News International CEO Tom Mockridge to Step Down at Year’s End

Mockridge had headed the unit since July 2011, when Rebekah Brooks resigned amid the PhoneGate hacking scandal.
Rupert Murdoch.

Voices

Murdoch Quits Boards of News Corp. Subsidiaries

“Housekeeping” in advance of the upcoming News Corp. divorce, the company says.

News Corp. Still Backing James Murdoch

Press release: Post-BSkyB, James will make “continued substantial contributions” at Rupert’s company.

News Byte

James Murdoch Stepping Down as BSkyB Chairman

More fallout from PhoneGate: News Corp. executive James Murdoch is stepping down as chair of British Sky Broadcasting, the U.K. satellite TV company, according to a report from BSkyB’s news service. Both Murdoch and News Corp., which owns 39 percent of BSkyB, continue to be embroiled in the phone-hacking scandal that erupted last summer. News Corp. also owns Dow Jones, which owns this Web site.

News Byte

James Murdoch Leaves News Corp. Publishing Unit

More fallout from PhoneGate: News Corp. executive James Murdoch has “relinquished his position” as executive chairman head of News International, the conglomerate’s British newspaper unit. News Corp., which also owns this Web site, says News International chief executive Tom Mockridge will stay on and report to News Corp. chief operating officer Chase Carey. James Murdoch “will continue to assume a variety of essential corporate leadership mandates, with particular focus on important pay-TV businesses and broader international operations,” according to his father, News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch.

News Byte

News Corp.’s PhoneGate Tab Keeps Rising

News Corp. says investigations into the PhoneGate scandal cost it $87 million in the last quarter. That’s on top of $17 million in legal/advisory fees in the previous quarter, plus a $91 million restructuring charge the company took when it shuttered the News of the World. The media conglomerate, which owns this Web site, reported adjusted earnings of $0.39 a share and revenue of $8.98 billion; Wall Street had been expecting $0.34 a share and $8.94 billion.

Viral Video: Rupe Nixes Zynga IPO and Facebook Friending of WSJ.com Host (Awkward!)

And do not even bother to ask if News Corp.’s Mr. Murdoch plays FarmVille.

News Byte

James Murdoch Returns to Parliament for Another Round of PhoneGate Testimony

James Murdoch, News Corp.’s deputy chief operating officer, is once again testifying before the U.K. Parliament about his role in this summer’s PhoneGate scandal. Lawmakers are accusing Murdoch — who at one point had been the presumed successor to his father, Rupert — of not being truthful during the two men’s July appearance. You can watch the event live via this Webcast; News Corp. also owns this Web site.

News Byte

News Corp. Beats Estimates, Doesn’t Miss MySpace

Most big media companies are posting upbeat Q3 earnings reports, and News Corp., which also owns this Web site, has done the same. Revenues were up 7 percent, to $7.96 billion, in line with Wall Street expectations of $7.67 billion.; the company posted adjusted earnings of $0.32 per share, beating the $0.29 consensus. Last summer’s (continuing) phonegate scandal showed up several times in the earnings report, including a $91 million charge related to the closure of the U.K.-based News of the World. On the other hand, not owning MySpace appears to have saved the company around $57 million in quarterly losses.

Voices

Phone-Hacking Suits Against News Corp. Rise

The number of civil lawsuits filed against News Corp.’s U.K. newspaper unit by alleged phone-hacking victims has nearly doubled in recent weeks, adding to the legal challenges the media company faces.

Time For Your Close-Up, Mr. Murdoch