Pressure builds on Murdochs as shareholders intend sending strong message

A growing number of News Corp shareholders with voting rights are contemplating putting a strong message across to chief executive Rupert Murdoch by voting against several long-standing board members including his sons James and Lachlan.

With the annual general meeting scheduled for Friday, holders of News Corp B stock including normally compliant supporters of Murdoch and his family, are giving a close look to  recommendations of proxy advisory groups ISS and Glass Lewis to vote out as many as 13 of the media conglomerate's current 15 directors.

Glass Lewis has called on clients to withhold their votes for six directors including James and Lachlan Murdoch as also other News Corp insiders David Devoe, chief financial officer, and Arthur Siskind, a senior adviser to Murdoch.

The proxy advisory groups' comments are expected to play an important role the decision of many shareholders. The turn of events comes in the wake of high profile and damaging fallout from the phone hacking scandal at News Corp's now defunct UK paper News of the World.

Besides The Sun in the UK, the scandal has rocked the parent of Fox TV, The Wall Street Journal and raised questions over the leadership of Rupert Murdoch, 80 founder of News Corp. Further, it has also undermined a plan aimed at securing the succession of one of his children.

In the wake of the tumultuous events of  the last few months, this year's shareholder meeting is being more carefully stage-managed than in recent years. It would allow only  a strictly limited number of shareholders to attend at the meeting at the Zanuck Theatre on the Fox Studios lot in Hollywood by using News Corp-provided transportation.