Murdoch

The following is a reformatted letter British Sky Broadcasting Group Chairman James Murdoch submitted to the board as he resigned from the position today. Colleagues, As you know, my actions as a Director of BSkyB have been governed at all times by what is in the best interests of the Company, its customers and its shareholders. I have been privileged to serve first as Chief Executive and then as Chairman of this outstanding company and I am proud of what we have achieved over this period.

William C. Cox Jr., the patriarch of the Bancroft clan that controlled Dow Jones & Co. for 105 years and sold it to Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. in a decision sparking a family feud, died Wednesday at his home in Hobe Sound, Fla., according to his daughter, Ann Bartram. He was 82. The cause was complications from diabetes. Cox was at the center of a protracted family dispute that ultimately led to the sale of New York-based Dow Jones, owner of the Wall Street Journal, to News Corp.

They are enemies, yet so much alike, media tycoons fiddling with empires and battling over market shares and airways. The edge, though, goes to Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, owner of his country's largest TV corporation and head of a center-right government that regulates a network run by his voracious rival, Rupert Murdoch. The high-stakes tussle, which would make an enticing miniseries, is a saga of billionaires, pornography, technology, conflicted interests and the future of television in Italy and perhaps Europe.

Since 2002, filmmaker-activist Robert Greenwald has made a string of vital feature documentaries, including the trenchant exposés "Uncovered: The War on Iraq" and "Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism. " His latest, the brief "War on Whistleblowers: Free Press and the National Security State," although vigorously assembled, proves to have less impact. Here, producer-director Greenwald takes on a big topic, zips through some history (Galileo and Copernicus were early whistle-blowers, Frank Serpico and Karen Silkwood more modern examples)

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. moved quickly Wednesday to damp speculation that Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes' future with the media giant was in doubt. "News Corp. is 100% behind Roger Ailes," News Corp. President Chase Carey said, adding, "We hope and expect he will continue to lead Fox News well into the future." The media giant looked to pour water on an Internet brush fire of stories claiming that Ailes' days at Fox News were numbered. Kicking off those reports were critical comments about Ailes made by Matthew Freud, the husband of Murdoch's daughter Elisabeth.

News Corp. has agreed to acquire Wireless Generation Inc., an education technology company in a deal that signals the media giant's move into the education market. The Rupert Murdoch-controlled media giant said it would pay $360 million in cash for a 90% stake in the privately held company that makes software to help teachers evaluate students and tailor individualized instruction. Wireless Generation's technology already is being used by more than 200,000 teachers across the country, News Corp.

After taking a drubbing from investors during the last month because of the British phone-hacking scandal, Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. generated some positive headlines. Amid a broader market rally Thursday, shares in the media company soared 18% to $16.19 after News Corp.'s earnings beat analysts' expectations. The 80-year-old Murdoch also pleased investors during a Wednesday after-market earnings call by clarifying that his top deputy, Chief Operating Officer Chase Carey, would succeed him as chief executive if Murdoch was, in his words, "run under a bus. " News Corp.

Media magnate Rupert Murdoch has closed escrow on the Beverly Hills-area home previously owned by the late philanthropist/physician/creator of a billion-dollar entertainment empire, Dr. Jules Stein. And aficionados of the late great architect Wallace Neff will be glad to hear that Murdoch plans to maintain the 1927 house, which sits on about seven acres, with a panoramic view.

George Michael is delighted to be alive, but when he came back to life out of a coma last December, he spent a couple of days speaking in an accent that wasn't his own. While doctors worried that he had brain damage following a horrid bout with pneumonia that included days in a coma, Michael told Britain's LBC radio , it turned out the London-born chap was just channeling a "Bristolian," West Country accent from a British comedy called "Nighty...

The richest of the rich in America is worth $2.8 billion, while the poorest of the rich checks in at a mere $150 million. But who's counting? Forbes magazine, that's who, and its 1985 list of the nation's 400 richest people is topped by Sam Moore Walton of Bentonville, Ark., who has made $2.8 billion through his Wal-Mart discount stores. Walton, who danced a hula on Wall Street last year when profit goals were met, replaced Gordon Getty, the front-runner for the past two years.

