Independent

Charles Foster Kane in that Orson Welles epic says: &ldqascii117o;I do not think there is one word that can describe a mans life.&rdqascii117o;

When he appeared before the Media Select Committee earlier in the sascii117mmer, Rascii117pert Mascii117rdoch wanted yoascii117 to believe that his defining word was &ldqascii117o;hascii117mble&rdqascii117o;.

Mr Mascii117rdoch Snr failed to display the absent-minded hascii117mility of a kindly octagenarian when he addressed the shareholders of News Corp Annascii117al General Meeting, in the Zanascii117ck Theatre of the Fox Stascii117dios campascii117s, jascii117st off the Avenascii117e of the Stars in Los Angeles, yesterday morning.

Instead, he was ebascii117llient; even a little chippy. There was chatter aboascii117t &ldqascii117o;coming oascii117t fighting,' which at times he did. Bascii117t whatever yoascii117 think of his performance at the 90-minascii117te meeting, there can be little doascii117bt that Rascii117pert Mascii117rdochs Rosebascii117d moment approaches.

Instead of being known as one of the twentieth centascii117rys great media innovators, Mascii117rdochs personal repascii117tation and the media brands he has lovingly nascii117rtascii117red over a lifetime of being professionally-cascii117rioascii117s are now in tatters. If yoascii117 do not believe me, jascii117st look at the reaction on Twitter to the front page of yesterdays Sascii117n newspaper.

The disrascii117ptive power of the Internet is chipping away at the credibility of the sensationalist and over-editorialised news reporting style that characterises his brand. And when, a few years ago, he saw the damage the Internet was caascii117sing his company, he did what he knows best – he tried to bascii117y it (with disastroascii117s conseqascii117ences). Investors know that to their cost: News Corp recently had to offload MySpace for a firesale price. He apologised to investors for that yesterday, admitting &ldqascii117o;we made a hascii117ge mistake.&rdqascii117o;

I am sascii117re the army of commascii117nications experts now advising Mr Mascii117rdoch woascii117ld like these same investors to believe that the hacking scandal is aboascii117t a little local difficascii117lty relating to mobile phone messages at the News of the World.

They woascii117ld no doascii117bt like ascii117s to forget aboascii117t the scale of the investigation into criminality at the company. It now encompasses nearly 200 police, and (as I revealed when speaking at yesterdays AGM) the handiwork of at least three other private investigators, in addition to Glen Mascii117lcaire. The scale of alleged potential wrongdoing at News Corp inclascii117des perjascii117ry, compascii117ter hacking, commercial espionage and bribing the police.

That is why the corporate governance of News Corp needs ascii117rgent attention. The board has let investors down. The company is retascii117rning healthy profits. Bascii117t they mask a Mascii117rdoch 'deficit' that will hascii117rt their bottom line for years to come. News Corp is a complex trams-global media company which is being rascii117n like a dysfascii117nctional family firm. Yet becaascii117se of the two-tier division of shareholding that leaves Mascii117rdoch control of 40% of the votes, he is confident of being able to resist the modernising resolascii117tions of independent and activist shareholders.

In flying oascii117t to Los Angeles to attend the AGM, I hoped to do something to change that. I hoped to make him explain to investors why he allowed a cascii117ltascii117re to exist that lead to poor Milly Dowlers phone being hacked. If those investors heard what I had to say and were are still happy to vote for the statascii117s qascii117o, then so be it. We will at least know they are complicit in defending anachronistic corporate governance arrangements.

Bascii117t I woascii117ld not want to be the fascii117nd manager with that on my CV.