Logo

Whoa! Report Says in Light of Devastating Scandal in U.K., News Corp. Board Considering Making Chase Carey News Corp. CEO. Rupert Murdoch, Who Is Currently CEO and Chairman, Would Retain Chairman Title

Jul 19, 2011  •  Post A Comment

"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," Bloomberg is reporting.

The article, by Andy Fixmer, Ronald Grover and Jeffrey McCracken, adds that Murdoch would remain chairman of the company.

The story says that a decision has not been made yet to elevate Carey, and that the decision "depends in part on Murdoch’s performance before the U.K. Parliament [today, Tuesday morning, July 19, 2011], said the people, who weren’t authorized to speak publicly."

The story also notes, "News Corp. executives who watched Murdoch, 80, rehearse for his appearance had concerns about how he handled questions, according to three people, who weren’t authorized to speak publicly."

The story notes that the independent directors–who hold 9 of the 16 board seats–are behind the potential change.

However, the story says, " ‘Rupert Murdoch controls the votes of the company through the Class B shares,’ Charles Elson, director of the John L. Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware, said this week in an interview. ‘He can just replace them if he wants. They may do something, but it will be temporary. Maybe he becomes chairman, but this is still his company and he can do what he wants. When he controls the stock, he controls the board.’ ”

The story also quotes one board member on the record denying that any elevation of Carey is being considered.

However, the story insists that "By installing Carey, 57, as CEO, News Corp. would be relying on a trusted Murdoch deputy to help get past the hacking scandal."

A number of media outlets will show Murdoch’s testimony live, scheduled between 9:30 am and 11 am ET, including C-SPAN3. Besides being available on a number of cable systems, C-SPAN3 is streamed live at http://cspan.org/Live-Video/C-SPAN3/.

Your Comment

Email (will not be published)