Les Hinton
Encyclopedia
Leslie Frank "Les" Hinton (born February 19, 1944) is a British-American journalist and businessman. Hinton, born in the UK, became a United States citizen in 1986. He was appointed CEO of Dow Jones & Company
in December 2007, after its acquisition by Rupert Murdoch
's News Corporation
. Hinton resigned that position on July 15, 2011, a casualty of the unfolding journalistic ethics scandal at a News Corporation subsidiary, News International.
in London, at the time of his July 2011 resignation Hinton had worked for Rupert Murdoch
for more than fifty years as a journalist and executive in Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom. In 1976, he moved from London to New York as a foreign correspondent
for the group's newspapers in Britain and Australia. After several executive positions, he was appointed President of Murdoch Magazines in 1990, two years later becoming President and Chief Executive Officer of News America Publishing, responsible for the company's US publishing operations. In 1993, he was appointed Chairman and CEO of Fox Television Stations, returning to London in 1995 as Executive Chairman of News Corp subsidiary News International
Limited, Britain's largest national newspaper publisher.
In September 2009, Hinton was called to testify before a British parliament
ary committee about the News of the World phone hacking affair
, saying "There was never any evidence delivered to me suggesting that the conduct of Clive Goodman
spread beyond him." Andy Coulson
, the editor of News of the World
, a News International's tabloid later closed, resigned at the time of Goodman's conviction in the affair. According to a later report in The New York Times, Coulson accepted "'ultimate responsibility' for the hacking during his watch." On March 6, 2007, at the time of an earlier parliamentary hearing and soon after Coulson's resignation, Hinton had said "I believe absolutely that Andy did not have knowledge of what was going on" in the affair.
On July 15, 2011, Les Hinton resigned as publisher of The Wall Street Journal
. He ran News International
from 1997 to 2005, during the time which the News International phone hacking scandal took place. Although stating ignorance of the hacking, he took responsibility for News International. When CEO Les Hinton's departure occurred it injected uncertainty into the Dow Jones index as News International
shares slipped down.
On October 12, 2011, Les Hinton is also named in the scandal surrounding the resignation of another Dow Jones Executive, Andrew Langhoff, publisher and CEO of The Wall Street Journal Europe
. According to reports from The Wall Street Journal
itself Langhoff had been involved in pressuring journalists to write favorably about a business partner that was buying massive amounts of newspapers from The Wall Street Journal Europe. A whistleblower alerted Les Hinton, Tod Larssen and Gregory Giangrande early November 2010 about the problem. Yet, according to The Guardian
, Les Hinton failed to act upon receiving the complaints. The whistleblower was made redundant 28 January 2011. Early July 2011 the whistleblower then alerted the US Dow Jones management team, headed by Les Hinton, in the wake of the growing phone hacking scandal in the UK. Hinton resigns 15 July as CEO of Dow Jones & Company
. According to The Wall Street Journal The Guardian started to investigate the matter during the summer of 2011 which caused a panic at Dow Jones headquarters leading up to the resignation of Andrew Langhoff.
and Andy Coulson
invited to the later celebration. They live in a townhouse on Manhattan
's upper east side. Raymond, an advisor to former Prime Minister Gordon Brown
in 2007–2008, and to David Blunkett
before that, wrote briefly for The Daily Telegraph
from New York City.
Dow Jones & Company
Dow Jones & Company is an American publishing and financial information firm.The company was founded in 1882 by three reporters: Charles Dow, Edward Jones, and Charles Bergstresser. Like The New York Times and the Washington Post, the company was in recent years publicly traded but privately...
in December 2007, after its acquisition by Rupert Murdoch
Rupert Murdoch
Keith Rupert Murdoch, AC, KSG is an Australian-American business magnate. He is the founder and Chairman and CEO of , the world's second-largest media conglomerate....
's News Corporation
News Corporation
News Corporation or News Corp. is an American multinational media conglomerate. It is the world's second-largest media conglomerate as of 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009, although the BBC remains the world's largest broadcaster...
. Hinton resigned that position on July 15, 2011, a casualty of the unfolding journalistic ethics scandal at a News Corporation subsidiary, News International.
News Corporation
Except for a few years with United Press InternationalUnited Press International
United Press International is a once-major international news agency, whose newswires, photo, news film and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines and radio and television stations for most of the twentieth century...
in London, at the time of his July 2011 resignation Hinton had worked for Rupert Murdoch
Rupert Murdoch
Keith Rupert Murdoch, AC, KSG is an Australian-American business magnate. He is the founder and Chairman and CEO of , the world's second-largest media conglomerate....
for more than fifty years as a journalist and executive in Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom. In 1976, he moved from London to New York as a foreign correspondent
Correspondent
A correspondent or on-the-scene reporter is a journalist or commentator, or more general speaking, an agent who contributes reports to a newspaper, or radio or television news, or another type of company, from a remote, often distant, location. A foreign correspondent is stationed in a foreign...
for the group's newspapers in Britain and Australia. After several executive positions, he was appointed President of Murdoch Magazines in 1990, two years later becoming President and Chief Executive Officer of News America Publishing, responsible for the company's US publishing operations. In 1993, he was appointed Chairman and CEO of Fox Television Stations, returning to London in 1995 as Executive Chairman of News Corp subsidiary News International
News International
News International Ltd is the United Kingdom newspaper publishing division of News Corporation. Until June 2002, it was called News International plc....
