Press Releases
Owen Van Natta Steps Down as MySpace CEO; Mike Jones and Jason Hirschhorn Elevated to Co-Presidents
Los Angeles, CA, February 10, 2010 – News Corporation today
announced that Owen Van Natta will step down from his position as MySpace
CEO, effective immediately. Mr. Van Natta will be replaced by newly-elevated
co-Presidents Mike Jones and Jason Hirschhorn, who will each report to Jon
Miller, Chairman and CEO of Digital Media for News Corporation. All three
executives joined MySpace in April 2009, with Mr. Jones and Mr. Hirschhorn
previously serving as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Product Officer,
respectively.
“Owen took on an incredible challenge in working to refocus and revitalize
MySpace, and the business has shown very positive signs recently as a result
of his dedicated work,” said Jon Miller, News Corporation’s Chairman and CEO
of Digital Media. “However, in talking to Owen about his priorities both
personally and professionally going forward, we both agreed that it was best
for him to step down at this time. I want to thank Owen for all of his
efforts.”
Mr. Miller continued, “Mike and Jason have demonstrated true leadership in
their operational and product guidance, respectively, and I have the utmost
confidence in both of them to lead MySpace into its next chapter.”
In a joint statement, Mr. Jones and Mr. Hirschhorn noted:
“We joined MySpace last April with very a specific set of goals in mind, and
are anxious to continue working together to make those goals a reality. This
business is now pointed in the right direction, and we have a great team of
employees that will continue to push MySpace closer to its potential as the
place where people go to be discovered and to discover great content.”
Mr. Van Natta commented:
“MySpace is an incredibly unique place and we’ve made real gains in terms of
product focus and user experience. I’m proud of the work we’ve all
accomplished together and look forward to watching its continued growth.”
Prior to his role as MySpace COO, Mr. Jones founded and operated several
online businesses, including Userplane, a leading provider of tools for
online communities such as MySpace. Userplane was acquired in 2006 by AOL,
where Jones subsequently served as a senior vice president and focused on
social media monetization and also pioneered the distribution of widgets and
other technology to Web publishers. He also was founder and CEO of Tsavo
Media, an online content and search network developing next-generation
publishing platforms and technology services.
Since joining MySpace, Mr. Hirschhorn oversaw all aspects of product
development, and previously has led both start-up and established online
businesses. He was president of Sling Media, Inc’s Entertainment Group,
which created consumer-driven applications and services for the Slingbox
device, and was chief digital officer at MTV Networks, where he oversaw the
company’s digital media businesses, products and strategies. Hirschhorn
joined MTV Networks following the acquisition of his company, Mischief New
Media, which provided interactive services to the entertainment industry.
News Corporation (NASDAQ: NWS, NWSA; ASX: NWS, NWSLV) had total assets as of
December 31, 2009 of approximately US$56 billion and total annual revenues
of approximately US$30 billion. News Corporation is a diversified global
media company with operations in eight industry segments: filmed
entertainment; television; cable network programming; direct broadcast
satellite television; integrated marketing services; newspapers and
information services; book publishing; and other. The activities of News
Corporation are conducted principally in the United States, Continental
Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia, Asia and Latin America.
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Dani Dudeck 310-969-7148