News Corp: Murdoch daughter will not join board

Rupert Murdoch's daughter Elisabeth will not join the board of directors at her father's scandal-hit media empire as planned, News Corporation has said.Officials said Elisabeth, 42, the owner of the television production firm Shine Group -- which News Corp. acquired earlier this year for £415 million -- had felt it would be "inappropriate" to join the board.The companies announced in February at the time of the purchase that the younger Murdoch would join the News Corp. board, but that was before the media dynasty became embroiled in a massive phone hacking scandal in Britain.The chairman of the board's nominating committee, Viet Dinh, said Friday that "Elisabeth Murdoch suggested to the independent directors some weeks ago that she felt it would be inappropriate to include her nomination to the board of News Corp." as had been announced by her father.The decision met with agreement by the directors, Dinh said in a statement."Both Elisabeth and the board hope this decision reaffirms that News Corp. aspires to the highest standards of corporate governance and will continue to act in the best interests of all stakeholders," he added.News Corp is in the middle of a firefight in Britain where it has closed its top-selling Sunday tabloid the News of the World over the scandal that saw Murdoch and his son James grilled last month by members of Parliament.The controversy led Murdoch to abandon his bid for British pay TV giant BSkyB, and the 80-year-old is also facing an FBI probe and calls for an inquiry in the United States over allegations his reporters targeted the phones of 9/11 victims.Elisabeth's younger brother James is widely considered the heir apparent to the Murdoch dynasty.In March he was named News Corp.'s deputy chief operating officer, in a move that put him a step closer to potentially taking over from his father.