Limited, Britain's largest national newspaper publisher.
In September 2009, Hinton was called to testify before a British parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
ary committee about the News of the World phone hacking affair
News of the World phone hacking affair
The News International phone-hacking scandal is an ongoing controversy involving mainly the News of the World but also other British tabloid newspapers published by News International, a subsidiary of News Corporation. Employees of the newspaper were accused of engaging in phone hacking, police...
, saying "There was never any evidence delivered to me suggesting that the conduct of Clive Goodman
Clive Goodman
Clive Goodman is a former royal editor and reporter for the News of the World. He was arrested in August 2006 and jailed in January 2007 for intercepting mobile phone messages involving members of the Royal Household.Goodman initially worked as a journalist on Nigel Dempster's gossip column in the...
spread beyond him." Andy Coulson
Andy Coulson
Andrew Edward Coulson is an English journalist and political strategist.Coulson was the editor of the News of the World from 2003 until his resignation in 2007, following the conviction of one of the newspaper's reporters in relation to illegal phone-hacking.He subsequently joined David Cameron's...
, the editor of News of the World
News of the World
The News of the World was a national red top newspaper published in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the biggest selling English language newspaper in the world, and at closure still had one of the highest English language circulations...
, a News International's tabloid later closed, resigned at the time of Goodman's conviction in the affair. According to a later report in The New York Times, Coulson accepted "'ultimate responsibility' for the hacking during his watch." On March 6, 2007, at the time of an earlier parliamentary hearing and soon after Coulson's resignation, Hinton had said "I believe absolutely that Andy did not have knowledge of what was going on" in the affair.
On July 15, 2011, Les Hinton resigned as publisher of The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
. He ran News International
News International
News International Ltd is the United Kingdom newspaper publishing division of News Corporation. Until June 2002, it was called News International plc....
from 1997 to 2005, during the time which the News International phone hacking scandal took place. Although stating ignorance of the hacking, he took responsibility for News International. When CEO Les Hinton's departure occurred it injected uncertainty into the Dow Jones index as News International
News International
News International Ltd is the United Kingdom newspaper publishing division of News Corporation. Until June 2002, it was called News International plc....
shares slipped down.
On October 12, 2011, Les Hinton is also named in the scandal surrounding the resignation of another Dow Jones Executive, Andrew Langhoff, publisher and CEO of The Wall Street Journal Europe
The Wall Street Journal Europe
The Wall Street Journal Europe is a daily English-language newspaper that covers global and regional business news for Europe, the Middle East and Africa...
. According to reports from The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
itself Langhoff had been involved in pressuring journalists to write favorably about a business partner that was buying massive amounts of newspapers from The Wall Street Journal Europe. A whistleblower alerted Les Hinton, Tod Larssen and Gregory Giangrande early November 2010 about the problem. Yet, according to The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, Les Hinton failed to act upon receiving the complaints. The whistleblower was made redundant 28 January 2011. Early July 2011 the whistleblower then alerted the US Dow Jones management team, headed by Les Hinton, in the wake of the growing phone hacking scandal in the UK. Hinton resigns 15 July as CEO of Dow Jones & Company
Dow Jones & Company
Dow Jones & Company is an American publishing and financial information firm.The company was founded in 1882 by three reporters: Charles Dow, Edward Jones, and Charles Bergstresser. Like The New York Times and the Washington Post, the company was in recent years publicly traded but privately...
. According to The Wall Street Journal The Guardian started to investigate the matter during the summer of 2011 which caused a panic at Dow Jones headquarters leading up to the resignation of Andrew Langhoff.
Personal life
Hinton and his long-time partner Kath Raymond married in 2009, with Rebekah WadeRebekah Wade
Rebekah Mary Brooks is a British journalist and former newspaper editor. She was chief executive of News International , having previously served as the youngest editor of a British national newspaper as editor of the News of the World and the first female editor of The Sun...
and Andy Coulson
Andy Coulson
Andrew Edward Coulson is an English journalist and political strategist.Coulson was the editor of the News of the World from 2003 until his resignation in 2007, following the conviction of one of the newspaper's reporters in relation to illegal phone-hacking.He subsequently joined David Cameron's...
invited to the later celebration. They live in a townhouse on Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
's upper east side. Raymond, an advisor to former Prime Minister Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
in 2007–2008, and to David Blunkett
David Blunkett
David Blunkett is a British Labour Party politician and the Member of Parliament for Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough, having represented Sheffield Brightside from 1987 to 2010...
before that, wrote briefly for The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
from New York City.
External links
- Profile at Dow Jones & CompanyDow Jones & CompanyDow Jones & Company is an American publishing and financial information firm.The company was founded in 1882 by three reporters: Charles Dow, Edward Jones, and Charles Bergstresser. Like The New York Times and the Washington Post, the company was in recent years publicly traded but privately...
and WSJ CEO Council - Les Hinton collected news and commentary at The IndependentThe IndependentThe Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
- Les Hinton tells newspapers – 'Beware geeks bearing gifts', Laura Oliver, Journalism.co.uk, 2 December 2009
- Audit Notes: Les Hinton, Translating Murdoch Jr., UK Tabloid Culture, Ryan Chittum, Colombia Journalism Review, 8 July 2011
- Les Hinton, Resignation letter Les Hinton to The Wall Street Journal staff, 15 July 2011
- Les Hinton, Resignation letter Les Hinton to Rupert Murdoch, 15 July 2011