Sources: News Corp. picks publishing unit chief
News Corp. is expected to name Robert Thomson, a close confidant of chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch, to lead its new publishing company by the end of next week, according to sources familiar with News Corp.'s plans.
Thomson is managing editor of The Wall Street Journal and editor-in-chief of its publisher, Dow Jones & Co., which News Corp. acquired in 2007. Gerard Baker, the Journal's deputy editor, is expected to succeed Thomson, according to these sources.
Murdoch will be relying on his trusted lieutenant to steer the new company -- whose main assets apart from Dow Jones include its British and Australian newspapers and HarperCollins book publishing business -- at a difficult time. Newspapers in many developed markets are suffering from a severe drop in advertising revenue and circulation is being hit as readers are choosing to get their news on smartphones and tablets.
Among the key decisions facing Thomson will be what to do about the financially struggling New York Post and whether the new company will go on an acquisition spree for other U.S. newspapers that could come on the market, such as the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune.
In June, News Corp said it was separating its publishing and entertainment assets in response to shareholders.-- Reuters
Out East with Doug Geed: Wine harvests, a fish market, baked treats and poinsettias NewsdayTV's Doug Geed visits two wineries and a fish market, and then it's time for holiday cheer, with a visit to a bakery and poinsettia greenhouses.
Out East with Doug Geed: Wine harvests, a fish market, baked treats and poinsettias NewsdayTV's Doug Geed visits two wineries and a fish market, and then it's time for holiday cheer, with a visit to a bakery and poinsettia greenhouses.
