By Lukas I. Alpert
Rebekah Brooks, the former News Corp executive who resigned in
2011 amid the phone-hacking scandal at the now-defunct U.K. tabloid
the News of the World, is close to finalizing a deal to return to
the company, people familiar with the matter said.
The details of her exact role were still being discussed and no
contract has been signed, but Ms. Brooks could end up in an
executive position overseeing digital initiatives, the people said.
The 46-year-old would likely be based in the U.K., where she
formerly ran News International, the unit that oversaw the News of
the World, one of the people said.
Ms. Brooks's role would include overseeing Storyful, an
Ireland-based social news agency News Corp purchased in late 2013
for $25 million, but she would have wider responsibilities, one of
the people said. Storyful's current chief executive, Rahul Chopra,
would remain in that role, the person said.
In June 2013, News Corp split into two public companies. The
company that holds the publishing assets, including the British
newspaper group and The Wall Street Journal, took the News Corp
name, while 21st Century Fox houses the entertainment assets.
Ms. Brooks resigned during the scandal that prompted the company
to shut down the News of the World and resulted in prosecutions and
convictions of several journalists in the U.K. News Corp and 21st
Century Fox also paid out a combined $551 million in settlements
and legal fees through last June.
Ms. Brooks herself was acquitted of phone hacking and other
charges last summer. She had been spotted repeatedly in News Corp
headquarters in New York in the fall, at which time a company
spokesman said she was seeking employment in the U.S., including at
News Corp.
Former News of the World Editor Andy Coulson, who was British
Prime Minister David Cameron's communications director before the
scandal erupted, was convicted last summer of conspiring to
intercept voice mails and sentenced to 18 months in prison. He was
released after serving five months and faces retrial later this
year on charges the jury failed to reach a verdict on in the
earlier trial.
Access Investor Kit for 21st Century Fox, Inc.
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US90130A1016
Access Investor Kit for 21st Century Fox, Inc.
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US90130A2006
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires