CEO Rupert Murdoch: News Corp. Can't Only Be Profitable, But Must Also Be 'Principled'

NEW YORK -- News Corp. chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch opened the conglomerate's annual shareholder meeting Friday by saying that the company is focusing on balancing a focus on profits and ethics in the wake of the phone hacking scandal.

Highlighting increasing money from what it called News Corp.'s "digital treasure droves" and financial growth elsewhere. he said "we can't only be a profitable company." News Corp. must also be "a principled company," he said.
 
The company "simply can't" engage, entertain and inform if there is no good "professional and ethical behavior," Murdoch said, adding his company must acknowledge its mistakes and put them right.

Saying that "some of our journalists in Britain" messed up in the scandal, he highlighted that "there is simply no excuse for such unethical behavior."

News Corp. is confronting its failures and putting "many resources to get to the heart of this matter," he said, adding that he was "personally committed" to righting the wrongs, so that they can never happen again anywhere in the company.

Murdoch then said the company's board has held talks with a shareholder group that has proposed a split between the chairman and CEO roles, even though the company opposes the idea. Board member Viet Dinh explained that the board feels Murdoch knows the company and its opportunities best and is therefore "best suited" to lead the company.