Fox and the Hounding: The Murdochs

① Expect drama at Zanuck Theatre in Los Angeles, as shareholders gather for 21st Century Fox's annual shareholders' meeting.

② The Murdoch family-led company faces an uncertain future, judging by recent reports that it has held exploratory talks about selling much of its business, including its studio, to Disney.

③ Has the family lost faith that Fox can become one of the few big media companies capable of competing with new forces in entertainment such as Netflix and Amazon?

④ Rupert Murdoch and his sons, Lachlan and James, have also lost a key supporter in Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, who has sold his sizeable shareholding and is now under arrest as part of Saudi Arabia's purported corruption crackdown.

⑤ Some shareholders want to abolish a dual-class voting structure that gives the Murdochs tight control.

⑥ With 39% of the voting rights, the Murdochs must rely on other allies.

⑦ Stay tuned.

▍生詞好句

hound /ha?nd/: vt. 糾纏；狩獵

drama /?drɑ?m?/: n. 戲劇 (文中特指“宮斗大戲”)

exploratory talks /?k?spl?r?t(?)ri/ /?k?spl?r?t(?)ri/: 試探性會談；接觸性會談

sizeable /?s??z?b(?)l/: adj. 相當(dāng)大的

purported /p??p??t?d/: adj. 據(jù)稱的

crackdown /?krakda?n/: n. 嚴(yán)打

abolish /??b?l??/: vt. 廢除

dual-class: adj. 雙結(jié)構(gòu)的