Mayne upstages players in Rupert drama

Mid-town Manhattan's Hudson theatre is a long way from Adelaide, but the theatrics of News Corp's annual meeting were again provided by Stephen Mayne, who had to take a longer flight to annoy Rupert Murdoch this year. The move to America doesn't seem to have excited the shareholders too much, with only 30 or so turning up for tea and sympathy with Rupert.

They were outnumbered by reporters and staff members. In fact, they were almost outnumbered by the board, a row of men in suits.

Mr Mayne should have found a soul mate in the eccentric Evelyn Davis, who is famous for giving American CEOs a hard time at annual meetings. But she did not appear amused about being upstaged by Mr Mayne.

While Ms Davis got a few laughs with her pronouncements that she knew more than anyone in the room about Washington and her insistence on addressing Rupert Murdoch as if he was a bright but slightly naughty nephew, she appeared a crackpot next to Mr Mayne, who drilled the board about the poison pill, conflicts of interest, the independence of so-called independent directors, and the calculations of executive bonuses.

Mr Mayne and Mr Murdoch sparred over whether the 15 per cent no vote against the re-election of four directors, and a 30 per cent no vote to increase the fees of non-executive directors, was a protest against denying shareholders a say on the poison pill.

Mr Murdoch claimed that there was no outcry about the extension of the poison pill, saying it had only been raised once in numerous discussions with shareholders.

Mr Murdoch agreed with Ms Davis when she complained about the number of questions Mr Mayne was allowed to ask. Ms Davis vainly tried to regain the initiative, saying: "I am the queen of the corporate jungle. Nobody upstages me."

She added that at least she knew when to stop asking questions.

But Mr Mayne even got Mr Murdoch to reveal a bit about the workings of the family trust that controls his shareholding in the company, saying that he would have to seek the agreement of his adult children if he wanted to sell - an unlikely prospect.

Mr Murdoch appeared to run out of patience when Mr Mayne asked about Lachlan Murdoch's departure. Lachlan, who was photographed arm in arm with his father the previous day, was on the stage but stayed silent, and quickly disappeared after the meeting.

Copyright © 2024 The Mayne Report. All rights reserved

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