Scandal

News Corp. Mulls Change at Top

Elisabeth Murdoch emerges as strongest family contender.

Could Rupert Murdoch lose News Corp. over the phone-hacking scandal? Bloomberg News reports that the company’s independent directors have begun to consider a leadership change due to Murdoch’s poor handling of the crisis. Independent directors hold nine of News Corp.’s 16 board seats, and two in particular—venture capitalist Tom Perkins and Georgetown law professor Viet Dinh—are the leading skeptics of Murdoch's ability to continue leading. The Guardian, meanwhile, says that Elisabeth Murdoch has replaced her brother James as the strongest family contender to succeed her father. According to The Guardian, she pushed for Rebekah Brooks' resignation against the wishes of James and their other brother, Lachlan.