Murdoch Won’t Step Down, But Names Chase Carey As Successor

Embattled CEO Rupert Murdoch  says that he will not leave his post at News Corp in the wake of the high-profile hacking scandal, but has named Chase Carey, the corporation’s deputy chairman, as his successor.

“Chase Carey and I run this company as a team and the strength of that partnership is reflected in our improved results,” Murdoch said during a conference call Wednesday on the company’s 4^th quarter earnings. “Chase is my partner, if anything happens to me, I’m sure he’ll get it immediately if I went under a bus.”

The announcement means that the CEO’s son, James Murdoch, has been passed over, a decision likely guided by the controversy surrounding the now de-funct paper News of the World, whose reporters allegedly hacked into the phones of UK officials and a deceased teenage girl. Murdoch oversaw News International, the paper’s parent company, and also serves as chief executive for News Corps European arm.

News Corp reported $982 million in 4th quarter earnings despite the scandal.