Murdoch quits boards of News Corp. subsidiaries News Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Rupert Murdoch has quit the boards of several company subsidiaries as part of preparations for the coming split of the media giant into two companies, News Corp. said. The boards include that of News International, the holding company of News Corp.'s U.K. newspapers, said a person familiar with the situation. Other boards are in the United States, Australia and India. "Last week, Mr. Murdoch stepped down from a number of boards, many of them small subsidiary boards, both in the U.K. and U.S. This is nothing more than a corporate housecleaning exercise prior to the Company split," a spokesman said in an emailed statement. News Corp. disclosed plans late last month to separate its entertainment businesses from its publishing operations. Mr. Murdoch will remain chairman of both companies as well as CEO of the entertainment company, which makes up the bulk of the existing company. News Corp. hasn't said who will be CEO of the publishing company, whose businesses will include The Wall Street Journal as well as the company's U.K. and Australian newspapers.