Dow Jones & Co. (DJ) announced Thursday that CEO Richard Zannino will depart following the completion of the company's purchase by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. (NWS), which is expected to be approved by shareholders next Thursday. Though a successor to Zannino has not officially been named, Les Hinton is expected to succeed him. Hinton, an old hand at News Corp., is currently executive chairman of its News International division. 
Times of London Editor Robert Thomson, who is credited with converting that paper from broadsheet to tabloid format, and lobbied on Murdoch's behalf during the Dow Jones negotiations, is expected to replace L. Gordon Crovitz as publisher of the Wall Street Journal. Zannino had been CEO since 2006 and shepherded the company toward its acquisition. "It was only a matter of time -- if you spend $5 billion buying something, you want to put your own man in to run the thing," said Steven Yount, president of the Dow Jones union. "I certainly hope that there is an unshakeable commitment to the excellence and quality of journalism that the Journal's been known for for hundreds of years." In related news, Rupert Murdoch's 34-year-old son James, currently CEO of BSkyB (BSY), is expected to be put in charge of all News Corp.'s media operations in Europe and Asia -- a position that puts him in line to succeed his father. James will take Rupert's place as non-executive chairman of BSkyB.
Additional Reading: Murdoch Plans to Make WSJ.com Free
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