Rupert Murdoch's News International (NI) is drawing up plans to sponsor an academy school in a move that is likely to trigger anxiety about the media mogul's influence.

The Observer understands that executives at NI, which owns the Times, the Sun, the Sunday Times and the News of the World (NoW), are actively discussing sponsoring a school in east London, close to the company's headquarters in Wapping.

The idea, which is being spearheaded by Rebekah Brooks, the former editor of the Sun, who is now chief executive of NI, has been under discussion for several months but is still at an early stage, according to sources.

The plan will alarm Murdoch's critics who claim the tycoon's media empire, which spans broadcasting, publishing and internet interests around the world, already wields formidable influence over the UK's political system and society.

Concerns about Murdoch's dominance resurfaced at the last general election when all four of his UK newspapers came out in favour of the Tories, an event that represented a considerable blow to Labour's hopes of clinging to power.

NI is currently under acute scrutiny, battling to deny allegations of widespread phone-hacking by NoW reporters while the paper was under the editorship of Andy Coulson, David Cameron's director of communications.

Coulson and NI deny the allegations. But the former Labour minister, Tom Watson – who led calls for an inquiry to be re-opened into the phone-hacking affair that saw a NoW reporter and a private investigator jailed – said NI's interest in the academies programme would cause further unease about the company's ambitions.

"Some people will say they are not telling people what they should think through their newspaper but teaching our children what to think in our schools," Watson said.

Paul Farrelly, another Labour MP, said: "It would be of considerable concern if the sort of bias we see in the Murdoch press was fed through to our children through the school system."

A spokeswoman for NI declined to comment. However, a source close to the company said the plan represented a "positive and conscious decision for News International to become involved in education".

It is expected that the academy would place a strong emphasis on journalism and multimedia training. The NI source said it would focus on "professionalism in journalism" and its curriculum would reflect a familiar Murdoch mantra for the need to "value content and investment in news".

The source said there was "reluctance" among NI executives to put "too much flesh on the bone" at the moment while they continued to debate how best to proceed with the plan, which would see the company link up with a school in either the London borough of Newham or Tower Hamlets.

Observers may be surprised a Murdoch company is keen to become involved in the UK's education sector. But Murdoch's US company, News Corp, sponsors several schools in New York and Murdoch himself is a supporter of Harlem Village Academies, the high- profile free schools project aimed at children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

NI also sponsors a visiting professorship of broadcast media at Oxford university and runs placement schemes to provide opportunities for undergraduate and postgraduate students to work on its newspapers.

NI's interest in sponsoring an academy will raise questions about the direction of the academies programme begun under Labour but enthusiastically embraced by the Conservative-Lib Dem coalition.

The schools enjoy far greater freedoms than other state schools, including the ability to set their own curriculums and determine the pay and conditions of staff. Unlike most state schools, their funding comes direct from central government, bypassing local education authorities.

However a recent report by the National Audit Office warned: "Sponsors have strong influence on the running of academies, which brings both benefits and risks to value for money."

Former Europe minister Denis MacShane said he was concerned the government was allowing the academies programme to be subjected to big business interests.

"The notion that Rupert Murdoch's values should infect our children is a real horror story," MacShane said. "It shows the extent to which the Conservative party is becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of News International."

There are 203 academies currently operating in England and Wales but the number approved is expected to rise to 400 within the next few months.

Education secretary Michael Gove has written to every school in England inviting them to apply for academy status.

A spokeswoman for the Department for Education was unable to comment last night.