Lachlan Murdoch has launched legal proceedings against Fairfax Media with allegations of defamation, after a story claimed he had been using a News Corp jet while Network Ten suffered.
A report in The Australian this morning has outlined details of a statement of claim issued by Murdoch's lawyers on Tuesday, while a source close to the process revealed information about the proceedings to AdNews.
The article in question was written in The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age CBD section.
It said, in part: “The annual report of [Rupert Murdoch's] media empire … reveals that Uncle Rupert has himself been spending much time aloft, in the company's private jet. Son Lachlan has also been flying high, unlike the ratings of Ten Network, where he is a director.”
Lachlan Murdoch had two issues with the statement. Firstly, it has been claimed Murdoch had not been in the jet for seven years, and that it was his brother James who was named in the report. Secondly, it has been argued the article is defamatory because it might infer Murdoch was “flying high” in the jet when he should have been focusing on his duties at Ten.
A spokesperson for Murdoch declined to comment on the proceedings, while Fairfax was not available for comment at the time of writing.
CBD issued an apology earlier in the week, but only apologised for saying Murdoch had used the jet when he had not. The apology did not mention anything about linking Murdoch's jet usage to Network Ten's performance.
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