Rupert Murdoch has promised to name the chief executive of News Corporation's new publishing spin-off within the year, and it looks like a group of Australians are the frontrunners for the spot.
An article in the Wall Street Journal yesterday named Australian-born Robert Thomson as the most likely candidate for the top job. Thomson is currently editor-in-chief of Dow Jones & Company and managing editor of The Wall Street Journal.
Meanwhile, The Australian Financial Review has named News Limited chief executive Kim Williams and News International chief executive Tom Mockridge, another Australian, as other potential candidates.
The new publishing spin-off would house the majority of News Corp's assets in Australia, including News Limited and Foxtel. The spin-off would be made up predominantly of Australian assets.
At News Corp's annual general meeting this week, Murdoch said his company would be split by the middle of 2013, and promised he would name the new chief executive of the publishing spin-off by the end of the year.
Murdoch will remain chief executive of the News Corp's media and entertainment business, but will only be chairman of the publishing spin-off.
The annual meeting this week also saw two motions, one to have an independent chairman and one to get rid of the current dual class share structure, fail to pass.
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