Les Hinton, publisher of the Wall Street Journal and CEO of Dow Jones & Co., has resigned:
Rupert Murdoch accepted the resignations of The Wall Street Journal’s publisher and the chief of his British operations on Friday as the once-defiant media mogul struggled to control an escalating phone hacking scandal with apologies to the public and the family of a murdered schoolgirl.
The scandal has knocked billions off the value of Murdoch’s News Corp., scuttled his ambitions to take control of a lucrative satellite TV company, withered his political power in Britain – and is threatening to destabilize his globe-spanning empire.
The controversy claimed its first Murdoch executive in the United States as Les Hinton, chief executive of the Murdoch-owned Dow Jones & Co. and publisher of the Wall Street Journal, announced he was resigning with immediate effect.
Murdoch’s British lieutenant, Rebekah Brooks, stepped down earlier Friday.
Hinton had worked for Murdoch’s News Corp. for 52 years, since he was 15 years of age, before stepping down. He is considered one of Rupert Murdoch’s staunchest supporters and closest allies. If Hinton is being thrown under the bus, I can only interpret it as a sign that Murdoch himself and his son, James, are at risk.
Update
The resignation letters are here.
Power corrupts. All of this should be no surprise. Now that we make our wealthy REALLYwealthy, we should expect more of this.
Steve