(FORTUNE Magazine) – Who will be the next Murdoch to run News Corp.? Until recently the favorite to follow Rupert was 32-year-old Lachlan (he oversees the New York Post, HarperCollins, the Fox TV network, and the Aussie newspaper empire). But in November younger son James, 30, was transferred from running News Corp.'s STAR TV in Asia to a higher-profile post in the empire as CEO of Britain's BSkyB satellite broadcaster. Observers say that puts the brothers neck-and-neck to eventually follow dear old Dad (who at age 72 has said his retirement is on hold "forever"). Here's how the two scions rate.

--Richard Tomlinson