It's Wednesday morning, and the net worth of the people on Virginia Street in downtown Reno just went up a few billion dollars. The row of black SUVs with dark windows is a clue to the events happening inside the Washoe County courthouse this week.

Rupert Murdoch looked frazzled but defiant. We were having what was supposed to be a friendly coffee, but this was 2006 and he was under siege from bankers who were trying to cope with his financial over-reach.

A battle over control of Rupert Murdoch’s global television and publishing empire begins Monday in a Reno, Nevada courtroom, where a judge will consider the contentious matter of succession.