The phone hacking scandal roiling the British press has claimed a Murdoch — James Murdoch.
The son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch has resigned as head honcho of New Group Newspaper Ltd., which publishes London-based newspapers The Times and The Sunday Times, and a racy tab called The Sun, British media reported Tuesday.
Murdoch stepped down in September amid shareholder demands that he quit his daddy’s media empire altogether. He remains chairman of News International and deputy chief operating officer of News Corp.
“James Murdoch doesn’t step back from NI,” a Murdoch spokesman said. “He remains chairman.”
But the Brit papers are suggesting that Rupert’s boy may be chairman in name only. The only reason Murdoch remains on the News Corp. board is because his kin quashed a move to oust him last month.
NGN also ran the racy News of the World tabloid, which was shuttered following revelations they hacked the cell phones of celebrities and the families of crime and terror victims.