News Corp. Execs Take Pay Cuts As Two Politicians Nominated to Board of Directors
Rupert Murdoch took a 10 percent pay cut, still raking in $30 million for the latest fiscal year, as News Corporation announced two high-profile nominations to the board of directors.
Former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe and former U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L Chao will stand for election at the company's annual stockholders meeting next month in Los Angeles. They are the only new names being added to the 16- member board.
Murdoch earned $33.3 million for the previous fiscal year, which ends in June. President Chase Carey earned $24.8 million, down from $30.2 million.
Though News Corp. stock appreciated 33.2 percent, the company said in Securities and Exchange Commission filing that it considered the cost of the phone-hacking scandal, closure of News of the World and withdrawal from a deal to buy out BSkyB when determining executive bonuses.
Current board directors Andrew Knight and John Thornton will retire after the upcoming meeting in L.A. while Arthur Siskind will serve as the director emeritus, a non-voting position on the board.
Murdoch said that Uribe's strong leadership in Latin America was "transformative" and that his "international perspective will provide important insights into Latin America for our directors."
However, Uribe faced criticism from the nonprofit Committee to Protect Journalists after he accused two reporters, including one from the Washington Post, of being "terrorism sympathesizers."
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Chao is a Republican who served as the labor secretary from 2001 to 2009 under then-President George W. Bush.
"As Secretary of Labor she was recognized for her focus on empowering American workers, responding to globalization and improving our country's competitiveness," Murdoch said in a statement. "Her vast experience leading complex, large scale organizations wll make her a valuable asset to the board."
If elected, Chao would be the second woman on the board after Natalie Bancroft, who currently stands as the sole female director.
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