Dow Jones CEO to leave when News Corp. steps in

NEW YORK — Richard Zannino will depart as chief executive of Dow Jones & Co., publisher of the Wall Street Journal, after the company completes its sale to Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. next week, Dow Jones announced Thursday.

News Corp. plans to announce today that Zannino will be succeeded by Les Hinton, a longtime newspaper publishing executive at News Corp., and that Robert Thomson, editor of the Murdoch-owned Times of London, will become publisher of the Wall Street Journal, the Journal reported on its website.

A News Corp. spokeswoman declined to comment.

Murdoch’s deal to acquire Dow Jones for $5.6 billion is expected to close shortly after Dow Jones shareholders vote on it Dec. 13.

The $60-a-share price that Murdoch is paying represented a premium of 65% over where Dow Jones’ stock had been trading before his offer became public.

At a time of general contraction in the newspaper industry, Murdoch has said he would invest additional resources in the Journal, expanding its overseas presence, online operations and coverage of Washington.

Zannino became CEO of Dow Jones in early 2006. Under his tenure, Dow Jones reorganized its business units, launched a narrower and redesigned version of the Journal and bought the half of online information service Factiva that it didn’t already own.

In related news, James Murdoch will step down as CEO of cable company British Sky Broadcasting Group and rejoin his father’s News Corp. to head operations in Europe and Asia, two people familiar with the change said Thursday.