The New York Times' Jeremy Peters dives into the father-son relationship at the heart of News Corp., and learns that Rupert and his son James do not see eye to eye.

There's not much terribly new in Peters' story, but it's a good summary of the ever-increasing fractures in Murdoch's family empire. James, who's described as a petulant but bloodless technocrat, was in line to take over for the 80-year-old patriarch after his older brother Lachlan had been forced out. Rupert is a lead-with-your-gut take-no-prisoners firebrand, while his son is nerd, basically. Then, while James was running the company's European and Asian operations from London, he and Daddy started fighting about James' efforts to build his own "shadow regime." Rupert recalled him to New York earlier this year with the brusque admonition: "This is one company, not two. And it is run out of New York. You're coming back to New York, or you're out."

And then James lied to Parliament after royally fucking up the phone hacking scandal by approving a vast cover-up of extensive criminal activity. But he'll probably still end up running the company, if one still exists by the time his dad kicks: "Most Murdoch watchers say they believe the top job is still his to lose among his siblings."

[Image via AP]