Story highlights Wall Street Journal: News Corp. board agrees to split company

Journal is owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.

TV, film assets and the publishing wing to be separate entities

The board of News Corp. has agreed to split the conglomerate into two pieces, with one company encompassing its television and film assets and the other holding its publishing entities, according to The Wall Street Journal, which is owned by News Corp.

The split is expected to be formally announced Thursday, a person familiar with the situation told the Journal.

The move would separate the 20th Century Fox film studio, Fox broadcast network and Fox News Channel from newspapers and book publishing, according to The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, in which the proposal was first reported.

News Corp.'s publishing unit includes newspapers such as The Times of London and The New York Post. Its book publishing assets include HarperCollins.

News Corp. is controlled by media magnate Rupert Murdoch. He has been grappling in recent months with criminal investigations into his company over allegations of hacking into people's phones and improper collusion with British police. The scandal prompted News Corp. to shut down its venerable old British tabloid News of the World last year.

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A report last month from a British Parliament committee said that Murdoch was not a "fit person to exercise the stewardship of a major international company."

News Corp. said Wednesday night it would have no comment on The Wall Street Journal's report.