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 4th 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.