☕️ Murdoch family case starts today

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Have a good day!

“[There’s] no details from the opposition … this is what you get when you get a scheme thought up on the run with no details compared with a detailed plan of the Albanese Government…The member for Fairfax [Ted O’Brien] should be more mindful and more demure.”
Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen referencing a TikTok trend in Parliament yesterday, while criticising the Coalition’s nuclear energy policy.

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The age Prime Minister Anthony Albanese indicated yesterday is his preferred minimum age limit for social media use.

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The September 11 terrorist attack on the Twin Towers in New York killed nearly 3,000 people.

Australia’s largest survey of young people has linked poorer life satisfaction among high school students to regular social media use.

Researchers at the Australian National University (ANU) found that young people who regularly use TikTok, Reddit or Discord had lower life satisfaction than those who did not use these platforms.

Overall, teenage girls who use social media reported lower levels of wellbeing than boys.

Non-binary students who regularly use social media reported the lowest levels of life satisfaction.

ANU led a decade-long study on “the impact of regular use of certain social media platforms” on 3,500 Year 10 and 11 students from around 300 Australian schools.

The top three most popular social media platforms were: Instagram (86%) followed by Snapchat (76%) and TikTok (72%).

Nearly all participants (98%) used at least one social media platform regularly. More than half (56%) said they use seven or eight platforms “regularly”.

Participants were asked to rate their life satisfaction on a zero to ten scale from “completely dissatisfied” to “completely satisfied”.

Girls averaged 6.1 out of ten, while non-binary young people reported an average satisfaction score of 5.2.

Boys reported the highest average score of 6.5. They also had the highest rate of “passive” users – people who

never post or share on social media – at 27%.

For girls and non-binary respondents, this was 16% and 11% respectively.

The study looked at the impacts of specific platforms on users’ satisfaction levels.

Boys and girls who used TikTok, Reddit and Twitch regularly had lower life satisfaction than those who did not use these platforms.

Regular TikTok use was linked with the poorest life satisfaction for teenage girls, averaging 5.95 out of 10.

The lowest satisfaction levels among teen boys were Reddit (6.31) and Discord users (6.37). Discord is a messaging platform.

The study also found that Discord users from every group (male, female and non-binary) had overall lower life satisfaction scores.

However, it found some platforms have a positive impact on life satisfaction.

For all genders, this included Facebook. X (formerly Twitter) had a positive impact on non-binary respondents.

ANU said no significant life satisfaction variations were reported by Instagram and Snapchat users, “most likely as there was a high proportion of young people using these platforms.”

Reporting by Chloe Christie.

A legal dispute within one of the world’s most powerful families, the Murdochs, will head to court in the U.S. this week.

The trial will centre on the future of 93-year-old Rupert Murdoch’s media empire.

Earlier this year, The New York Times reported Rupert wanted to update his will to ensure Lachlan – his eldest son – controls the family business after he dies.

Three of Rupert’s other children – Elisabeth, James, and Prudence – are now trying to challenge their father’s plans to name Lachlan as his successor.

Rupert Murdoch started in media in the 1950s, when he inherited his father’s newspaper business in Adelaide.

The Australian-born media mogul owns several American, Australian and UK publications and TV networks. This includes Fox Corporation, News Corp, and the Wall Street Journal.

Forbes estimates his net worth is $US20.2 billion ($AU30.3 billion).

Rupert has six children from five marriages.

Lachlan Murdoch is the 53-year-old son of Rupert. His mother is Anna Murdoch, Rupert’s second wife. She is also the mother of Elizabeth and James Murdoch.

Over recent years, Rupert has handed increasing business responsibilities to his eldest son. In 2019, Lachlan was named CEO of Fox.

Last year, Rupert stepped down as chairman of Fox and News Corp after almost 70 years.

An announcement said Lachlan would become the sole Chair of News Corp, and continue as CEO of Fox.

After divorcing Anna Murdoch in 1999, Rupert Murdoch set up what’s known as an “irrevocable trust”.

Like a will, the legal document details how his business empire and assets should be divided when he dies.

Murdoch’s assets such as his shares and property will be equally shared between his six children.

However, according to The New York Times (NYT), control over his companies (voting rights) will be shared between Elisabeth, Lachlan, James, and Prudence MacLeod (from his first marriage).

Once an irrevocable trust is finalised, its terms cannot be changed.

Lachlan has become more involved in the family business. His siblings have pursued different interests. Rupert and Lachlan are also believed to be more politically aligned.

Rupert is reportedly seeking to change his trust. Instead of the four siblings sharing voting rights in Fox and News Corp, Lachlan would be given control over his father’s media empire.

According to court documents accessed by the NYT, Rupert’s other children have challenged the legality of changing the trust.

The court case between Murdoch and his children is being held in Nevada.

The U.S. state has strict privacy laws and trusts are not subject to inheritance tax there.

The two-week trial will determine if the trust, which currently gives four of Murdoch’s children equal voting powers in Murdoch’s companies to the four children, can be changed.

Proceedings are expected to begin in the city of Reno later this week. While details of the case have been kept largely out of the public eye, several U.S. news outlets are seeking for the proceeding to be made public.

Reporting by Harry Sekulich.

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Aaron James was severely injured in an electrical incident that resulted in him losing his left eye. Just over a year ago, James received a whole eye transplant and now, researchers have found that while he cannot see, some retina function has returned.

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Reporting by Zara Seidler.

Despite releasing a critically acclaimed country music album this year, Beyoncé has received no nominations at the U.S. Country Music Awards.

Cowboy Carter, which she released in March, saw her become the first Black woman to top the country album charts.

Another artist who pivoted to country this year, Post Malone, did pick up a nomination for Single of the Year, for his song ‘I Had Some Help’.

What do you think?

Reporting by Nandini Dhir.

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Riddle answer: The safest door is the one leading to the room with a lion that hasn't eaten in three years. A lion that hasn't eaten in three years would be dead, making it the safest option.

The Federal Government said it will enforce minimum age requirements for social media users, but there’s still a lot we don’t know about this proposal. How will it be rolled out and regulated, and above all, will it work? In today’s deep dive, Professor Lisa Given from RMIT takes us through what we know about this latest announcement, and whether it will actually stop young people from using social media.