Former Fleet Street journalist Anthea Disney has moved up another rung in the Rupert Murdoch empire and been appointed executive chairman of Gemstar TV Guide International Inc, a Murdoch affiliate.
Her appointment is seen as an indication of the media mogul’s intention to build up his magazine interests in the US and to become more involved in the US television industry.
Disney, worked for several years on the Daily Mail in London.
She crossed the Atlantic in the Seventies to take over at the helm of the Daily Mail bureau in New York and subsequently joined TV Guide as its editor-in-chief.
Disney was soon promoted to chief executive-a post she held until the company merged with Gemstar.
More recently she has held the position of executive vice-president at News Corp, a position she will continue to hold.
Disney’s appointment appears to confirm reports that Murdoch is planning several new magazine ventures in the US, including the launch next year of a TV magazine aimed at “young women TV viewers”.
It could, confirms Disney, be the first of several new TV magazines.
By Jeffrey Blyth in New York
Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog