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Following the resounding protest vote by shareholders unhappy with the prospect of reappointing James Murdoch to the board of News Corp (Investors take issue with Murdoch's son), the Financial Times observed that investors' ire was not driven by the unfolding scandal of phone hacking, but instead signalled their dissatisfaction with the the control exercised by the Murdoch family.
Claire Enders was asked for her view. She said that the results are "less about the Murdochs and more about Chase Carey, who... has impressed investors with his drive to extract more money for its cable channels and Fox broadcast network, and focus on shareholder returns". With just 61m shares against Mr Carey’s reelection, Claire Enders explained that “this is a beautifully coordinated effort by a very large group of American shareholders to send a message that this is the opportunity of a lifetime to restate the company’s strategy in the direction Chase Carey is taking it”. She added that US investors are paying little attention to the hacking scandal. Many are focused on News Corp’s $5bn buy-back programme, which has helped support its shares since the scandal exploded in July.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/9568f4b0-ff20-11e0-9b2f-00144feabdc0.html#axzz...