Dow Jones shaken and stirred by Murdoch

People briefed on the matter said that Zannino and The Wall Street Journal publisher L Gordon Crovitz would be succeeded by trusted lieutenants of Rupert Murdoch soon after the takeover was complete. Executives at both companies say there will be a broader sweep of the upper echelon at Dow Jones in the next few weeks, both to eliminate duplication and to make way for Murdoch’s people.

Zannino will be succeeded by Les Hinton, the executive chairman of News International - which includes News Corporation’s British newspapers: The Times of London, The Sunday Times, The News of the World and The Sun. Zannino’s departure was announced by the company a week ahead of the shareholder vote that is expected to seal the deal. He will stay on through a transition period.

Zannino said the choice to leave was his; others at Dow Jones were divided as to whether that was so, while some said the decision was mutual. Murdoch has a history of putting his loyalists atop newly acquired operations. At the same time, Zannino and people who work with him said he has no desire to be running one unit — even a large one — of a much larger corporation. Hinton, 63, a former reporter who has worked under Murdoch since the 1960s, has cut costs at News Corporation’s British papers and more tightly integrated their operations — experience that could help fold Dow Jones into its new parent.

His experience ranges from stints at one of News Corporation’s most serious papers, The Times, to working at some of its raciest. He endured a recent press scandal involving a News of the World reporter being jailed for intercepting the voice mail of some of the royal family’s staff.

Thomson, 46, a former reporter and editor at The Financial Times, became the editor of The Times of London in 2002. He is also a good friend of Marcus W Brauchli, the managing editor of The Journal. Both Thomson and Hinton have worked in the US for long periods of time. Zannino, 49, who became chief executive almost two years ago, is widely credited with making Dow Jones run more efficiently. He led a shift toward electronic media and away from ink and paper. Under him, Dow Jones bought MarketWatch.com and the half of the Factiva archive service that it did not already own, and sold several small newspapers.

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