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Rumors Fly About News Corp Replacing Rupert Murdoch With Mustachioed Exec
By
Jen Chung
Published Jul 18, 2011
Modified Jul 19, 2011
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By
Jen Chung
Published Jul 18, 2011
Modified Jul 19, 2011
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Media mogul Rupert Murdoch is set to discuss the phone-hacking scandal that has rocked British media, government, and law enforcement in front of Parliament tomorrow (Tuesday, June 19), and the hearing, scheduled for 9:30 a.m. EST, will be streamed on BBC.com (which will also air pre-hearing analysis), and CNN, Fox and MSNBC will also air the hearing. Others who will be testifying: Murdoch's son James, who heads News International, News Corp.'s British newspaper business; former News International CEO and News of the World editor Rebekah Brooks, who was arrested yesterday; and just-resigned Metropolitan Police chief Sir Paul Stephenson. And all this comes as Bloomberg News reports, "News Corp. is considering elevating Chief Operating Officer Chase Carey to chief executive officer to succeed Rupert Murdoch, people with knowledge of the situation said."
Chase Carey, News Corp COO and mustache fan
According to Bloomberg News, a decision to replace Murdoch as the head of News Corp "hasn’t been made and a move depends in part on Murdoch’s performance before Parliament Tuesday." But "News Corp. executives who watched Murdoch, 80, rehearse for his appearance before Parliament were concerned about how he handled questions, according to three people, who weren’t authorized to speak publicly... Independent directors today weighed naming Carey CEO, according to a person close to the board. The independent directors, who didn’t make a decision, discussed whether the stock market and investors would react favorably to a change, the person said." However, Reuters spoke to a source that says the board never met and that Murdoch has the board's support.
The phone hacking scandal had until recently seemed to be a problem limited to politicians, celebrities and the royal family, regular targets of the popular weekly British tabloid The News of the World. But when The Guardian reported that News of the World reporters broke into murder victim Milly Dowler's phone voicemail while she was still missing and even erased messages to make room for more incoming message—that action led her family, who was checking her voicemail, to think she was alive and it also interfered with the police investigation—the public became outraged and suddenly a torrent of revelations spilled out: News of the World reporters allegedly hacked the phones of dead soldiers, 9/11 victims and former Prime Minister Gordon Brown and paid off the police.
The scandal has also damaged Prime Minister David Cameron's reputation, because he hired a former News of the World editor as his communications director and was friendly with News Corp. executives, including Brooks, as it has upset News Corp. shareholders, who question the lack of decisive action to deal with the allegations. Murdoch's friend and trusted employee of 52 years, Les Hinton, resigned from his position as Dow Jones CEO and Wall Street Journal publisher last Friday (he headed News International during the Dowler incident) and now it's believed that James Murdoch, who is Deputy COO of News Corp. and Chairman of News International and was once believed to be his father's successor, may be pushed out... with his sister Elisabeth as a possible replacement.
The Wall Street Journal—owned by News Corp.—has a guide to the hearing, which "is shaping up as a de facto public trial of Mr. Murdoch and his scoop-hungry newspaper empire."
Tagged
Chase carey
david cameron
elisabeth murdoch
james murdoch
news corp
news of the world
phone hacking scandal
rupert murdoch
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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