Tom Mockridge Takes Top Post at News International

LONDON: Sky Italia chief Tom Mockridge has been tapped by News Corporation to succeed Rebekah Brooks as the CEO of News International, following her resignation today.

Mockridge, a News Corp. veteran, has led the Italian pay-TV platform since 2003. He has also been serving as CEO of European television at News Corp. On an interim basis, his duties at Sky Italia will be handled by COO Laura Cioli and CFO Domenico Labianca, reporting to James Murdoch, News Corp.’s deputy COO and its chairman and CEO of international.

Mockridge’s career includes leading New Zealand’s Independent Newspapers and Sky New Zealand as well as FOXTEL in Australia. He joined News Corporation in 1991, working for News Limited in Australia.

"Tom is an outstanding executive with unrivaled experience across our journalism and television businesses," said James Murdoch. "He has proven himself to be a very effective operator in his time at Sky Italia. Under his leadership, Sky has grown to become one of the world’s most successful pay TV businesses, reaching close to 5 million homes and launching channels like TG24 which has set a new standard for independent journalism in Italy. I believe that Tom is the best person to move the company forward to a brighter future.”

Brooks finally resigned today over the News of the World phone hacking scandal. Numerous British lawmakers had been calling for her departure since the closure of the tabloid last week. Yesterday, News Corp. investor Prince Alwaleed bin Talal also announced that he felt Brooks should step down from running News Corp.’s British publishing arm.

"At News International we pride ourselves on setting the news agenda for the right reasons," Brooks said in her memo to company staff. "Today we are leading the news for the wrong ones. The reputation of the company we love so much, as well as the press freedoms we value so highly, are all at risk. As chief executive of the company, I feel a deep sense of responsibility for the people we have hurt and I want to reiterate how sorry I am for what we now know to have taken place. I have believed that the right and responsible action has been to lead us through the heat of the crisis. However my desire to remain on the bridge has made me a focal point of the debate. This is now detracting attention from all our honest endeavors to fix the problems of the past."

Brooks, who has been with News Corp. for 22 years, said she must now "concentrate on correcting the distortions and rebutting the allegations about my record as a journalist, an editor and executive. My resignation makes it possible for me to have the freedom and the time to give my full cooperation to all the current and future inquiries, the police investigations and the CMS appearance."