In this Murdoch edition of On Background, the finale to the succession battle brings a muted sigh of relief at Holt Street. Also, a mapping out of the next-gen media moguls, and why Lachlan’s own empire continues to grow.

There was a collective sigh of relief for News Corp’s Australian businesses, more than anywhere else, when the prodigal son was crowned king on Tuesday.

Unlike the much healthier parts of the Murdoch empire (Fox News, REA and Dow Jones, which runs The Wall Street Journal), the legacy Australian assets are ailing.

All’s well that ends well: Lachlan Murdoch has won the succession battle.Credit: Marija Ercegovac

News Corp Australia’s 2024 finances showed a net loss of $43.3 million, while Melbourne’s Herald Sun, The Courier Mail in Brisbane and Adelaide’s The Advertiser all lost subscribers across the 12 months to June.

But fear not. The tabloids have one thing going for them: proximity to Lachlan Murdoch, who continues to live in Australia, and reportedly “loves” the papers.

His father, Rupert Murdoch, has kept financially stressed assets on as long as they continue to offer influence. While that influence is waning, any major change such as pulling print remains unlikely as long as the 94-year-old is still alive.

A recent decision by Lachlan is telling of this. During a strategy session in search of cost savings in May last year, a proposal was put forward to shift the Darwin-based NT News to a digital-only edition.

This would be followed by News Corp’s other regional titles in Cairns, the........

© The Sydney Morning Herald