News Corp rejigs board, James Murdoch rejects bonus

Media giant News Corp is shaking up the composition of its board and has announced that deputy COO and international CEO James Murdoch will not be taking the bonus offered to him this year.

The company has been rocked by phone-hacking allegations, the fallout from which effectively derailed its bid for full control of BSkyB.

In the first changes to the board since that scandal erupted, News said it will nominate Jame Breyer to the board, pending approval at a shareholder meeting in October. Breyer is a partner at Accel, a media and technology-focused private equity firm. He is already on the board of companies including Wal-Mart and was on the board of Marvel ahead of its acquisition by Disney. Meanwhile, Kenneth Cowley and Thomas Perkins will leave the News’ board.

Separately, James Murdoch issued a statement outlining why he was turning down a US$5.6 million (€4 million) bonus. He said:  “In light of the current controversy surrounding [tabloid newspaper] News of the World, I have declined the bonus that the company chose to award to me. While the financial and operating performance metrics on which the bonus decision was based are not associated with this matter, I feel that declining the bonus is the right thing to do.”