News Corporation (NWSA) announced the exit of Lex Fenwick, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Dow Jones & Company, alongside reviewing the latter’s institutional plans. Fenwick joined the company in Feb 2012, prior to which he served Bloomberg LP for 25 years.
Robert Thomson, the CEO of News Corp., also announced that William Lewis will replace Fenwick as interim CEO of Dow Jones. In the meantime, the lookout for a permanent CEO will be underway.
Lewis, who is also the chief creative officer of News Corp., joined the company in 2010 as Group General Manager at News International. As a Creative Officer, he was appointed mainly to bring in new businesses, keep an eye at acquisitions and boost the company’s digital endeavors.
Lewis also worked with the Telegraph Media Group as Editor-in-Chief where he made an effort to establish a digitalized newsroom and initiated web-first publishing. Moreover, he worked with The Sunday Times and the Financial Times as Business and Global News Editor respectively.
As part of the institutional strategy review, News Corp. plans to bring about changes which would enhance customers’ value, by adding flexibility to its range of products and improving the DJX. DJX, an institutional product was launched last year and has been in beta testing since then.
News Corp. is a diversified media and information services conglomerate that split from its parent company Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc. (FOXA) formerly named News Corporation) in June 2013. The company is well positioned to grab opportunities generated from technology sharing across geographies and businesses and plans to concentrate on pursuing integrated strategies and take advantage of the transition from print to digital.
This NY-based company mainly derives revenues from subscriptions, copy circulations, licensing and affiliate fees, direct sales, advertising and sponsorships and thereby manages to hedge against economic cycles. However, its advertising segment is highly susceptible to the economic conditions owing to which advertising revenue fell across its News and Information Services sector in the first quarter of fiscal 2014. This was due to soft economic scenario in Australia and a drop in advertising revenue in Dow Jones and News UK
News Corp. currently holds a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). Other better-ranked stocks in the media sector include DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. (DWA) and Cumulus Media Inc. (CMLS) , both holding a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
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