 733 00:42:15,366 --> 00:42:17,993 that was not in his best interest to make that argument. 734 00:42:18,994 --> 00:42:21,664 [Jim] But Rupert's legal team appeared to think 735 00:42:21,747 --> 00:42:23,791 they had an ace in the hole. 736 00:42:23,874 --> 00:42:29,421 And that was an exchange between Rupert and Anna, his second wife. 737 00:42:29,505 --> 00:42:31,507 [soft, suspenseful music playing] 738 00:42:33,592 --> 00:42:35,553 One day, several months prior, 739 00:42:35,636 --> 00:42:39,473 she had reached out to Rupert, which was a bit strange. 740 00:42:39,557 --> 00:42:41,475 She doesn't ordinarily just call Rupert. 741 00:42:41,558 --> 00:42:44,228 It rarely happens. As Rupert says, it's out of the blue. 742 00:42:45,854 --> 00:42:47,523 They're talking, catching up, 743 00:42:47,606 --> 00:42:50,943 and Rupert shares with her some of his angst 744 00:42:51,026 --> 00:42:54,655 about James doing something with the sisters to shove Lachlan aside. 745 00:42:54,738 --> 00:42:57,366 And after they get off the phone, 746 00:42:57,449 --> 00:42:59,577 Anna writes Rupert by email. 747 00:43:01,787 --> 00:43:05,124 "I think it's imperative that you get this sorted out soon." 748 00:43:05,207 --> 00:43:07,793 "Some toes will be trod on and egos hurt, 749 00:43:08,294 --> 00:43:10,963 but it would be worse to leave things as they are." 750 00:43:11,046 --> 00:43:13,674 Then she tells Rupert, "You are the kingpin." 751 00:43:14,550 --> 00:43:16,468 "You still hold the power." 752 00:43:16,969 --> 00:43:21,223 And Rupert tells Anna he'd love nothing more than peace all around, 753 00:43:21,307 --> 00:43:22,725 but it's not looking that way. 754 00:43:23,350 --> 00:43:26,604 And then Anna and Rupert start talking about the kids. 755 00:43:27,187 --> 00:43:30,983 And intriguingly, Rupert is sort of complimentary of James. 756 00:43:31,066 --> 00:43:32,985 "He's bright, he's articulate, 757 00:43:33,068 --> 00:43:36,030 but time and time again, showed bad judgment." 758 00:43:37,740 --> 00:43:41,118 Rupert tells Anna, this isn't just about the children. 759 00:43:41,702 --> 00:43:43,203 He says, "Fox and our empire 760 00:43:43,287 --> 00:43:47,374 is the only thing standing in the way of this woke mob," 761 00:43:47,458 --> 00:43:51,337 that, "We are the true defenders of the free world." 762 00:43:51,879 --> 00:43:55,257 And James and his wife, Kathryn, want to change it. 763 00:43:55,841 --> 00:43:58,594 And Anna does something kind of surprising. 764 00:44:00,512 --> 00:44:05,100 She talks about her resentment of James and Kathryn as well. 765 00:44:05,184 --> 00:44:07,645 That they and their like-minded woke friends 766 00:44:07,728 --> 00:44:10,022 are gonna be the ruination of the country. 767 00:44:11,065 --> 00:44:14,902 America will be doomed if these cultural elites take over. 768 00:44:17,071 --> 00:44:18,822 She's in perfect agreement. 769 00:44:19,656 --> 00:44:22,660 Rupert's lawyers try to use this to say, "Look, 770 00:44:22,743 --> 00:44:24,870 if all of this mess we're in 771 00:44:24,953 --> 00:44:29,416 is because Rupert was trying to accommodate Anna in their divorce, 772 00:44:30,250 --> 00:44:32,503 Anna, who set these parameters, 773 00:44:32,586 --> 00:44:37,633 Anna, who never wanted to see one child succeed above the others, 774 00:44:37,716 --> 00:44:39,843 she is now saying that doesn't matter to her." 775 00:44:39,927 --> 00:44:42,554 "She is endorsing Lachlan's leadership." 776 00:44:42,638 --> 00:44:46,600 "She's endorsing Rupert backing up Lachlan's leadership." 777 00:44:47,518 --> 00:44:50,771 "Why are we even here?" is basically the implicit argument. 778 00:44:50,854 --> 00:44:52,231 [music ends] 779 00:44:52,314 --> 00:44:56,777 This, of course, has no legal weight. 780 00:44:56,860 --> 00:44:59,321 This is just an exchange of emails. 781 00:45:00,155 --> 00:45:02,741 There's binding language around the trust, 782 00:45:02,825 --> 00:45:04,618 and Anna has no control. 783 00:45:05,119 --> 00:45:08,205 And she wasn't telling him he should change the trust. 784 00:45:08,288 --> 00:45:11,333 She doesn't have the authority to tell him to change the trust. 785 00:45:11,417 --> 00:45:15,921 Still, as a matter of atmospherics, it was important. 786 00:45:16,004 --> 00:45:18,674 And it shows what's at stake in this trial. 787 00:45:18,757 --> 00:45:21,176 [tense music playing] 788 00:45:21,260 --> 00:45:22,886 [McKay] Once the litigation began, 789 00:45:22,970 --> 00:45:28,308 years of internal Murdoch family communications, texts and e-mails, 790 00:45:28,392 --> 00:45:31,603 started to surface that were really painful 791 00:45:31,687 --> 00:45:34,773 for, I think, everyone involved, but especially James. 792 00:45:37,317 --> 00:45:39,236 He started telling friends, 793 00:45:39,319 --> 00:45:42,990 "My advice is to never get involved in litigation with your family 794 00:45:43,073 --> 00:45:46,076 where there's discovery and the discovery is all about you." 795 00:45:47,327 --> 00:45:49,580 I mean, just imagine what that's like 796 00:45:51,248 --> 00:45:53,542 if you were suddenly able to read 797 00:45:53,625 --> 00:45:59,089 everything that your family says about you behind your back for two decades. 798 00:45:59,173 --> 00:46:00,174 It was brutal. 799 00:46:01,675 --> 00:46:04,970 And I think there is a tragedy in that 800 00:46:05,053 --> 00:46:09,892 that transcends whatever you think about the Murdochs or Fox News. 801 00:46:13,687 --> 00:46:16,356 This is the story of a family unraveling. 802 00:46:17,816 --> 00:46:20,277 And it was just the beginning. 803 00:46:25,991 --> 00:46:27,868 [music ends] 804 00:46:28,744 --> 00:46:30,746 [ominous music playing] nning.