I don't often write a story that reads like a crazy episode from an HBO political drama, but I believe the writers of "Succession" could not come up with a better tale about the Murdoch family than the article I just published with @lhfang. theintercept.com/2019/10/07/mur…
It begins with Kathryn Murdoch, who is married to Rupert Murdoch’s second son, James. If you want to put it in "Succession" terms (because the show is partly based on the Murdochs), Kathryn is reminiscent of the Shiv character who is more moderate than others in the family. 
Kathryn recently suggested that she and her husband would spend at least $100 million repairing America’s damaged democracy. They have not have discussed or apologized for the ways in which the Murdoch family's principal asset, Fox News, has caused that damage.
Earlier this year, Kathryn became the co-chair of an obscure political organization, Unite America, and has funneled at least several million dollars into it, and probably much more; precise figures have not been disclosed. quadriviumfoundation.squarespace.com/press
Last month, Unite America announced more than $5 million in grants to four groups that advocate for fair redistricting and ranked choice voting. "I am thrilled to support these campaigns...to help accelerate the democracy reform movement," Murdoch said. uniteamerica.org/firstgrants
But here's the Succession-worthy plot twist: one of the groups, Pennsylvanians Against Gerrymandering, employs a team of lobbyists who engineered some of the worst gerrymandering in the state's history on behalf of the GOP. From our story:
The story has lots of details but the gist is that two of the key lobbyists for Pennsylvanians Against Gerrymandering are Michael Long and Krystjan Callahan -- who played key roles in creating voting maps in the state that were rigged in favor of the Republican Party.
Apologies again to the writers of "Succession" but when Unite America announced its grant to Pennsylvanians Against Gerrymandering, it noted the state's notorious 7th District as a prime example of the ills of gerrymandering. Guess who helped design the 7th? Krystjan Callahan.
It all sounds kind of amusing but it's quite serious because Pennsylvania is a swing electoral state and the money poured into Pennsylvanians Against Gerrymandering is likely to be a lot more than existing voting-reform groups have at their disposal. As our story explains:
Another Succession-topping twist -- does Pennsylvanians Against Gerrymandering involve any ordinary Pennsylvanians? It appears not. The group was incorporated in August by a law firm in Alexandria, Va, with the help of a political consultant in Colorado. documentcloud.org/documents/6456…
The only Pennsylvanians whose names are publicly attached to Pennsylvanians Against Gerrymandering are the lobbyists working for it. Here's a list of their names from the state lobbying registry. documentcloud.org/documents/6436…
