The Guardian·2026-02-26
Netflix to release four-part series about Rupert Murdoch’s family dramaThe real-world drama that is said to have inspired the hit HBO show Succession is set for its own four-part series when Netflix debuts Dynasty: The Murdochs on 13 March. The docuseries, based on thousands of pages of documents, emails and text messages, presents an exhaustive history of Rupert Murdoch’s rise while homing in on the tensions that have built for decades between him, his chosen heir Lachlan, and Rupert’s three other adult children: James Murdoch, Elisabeth Murdoch and Prudence MacLeod. Those tensions exploded recently in a Nevada court battle over the trust that will determine control of the Murdoch media empire when Rupert dies, with the 94-year-old patriarch and his eldest son aligned against the other three. While the siblings had won a positive initial ruling from a county
The Guardian·2026-02-26
The Australian throws 4,000-word tantrum at press council ruling as Drumgold waits for just one: sorry | Weekly BeastWhen the press watchdog ruled that Murdoch’s broadsheet published three misleading, unfair and inaccurate articles about the former ACT prosecutor Shane Drumgold, The Australian responded by having a tantrum. We say tantrum because the newspaper published on Thursday an extraordinary 4,000-word riposte, including a front-page story, a timeline, two comment pieces and a thundering editorial questioning the Australian Press Council’s competence and integrity. This railing against the umpire is all the more bizarre, given News Corp effectively controls the APC as a majority member which pays up to 70% of its annual $1.7m budget. The columnist Janet Albrechtsen wrote all three pieces that were criticised, although the Sydney bureau chief, Stephen Rice, shares a byline on one. Of Albrechtsen’s
The Guardian·2026-02-26
Guardian joins media coalition to protect original journalism from unpaid use by AIA coalition of UK media companies including the Guardian has urged industry peers to back global frameworks ensuring AI firms pay for the journalism they use. The news providers are calling on leaders across publishing, broadcasting, media and news to join their newly created group, with the aim of protecting “original journalism” and securing “the long-term sustainability of our industry”. The coalition, comprising the Guardian, the BBC, Financial Times, Sky News and Telegraph Media Group (TMG), has been named the Standards for Publisher Usage Rights (Spur). It is seeking the establishment of global licensing frameworks that will ensure AI companies can access high quality journalism for use in products such as chatbots while guaranteeing that publishers retain control of their content an
