Hermes Equity Ownership Services (Hermes EOS) is the latest shareholder advisory service to advise its clients not to support all the members of the News Corp board at the annual meeting on 21 October in Los Angeles.

Hermes EOS, linked to the old BT pension fund, said on Friday it had stepped up its discussions – or "engagement" as it is known in the corporate governance world – with the media company since the phone-hacking allegations.

Explaining Hermes EOS's decision to withhold support from five directors - Rupert Murdoch, James Murdoch, Lachlan Murdoch, Arthur Siskind and Andrew Knight - Jennifer Walmsley, director of Hermes EOS, said:

News Corp has not reacted with sufficient urgency to investor concerns about its board composition and corporate culture. The time is right for the company to appoint an independent chairman to rebuild trust, help correct the governance discount, and ensure that the interests of all investors are properly represented.

Here is a list of the board members. Rupert Murdoch is listed as chairman and chief executive officer – a joint role that is reasonably common in the US but tends to be frowned upon by UK investors.

Other investor bodies and advisory agencies have also made their views known.

• The Local Authority Pension Fund Forum (LAPFF) wants Rupert Murdoch and James Murdoch to be replaced by former British Airways boss Sir Rod Eddington – who already sits on the News Corp board. LAPFF is backing Knight to stay on.

•Pirc, the UK advisory service, is advising a vote against 11 directors, including Rupert, James and Lachlan Murdoch.

• The Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI) also wants Rupert Murdoch to be replaced as chair by someone "genuinely independent". It wants James and his brother Lachlan removed, along with three other directors on the 17-strong board.

• Well-known US advisory firms are also recommending voting against the Murdochs. Glass Lewis, which advises institutions holding $15tn (£9.6tn) worth of investments, has recommended that investors vote against the re-election of James and Lachlan Murdoch.

• Calsters – the California State Teachers Retirement System, one of the largest public sector pension funds in the US – has already voted against 13 directors on the News Corp board, including James Murdoch.

• Institutional Shareholder Services, a major advisory agency for shareholders, has recommended voting against 13 out of the 15 directors on the News Corp board including Rupert, James and Lachlan Murdoch.

Rupert Murdoch controls 39% of the shares so the directors will not be voted off. News Corp, in a proxy filing with US regulators, said:

Certain proxy advisory firms, including ISS's Proxy Advisory Services ("ISS"), have issued reports containing voting recommendations on our director nominees and on the advisory vote on executive compensation that we vehemently disagree with.

News Corp said it had reported a "strong fiscal performance" for 2011 with revenues up 2% to $33.4bn and operating profit up 23% to $4.85bn. It added: