Speech to shareholders at News Corp AGMRupert Murdoch NewsCorp,Phone Hacking

Rupert Murdoch’s speech to shareholders at News Corp AGM October 22 , 2011 READ the full transcript below of Rupert Murdoch’s speech to shareholders at News Corporation’s annual general meeting in Los Angeles . Good morning everyone , and welcome . I want to thank the shareholders here today and all the shareholders who have travelled with us on a remarkable journey , a journey that is still in its early stages . It is fair to say that the company has attracted a certain amount of att ention in recent months and I wanted to reaffirm the seriousness by which I take what has gone on in London , as well as put that controversy in context of our entire global business , and to share with you my optimism about the potential growth for our profits , our products and our people . The story of our company is the stuff of legend — from a small newspaper in Adelaide to a global corporation based in New York with a market cap of $ 44 billion – informing , entertaining and educating at least a billion people each day . Our social role is important and so is our role as a creator of value for investors — you will no doubt have noted that our share price has outperformed that of our peers this year . We succeed because we deliver compelling content that engages , entertains and informs . Here’s one staggering statistic : each year we produce more than 150,000 hours of original television content around the globe — from entertainment programs , to live sports and news , to digital programming . This gives you a sense of the full power and reach of our production capabilities , from Hollywood to New York to London to Italy , to India and even Colombia . In this era of expanding digital consumption , our content libraries are fast becoming digital treasure troves . Today we have more than 40 thousand episodes of television series , nearly four thousand movies and more than 50 thousand book titles in our library . We’ll add to this amazing asset this year by releasing 26 films , publishing 5,000 titles around the world and providing compelling digital journalism to our readers every day . When you couple great content with technology , the possibilities are infinite . But we cannot just be a profitable company — we must be a principled company . We simply can’t deliver on our commitment to engage , entertain and inform if our 50,000 employees aren’t beacons for good professional and ethical behavior . That is why we must admit to and confront our mistakes , and establish rigorous and vigorous pro cedures to put things right . Over the past few months , we have been the subject of much attention over allegations that a number of our journalists in Britain had broken the law by hacking personal telephone voicemails . There is simply no excuse for unethical behavior . There are real issues that we must confront and are confronting . We could not be taking this more seriously or listening as intently to criticisms . We closed The News of the World at financial cost to our company and to the many fine and innocent journalists who played by the rules and broke no law — the only thing they broke were great stories . They launched important campaigns , uncovered political scandals and held the powerful to account . Still , closing the News of the World was the right thing to do . If we hold others to account , then we must hold ourselves to account , which is why we have devoted so many resources to get to the heart of this matter — and why I am personally determined to right whatever wrong has been committed and to ensure that it does not happen again anywhere in our company . Our directors , too , are playing an important role . They have been engaged in our processes and progress , and I thank them for their diligence during a period in which the company has
been the subject of both understandable scrutiny and unfair attack . I am particularly grateful to two of our directors , both former deputy attorneys general of the United States . Joel Klein has hired and supervised many of the world’s finest lawyers here and in Britain , while Viet Dinh , on behalf of the Independent directors , has watched carefully over the process on a daily basis , and kept his colleagues fully informed and engaged . These two men have earned over their long careers reputations for integrity , effectiveness , and the highest ethics . I am proud they are the ones leading the effort for News Corp to put things right . The matter will continue to unfold in coming months , with the British legal system determining t he timing of events . We are cooperating very closely with London’s Metropolitan Police and the cases are in their thorough and competent hands . They have rightly asked us to refrain from comments or interviews for fear of prejudicing these cases and to ensure that justice is done . What I can say is that the phase of sudden shock and surprise has passed , and that due process is well underway . While this issue has taken a significant amount of my time as well as our executives , the great majority of our employees have been getting on with building our business and increasing our profitability . We really do have a remarkable platform for future growth . Your support has enabled us to develop the world’s greatest content company at a time when the value of content is increasingly appreciated and appreciating . So we will continue to build , aggressively and ethically . Obviously , there are great challenges ahead , but even greater opportunities . Behind the headline initiatives , such as the production of Avatar , the building of a revolutionary , and profitable , educational division , and the launching of a purely digital original newspaper , The Daily , there is the outstanding but steady growth of our world – class franchises . The Wall Street Journal , now the leading national newspaper in the US , has not only shown month – after – month , quarter – after – quarter increases in circulation revenue — it is recording double digit growth in advertising revenue , while its main competitor is in decline . And the Journal is increasingly a digital platform , with a global monthly digital audience of more than 50 million lucrative readers , stretching across borders and languages . Much the same can be said for the Times , Sunday Times and Sun in Britain , as well as our fine papers in Australia , all of which are developing digital personalities , on the web and on mobile devices , to complement their traditional print businesses . Today , our most important growth driver and our fastest growin g business segment is our group of news and entertainment Cable channels . In Fiscal 2011 , our Cable channels accounted for more than half of the Company’s total adjusted segment operating income . In film and television , Fox News and the FBC network continue to increase their long – term leadership and revenue , leaving the competition far behind , and launching programs that are creative and remunerative . Other cable channels , such as Fx , are vaulting in viewership building flourishing franchises . Great programmes and films , and more and ever better ones , are our insurance for the future . Fox International Channels , 350 in number , in 50 languages , and reaching more than one billion people , has emerged as an extremely successful division , one which has been able to capitalize not only on digital trends , but also on the growing power of globalization , which is itself creating remarkable opportunities for us around the world . BSkyB now has ten million homes as subscribers , Sky in Italy has just passed the five million mark , Sky in Germany has made significant strides this year , and TataSky grown to 4.5 million in India .
These are only a few of our world – leading franchises and give a sense of the opportunities that await us — and they are eloquent evidence of the truly remarkable journey that we have taken together and of the profitable path ahead . Visibility into advertising levels for 2012 is uncertain , although advance bookings are holding very steady and our mix of businesses gives us a firm foundation for short and long – term growth . Our broad , diverse group of businesses across the globe is extremely strong , and we have no intention of resting on our laurels . Our mission is to keep increasing choice for all , whether in news , entertainment or education , which in turn assures greater shareholder value . We are clearly in great shape to prosper in the coming years and I look forward to sharing that prosperity with you . So , with that , let’s get on with the meeting agenda .