Murdoch vows to stay on as News Corp boss to clean up
RUPERT Murdoch yesterday told investors he has no plans to step aside as boss of News Corp.
During a bullish results call he said: “Let me be clear about this, I have run this company for over 50 years… The board and I believe I should continue in my role as chief executive… I am personally determined to put things right.” He went on to say the phone hacking scandal has had “no material impact” on the rest of his media empire and said he has no plans to offload his UK newspaper business.
He stressed the importance of chief operating officer Chase Carey, who he described as his “partner”. However, he refused to rule out one day recommending his son James for the top job, saying it was a “matter for the board”.
He defended his firm’s corporate governance practices and said there will be no changes to the News Corp board.
The firm brushed off concerns over the phone hacking scandal with a better-than-expected 11 per cent rise in fourth quarter revenues, although its profits dropped 22 per cent on losses from the sale of MySpace.
Meanwhile, James Murdoch is expected to provide evidence to the select committee today that he did not mislead MPs during last month’s grilling.