Les Hinton said Friday he is resigning as chief executive of Dow Jones, the latest development in the phone-hacking scandal that already put Rupert Murdoch's News of the World tabloid out of business.
The resignation makes Hinton the second News Corp. (NWSA, Fortune 500) executive to step down Friday. Rebekah Brooks stepped down as CEO of News International, the corporate parent of News of the World, earlier in the day.
Hinton's decision wasn't necessarily a shock. Before heading up Dow Jones, Hinton preceded Brooks as the executive chairman of News International during the years News of the World was allegedly hacking into voicemails.
Hinton announced his departure in a staff memo, saying it is "a deeply, deeply sad day for me." In a separate letter to Murdoch, he apologized for being "ignorant of" the misconduct at News of the World.
"The pain caused to innocent people is unimaginable," said Hinton. "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 apologize to those hurt by the actions of the News of the World."
He added that he had believed the "rotten element at News of the World had been eliminated" by the time he left News International to go to Dow Jones.
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