Rupert Murdoch has settled on a new name for his soon-to-be-reconstituted film and television company: 21st Century Fox, a moniker with a guaranteed 87-year shelf life. That should be more than sufficient for the 82-year-old media mogul. Murdoch and senior managers had previously announced that the existing News Corp. would be renamed "Fox Group" when the media conglomerate cleaves itself into two separate publicly traded companies this summer. ON LOCATION: Where the cameras roll The newspapers and publishing assets will be given the News Corp.

A new story in the March 8 issue of the Hollywood Reporter floats the idea that News Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Rupert Murdoch may be interested in buying Moraga Vineyards, the 13-acre Bel-Air estate now for sale at close to $30 million.  The key attraction for the media mogul is “the fully functioning and staffed namesake winery, developed beginning in the late 1970s by current owner Tom Jones, the former CEO of aerospace giant...

Chairman Rupert Murdoch is taking advantage of the jump in value of News Corp. stock by selling $40 million in voting shares this week. Shares closed trading Friday at all-time highs. A News Corp. spokesman declined to provide a reason for Murdoch's pre-Valentine's Day sale of nearly 1.4 million Class B shares. The sale, which occurred Wednesday, was recorded Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. News Corp.'s B shares, the voting stock, closed trading Friday at $29.34, up 1.3%.

LONDON - British police announced the arrest of six journalists on suspicion of phone hacking Wednesday in a new probe targeting a now-closed tabloid owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. Authorities have identified “a further suspected conspiracy to intercept telephone voicemails by a number of employees who worked for the now defunct News of the World newspaper,” said a Scotland Yard statement.  The journalists who were not named have been detained “on suspicion of conspiracy to intercept telephone communications.” All had worked for the News of the World, which was closed after revelations of phone hacking in July 2011.

Now that Rupert Murdoch is spinning off News Corp.'s publishing properties into a separate company, media observers have identified the Los Angeles Times as a likely target for acquisition. Murdoch isn't one of them. "It won't get through with the Democratic administration in place," Murdoch said during a break in the Golden Globes ceremony Sunday night in Beverly Hills. PHOTOS: Golden Globes 2013 red carpet Murdoch was alluding to federal regulations that seek to limit media consolidation.

Dame Elisabeth Murdoch , mother of News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch, has died at her home outside Melbourne , Australia , at the age of 103. The matriarch of the world's most prominent media family was well-known in Australia for her philanthropy, and she remained active late into her life. News Corp. confirmed her death Wednesday. "Throughout her life, our mother demonstrated the very best qualities of true public service," Rupert Murdoch said in a statement published in the News Corp.-owned Wall Street Journal . "Her energy and personal commitment made our country a more hopeful place and she will be missed by many.

So, Rupert Murdoch is about to be inducted into the Pontifical Order of St. Gregory the Great, according to your Jan. 3 article on papal honors. While I don't know who St. Gregory the Great was, I still have a feeling that, if he were given a look at most of Murdoch's newspapers, he might ask for a recount. I have no quarrel with the Catholic Church's desire to appear to be more populist, honoring such figures as Bob Hope and Roy Disney, but Murdoch's sex-oriented British dailies, and even his blue-collar, lowbrow sensationalist U.S. holdings make him an unlikely ally of the pope.

I'm sure there is universal abhorrence to the tasteless, vulgar promotion of "The Bernie Mac Show" aired on Fox TV during a commercial break in a World Series game. We're grateful to Steve Lopez for bringing this indecency to our attention (Oct. 31). However, in his column he made constant reference to Rupert Murdoch's political affiliation, and we couldn't help but wonder if this piece would have been written if Murdoch was a liberal Democrat instead of a conservative Republican. Walter H. Schmidt Santa Monica

Dame Elisabeth Murdoch, mother of News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch, has died at her home in Australia at the age of 103. Murdoch was well known for her philanthropy and remained active late into her life. "Throughout her life, our mother demonstrated the very best qualities of true public service," Rupert Murdoch said in a statement published in the News Corp.-owned Wall Street Journal. "Her energy and personal commitment made our country a more hopeful place and she will be missed by many.

After the coffee. Before tormenting Giants fans about the Redskins win. The Skinny: Today's Morning Fix is 80% News Corp.-related. That wasn't intentional, it just sometimes works out that way. Stories include a probing profile of Elisabeth Murdoch, Roger Ailes' efforts to convince David Petraeus to run for president and how Hollywood took Michigan for a ride.  Daily Dose: Sunday's midseason finale of "The Walking Dead" scored a bigger rating among adults 18-to-49 than any broadcast network show this season.