James Murdoch Fails CEO Exam

Michael Hedges November 10, 2011 Follow on Twitter

There are, we know, no final exams for aspiring CEO’s. We take a test before driving an automobile and several before flying a jet aircraft. There’s even, usually, an examination required to become an accountant, lawyer or brain surgeon. Those chosen to lead organizations employing and serving tens of thousands, millions arguably, arrive at the corner office by other means.

News Corporation’s off and on heir-apparent James Murdoch sat before the UK Parliament Culture Committee (November 10) for another grilling by Members with various agenda. Some wanted his head. Some wanted his ass. All of them wanted his attention.

For more than three hours Mr. Murdoch – The Younger – faked it, just as he’s faked being in charge of News International. The UK MP’s wanted, ostensibly, to clear up a few inconsistencies between the previous testimony given in July and retorts by former News Group Newspapers (NGN) executives regarding the well-reported phone hacking eruption. News Group Newspapers is a wholly owned subsidiary of News International, a wholly owned subsidiary of News Corporation. Mr. Murdoch’s father Rupert Murdoch – The Elder – is News Corporation chairman. Someday he might retire.

James Murdoch told the MP’s he’s only recently discovered details of phone hacking by employees or agents of now shuttered tabloid UK News Of The World and various payments made to setting lawsuits or threats of lawsuit by alleged victims of the aforementioned phone hacking, which is a crime under UK law. He admitted “the company might have been too aggressive” in characterizing reporting of the phone hacking “drip, drip, drip” by other UK media, notably The Guardian, as that of competitors exploiting a simple mistake. That became the “rogue reporter” defense.

Certainly, the UK MP’s concentrated on details: who, where, what, when and why. James Murdoch could shed little light as he’d been jetting to India or Hong Kong, News Corporation being very, very big and the goings on at one UK tabloid newspaper quite small. He apologized profusely and said controls are now in place to make sure this bad stuff doesn’t happen again.

While much coverage of James Murdoch’s questioning has devolved into reporting that one MP chose to characterize News International as “a mafia” the only salient observation, pointed out by The Guardian’s Roy Greenslade (see here), was from (very) Conservative MP Philip Davies. “It all seems so cavalier to me,” said Davies, scratching his head, figuratively, at how James Murdoch was so incurious about the details of making £500,000 settlement payments. I watched all of this courtesy of the ITN feed.

When Mr. Davies shared that as an employee at a division of retail giant WalMart top executives were far less “cavalier” I was taken back to moments in my own semi-illustrious career as a corporate duck working in close proximity with CEO’s at media companies. At one the CEO signed off on each and every invoice. He’d sit in front of a stack of them, a half mile high, once a week and look at each one before signing or – more frightening for me and the other ducks – asking for details. Oh, and his one and only directive was “don’t ever embarrass the company.” We never did.

See also in ftm Knowledge

Rupert Murdoch and News Corporation

News Corporation is a highly competitive media giant a global, multi-media footprint. From paywalls and pay-TV to tabloid troubles and new ventures the media industry watches Rupert Murdoch. Update includes family ties, succession plans and other News Of The World. 172 pages PDF (April 2011)

Order here