News Corporation president and chief operating officer Chase Carey has backed fellow director James Murdoch despite a strong protest vote against him at last month’s annual general meeting.
Mr Carey says board directors are taking the backlash in response to the UK phone hacking scandal seriously and he gave James Murdoch, the chief executive of the company’s UK publishing arm News International, a show of support.
“We have great confidence in James,” Mr Carey said in response to a question during News Corp’s first quarter earnings presentation on Thursday (AEDT).
“James has done a good job and we are not contemplating any changes.”
Some 35 per cent of voting stock said no to the re-election of the junior Mr Murdoch, who has been in the spotlight given the incidents of phone hacking at the now-defunct News of the World tabloid took place under his watch.
Mr Murdoch is to make a second appearance before a UK parliamentary inquiry on November 10.
He has been seen by some News Corp watchers as the man most likely to succeed his father, 80-year-old media mogul Rupert Murdoch, as chief executive of the global media company.
Four other News Corp directors, including James’s brother Lachlan Murdoch, also received more than 30 per cent of votes cash against their re-election.
But all comfortably retained their seats given the Murdoch family holds about 40 per cent of News Corp’s voting stock.
The family’s key backer, Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, holds a further seven per cent of voting stock.
In response to a journalist’s question about the sizeable protest vote, Mr Carey said the company was continuing to, “on an ongoing basis, evolve the board”.
“We certainly take those votes seriously and look, we are proactively looking for feedback from shareholders,” Mr Carey said.
“We want to have that engagement.
“That being said, we are proud of the board. I think the board has provided unique leadership and value to the business, but it is something we will discuss as a board.”
It emerged earlier this year some at the News of the World newspaper hacked into the voicemails of terrorist victims, relatives of those killed at war, a missing schoolgirl later found murdered and celebrities and politicians.
While the AGM featured criticism from some shareholders about the way News Corp handled the hacking scandal, as well as remuneration and corporate governance issues, Mr Carey was keen to focus on the “great start” to the 2011/12 financial year.
“With so much of the press coverage in recent months on the News of the World issues in the UK, the earnings call is actually a good time to shift gears, to talk about our operations,” Mr Carey said in his opening remarks.
“There is not a lot more that I can say beyond what has already been said.”
News Corp said it had a “fully reserved” fund” to pay the legal fees associated with the hacking scandal but declined to specify how much money it had set aside.
