What’s in the public interest? Murdoch v Crikey trial could test new defamation defence

Lachlan Murdoch wants parts of Crikey’s defence struck out because he argues they are irrelevant, embarrassing and will waste time at the defamation trial. Photograph: Stephanie Keith/Getty Images

Lachlan Murdoch’s role as the controller of his family’s media conglomerates in the US and Australia was “inseparable” from the reputation of those organisations, the federal court has heard.

The relevance of Murdoch’s leadership of the US Fox Corporation and its role in the January 6 riots was discussed at length in a preliminary hearing for the upcoming defamation trial against Private Media’s Crikey.