Free Talk Live

Rupert Murdoch has finally bowed to the demands of frustrated shareholders and conceded that News Corporation, the worldwide media empire he constructed, may have to be split in two after the phone-hacking scandal tarnished the reputation of his newspaper division. The move would be the biggest corporate upheaval in the history of the group, over which Murdoch and his family have retained a tight grip since he established it in 1979. Murdoch has for years fought off calls to hive off News Corp's publishing assets – including its scandal-hit UK newspapers – from its film and TV businesses.