News Corp's Les Hinton resigns amid phone-hack scandal

Mr Murdoch will apologise for "serious wrongdoings" by the News of the World, in full-page advertisements signed by him, in Britain's main national newspapers on Saturday.Mr Hinton led News International from 1995-2007, when the UK's News of the World was hacking phones.Rebekah Brooks - chief executive of the media group's UK newspaper arm, News International - also quit on Friday.Mr Hinton was chief executive of Dow Jones, publisher of the Wall Street Journal. Mr Murdoch said the resignation brought him "much sadness".Les Hinton, one of the top executives of Rupert Murdoch's embattled News Corporation media empire, has quit.Mr Hinton worked for News Corp for more than half a century after joining Mr Murdoch's business as a cub reporter with the Adelaide News in Australia.In a statement, Mr Hinton said: "I have watched with sorrow from New York as the News of the World story has unfolded.At the Wall Street Journal, news of Mr Hinton's sudden departure was reportedly greeted by gasps from stunned staff.Mr Murdoch shut down the 168-year-old Sunday tabloid last week in response to the phone-hacking scandal, with the loss of 200 jobs."That I was ignorant of what apparently happened is irrelevant and in the circumstances I feel it is proper for me to resign from News Corp, and apologise to those hurt by the actions of the News of the World."