Father-son clashes at News Corp. a story of traditionalist vs. technocrat

The New York Times
Jeremy Peters reports on the behind-the-scenes maneuvering and infighting between News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch and his son James, whose succession is much less certain after the News of the World phone-hacking scandal. Peters writes that James Murdoch wasn’t viewed as the child most likely to take over his father’s media empire and that he’s butted heads with his father as he has risen through the company. “Their disagreements, which were described in detail by more than half a dozen former and current company officials and others close to the Murdochs, stemmed in large part from the clashing visions of a young technocratic student of modern management and a traditionalist who rules by instinct and conviction.” || Related: Along with former Dow Jones & Co. CEO Les Hinton, current Dow Jones CEO Todd Larsen was notified last year about a plan to inflate The Wall Street Journal Europe’s circulation, according to the former circulation manager who notified management. (Bloomberg News) | This company is different: If this were any other company, the board would have called for the CEO to resign, but this isn’t any company, and this isn’t any CEO. (NPR) | Critic becomes stakeholder: Tom Watson, a U.K. member of Parliament, has bought shares of News Corp. and will try to speak at Friday’s annual meeting