News Corp's digi boss departs ahead of Murdoch's biz split

News Corp's digital chief, Jonathan Miller, has resigned from Rupert Murdoch's media company ahead of its planned split into two "distinct" firms.

Miller had served as chief digital officer since 2009.

The company confirmed he would be leaving his job at the end of September, but added Miller will serve as an outside advisor for the next year as News Corp divorces its publishing biz from the TV and entertainment side of the house. Murdoch, who recently legged it from his troubled newspaper empire, will head up the new entertainment firm.

Here's a canned statement from News Corp:

During his tenure, Mr Miller revamped News Corporation's digital strategy as the company transitioned away from standalone owned-and-operated web properties and refocused on digital content distribution and the monetisation of its existing brands on emerging platforms.

He was instrumental in strengthening News Corporation's relationships within the technology industry and also oversaw a number of key investments in the US and abroad, most recently stakes taken in Roku and Bona Film Group. Mr Miller also represented News Corporation on the Hulu Board of Directors.

Murdoch described Miller as a "visionary" in the digital media world.

He said: "As we prepare for our proposed company separation, I respect Jon's desire to return to an operational, entrepreneurial role with a standalone company. He will be missed and I can't thank him enough for his efforts and many valued contributions."

During his time at News Corp, Miller was instrumental in trying to turn around the fortunes of troubled MySpace, before offloading it at a loss. ®