News Corporation Announces Additional Senior Appointments for Proposed Publishing Company

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--News Corporation (NASDAQ: NWS, NWSA; ASX: NWS, NWSLV) today announced two senior management appointments for the New News Corporation, the proposed global publishing entity to be formed as part of the Company’s intended separation into two independent, publicly traded companies.

“Anoushka is a fully certified organizational genius and master of motivation. Will has an innate understanding of audiences and how their needs are changing. He is as diligent as he is digital.”

Anoushka Healy, currently Group Managing Editor of The Times and Sunday Times in London, has been named Chief Strategy Officer and will help shape the new News Corporation and fashion its strategic direction. She will also be responsible for sharing best practices across the organization, implementing new projects and supporting talent around the company’s businesses.

William Lewis has been appointed Chief Creative Officer. He will be responsible for the new company’s creative strategy and will have a central role in developing new commercial opportunities, including product launches, digital initiatives and acquisitions. Mr. Lewis joined News Corporation as Group General Manager of News International in London in September 2010 and became an executive member of News Corporation’s Management and Standards Committee in July 2011.

Both Ms. Healy and Mr. Lewis will be based in New York and report to Robert Thomson, Chief Executive Officer of New News Corporation.

“Will and Anoushka will be at the very heart of the new company, expanding our digital and global reach and building new businesses,” said Mr. Thomson. “Anoushka is a fully certified organizational genius and master of motivation. Will has an innate understanding of audiences and how their needs are changing. He is as diligent as he is digital.”

About Ms. Healy

Anoushka Healy currently serves as Group Managing Editor of The Times and Sunday Times in London, a role she has held since May 2011. Prior to this role, she was Managing Editor for The Times, and has previously served as Assistant Editor for Strategy & Development, working on new product launches and redesigns for the newspaper. Ms. Healy joined The Times in November 2002 as the Editorial Communications Director.

Prior to joining The Times, she was Head of Corporate Communications at the Financial Times for seven years where, among other projects, she worked on the launch of the Weekend FT, the launch of the FT's US edition and the launch of FT.com.

About Mr. Lewis

Since July 2011, Mr. Lewis has been an executive member of News Corporation’s Management and Standards Committee, and he will remain a member of the MSC. He joined News International as Group General Manager in September 2010.

Mr. Lewis was previously Editor-in-Chief of Telegraph Media Group, which he joined in 2005. Under his editorship, the Daily Telegraph was named Newspaper of the Year, and Mr. Lewis named Journalist of the Year, in the British Press Awards following the paper’s role in exposing the parliamentary expenses scandal. Mr. Lewis led the team that designed and created the Daily Telegraph’s acclaimed newsroom, organising the paper’s move from its previous premises.

From 2002 until his move to the Daily Telegraph, Mr. Lewis was business editor of the Sunday Times. He previously worked at the Financial Times in a number of senior roles, including news editor and New York-based mergers and acquisitions correspondent.

News Corporation Separation

On June 28, 2012, News Corporation announced that it intends to pursue the separation of its publishing and its media and entertainment businesses into two distinct publicly traded companies. The global publishing company that would be created through the proposed transaction would consist of the Company’s publishing businesses, its education division and other Australian assets. The global media and entertainment company would consist of the Company’s cable and television assets, filmed entertainment, and direct satellite broadcasting businesses. Following the separation, each company would maintain two classes of common stock: Class A Common and Class B Common Voting Shares. The separation is expected to be completed in approximately one year from the date of announcement. In addition to final approval from the Board of Directors and stockholder approval of certain amendments to the Company’s Restated Certificate of Incorporation, the completion of the separation will be subject to receipt of regulatory approvals, opinions from tax counsel and favorable rulings from certain tax jurisdictions regarding the tax-free nature of the transaction to the Company and to its stockholders, further due diligence as appropriate, the execution of certain agreements relating to the distribution, and the filing and effectiveness of appropriate filings with the SEC. On December 21, 2012, New Newscorp LLC filed an initial Form 10 registration statement and News Corporation filed a preliminary proxy statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with the separation. The Company has also applied for certain regulatory approvals and tax rulings required to enable the separation to be completed as described. There can be no assurances given that the separation of the Company's businesses as described will occur.

About News Corporation

News Corporation (NASDAQ: NWS, NWSA; ASX: NWS, NWSLV) had total assets as of September 30, 2012 of approximately US$60 billion and total annual revenues of approximately US$34 billion. News Corporation is a diversified global media company with operations in six industry segments: cable network programming; filmed entertainment; television; direct broadcast satellite television; publishing; and other. The activities of News Corporation are conducted principally in the United States, Continental Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia, Asia and Latin America.