Ahead of tomorrow’s News Corp. shareholders meeting, some investors have been speaking up about the scandals that seem to be following the Murdoch family and their closest associates lately. Among those voting against the reelection of Rupert Murdoch, his two sons, and six other family allies for reelection to the company board will likely be representatives from New York City’s big pension funds, which hold more than $92 million worth of shares in News Corp. The opposition from the funds is being led by city comptroller John Liu, a Democrat, but Mayor Bloomberg, who also has a representative on the pension fund boards, is standing by the Murdochs.
“We don’t think politics should play a role in these types of decisions,” a Bloomberg spokesperson said, likely as a slight directed at Liu, who has often been challenged by the Murdoch-owned New York Post. (The mayor, meanwhile, usually enjoys the tabloid’s support.)
In addition to the News Corp. phone-hacking scandal, Liu cited “egregious executive pay practices” and “pervasive director conflicts of interest” in his anti-Murdoch resolution. But the investors aren’t fooling themselves: Of the city funds’ $92 million worth of shares, less than $1 million worth get a vote tomorrow. The Murdoch family, on the other hand, owns 40 percent of total voting shares.
New York funds to vote against Murdochs, over Bloomberg objections [Politico]
