Rupert Murdoch hosed down a shareholder rebellion yesterday as nearly a quarter of News Corporation's investors voted for greater democracy within the Australian billionaire's media empire.
At News Corp's annual meeting in New York, some 23% of shareholders backed a resolution from an Australian activist seeking changes in the dual class voting structure to create "one share, one vote".
The move would loosen Mr Murdoch's grip on the company, parent of newspapers such as The Times and The Sun and the controlling investor in BSkyB.
"We're running a corporate structure which is frankly embarrassing - which is a gerrymander," said Stephen Mayne, accusing Mr Murdoch of being paranoid about a takeover. "Trust yourself, back your record. You're a legend - nobody's going to sack you."
Such a change has little chance of success because the Murdoch family controls a 30% voting block. Wall Street critics say the structure keeps the mainstream "B" shares out of the Standard & Poor's 500 index, consigning them to a lower rating.
Mr Murdoch said protection from takeover was beneficial because it allowed management to take more risks.
He ruled out buying Facebook, rival to NewsCorp's social networking site MySpace.
"We're going in slightly different ways. They [Facebook] are more of a utility - I won't say a phone book - for friends to connect with each other," he said, describing MySpace as more "cultural".
At News Corp's annual meeting in New York, some 23% of shareholders backed a resolution from an Australian activist seeking changes in the dual class voting structure to create "one share, one vote".
The move would loosen Mr Murdoch's grip on the company, parent of newspapers such as The Times and The Sun and the controlling investor in BSkyB.
"We're running a corporate structure which is frankly embarrassing - which is a gerrymander," said Stephen Mayne, accusing Mr Murdoch of being paranoid about a takeover. "Trust yourself, back your record. You're a legend - nobody's going to sack you."
Such a change has little chance of success because the Murdoch family controls a 30% voting block. Wall Street critics say the structure keeps the mainstream "B" shares out of the Standard & Poor's 500 index, consigning them to a lower rating.
Mr Murdoch said protection from takeover was beneficial because it allowed management to take more risks.
He ruled out buying Facebook, rival to NewsCorp's social networking site MySpace.
"We're going in slightly different ways. They [Facebook] are more of a utility - I won't say a phone book - for friends to connect with each other," he said, describing MySpace as more "cultural".
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