Rupert Murdoch has lost a legal fight to change his family's trust, which would have let his son Lachlan take control the family's media empire after Murdoch's death.

A Reno probate judge ruled against Rupert Murdoch in his secretive legal battle to alter his family trust and consolidate power for his eldest son, the head of Fox News.

A sealed document obtained by The New York Times says a Nevada commissioner has ruled against Rupert Murdoch’s effort to change his family’s trust to give his son Lachlan Murdoch control of his media empire and ensure Fox News maintains its conservative editorial slant.