Murdoch Faces Angry Shareholders at Annual Meeting (NWSA)

News Corporation (NASDAQ: NWSA) CEO Rupert Murdoch faced criticism from shareholders at the media company’s annual meeting today. Angry shareholders slammed Murdoch and the company for poor corporate governance.

Shareholders also demanded that Murdoch give up his role as the Chairman of News Corp. The criticism from shareholders comes after News Corp. was involved in phone hacking scandal earlier this year.

Earlier this year, News Corp.’s now defunct tabloid News of the World was alleged of phone hacking in the U.K. The scandal caused huge storm in the U.K. News Corp. was also criticized for the way it handled the entire crisis. The controversy also led to the shut down of News of the World.

News Corp. shareholders have held Murdoch and his sons accountable for the phone hacking scandal. The company has been blamed for poor corporate governance.

News Corp. also had to back out from the proposed takeover of BSkyB following the scandal.

At the annual meeting, however, Murdoch remained defiant. Responding to claims from British Member of Parliament Tom Watson, Murdoch said that the company will get to bottom of the phone hacking issue. Murdoch defended the company throughout the meeting.

Representatives from a number of U.S., U.K. and Australian pension funds criticized News Corp.’s ethical practices during the meeting.

Despite the calls from shareholders for Murdoch to step down from the post of Chairman, any changes are unlikely. Murdoch currently has control over 40% of the company’s Class B voting shares. Murdoch also has the backing of the next biggest shareholder, Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal. This makes any changes to the News Corp. Board unlikely. Shareholders also want Murdoch’s sons James and Lachlan voted out of the Board.

News Corp. shares have risen in trading today. At last check, the stock was trading 1.75% higher at $17.15. News Corp. shares are almost 18% this year.

Post Written By: Ed Liston Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications. He is widely quoted in various financial publications on the Internet. When Ed is not writing about stocks, investing in stocks, talking about stocks, or otherwise doing something stock related, he likes to go sailing and fishing in his yacht.