News Corp shares (NASDAQ:NWSA) have taken a stumble in the wake of the cell phone hacking scandal of its now-defunct New of the World paper. But, they appear to be on somewhat of rebound – and even got a jump after a protester hit News Corp CEO Rupert Murdoch with white foam at a Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee he testified at on Tuesday.
Observers at CNBC noted the incident could work out as a positive for the embattled company, which is up 5 percent in intraday trading.
“You couldn’t have scripted this any better really,” CNBC host Melissa Lee said. “The attacker came in, didn’t hit Murdoch with the plate, got some foam on his jacket which is why you saw Murdoch without his jacket on after they took that recess. And then Murdoch came in at the end and gave this really heartwarming speech about how Great Britain has given his family all these opportunities and he’s very humble. Once again, saying this is the most humble day of his life as he sits there just having been attacked with his jacket off. And the stock – I don’t think there is a coincidence here, the intraday, with that plate, there was a pop in News Corp shares.”
CNBC’s Carl Quintanilla wondered if in the end, the protester would do News Corp and Murdoch more good than harm.
“Now the discussion will be is the headline tomorrow instead of something about the fiasco or the scandal – is the headline tomorrow ‘Murdoch attacked?’ And to what degree does that make him look like a sympathetic character?” Quintanilla added.
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