Richard S. Greenfield, media analyst for Pali Research, criticizes that ”streamlining definitely is needed” now that 16 News Corp execs will report to boss Rupert Murdoch and predicts a No. 2 will be hired after the departure of Peter Chernin. (Here, registration required.) “While we believe Rupert Murdoch is intimately engaged in all facets of News Corp’s businesses, taking on the added responsibilities of Mr. Chernin will be challenging.  Even if Murdoch is able to consolidate/streamline the aforementioned reporting structure, we believe the company will need a second-in-command over the course of the next year.”

Greenfield noted that Murdoch in his memo yesterday acknowledged the inefficiencies at News Corp, “from systems that don’t talk to each other, to incentives that struggle to capture the opportunity and aspiration of our total group. These obstacles are obvious to us all. There will be a streamlined management structure between our Los Angeles based business units and the rest of the company.”

Greenfield expects James Murdoch’s role “to expand significantly over time, particularly as the demands on Rupert Murdoch’s time grow post-Chernin.  On a side/related note, Beryl Cook is cited in Mr. Murdoch’s e-mail message as an example of the streamlining.  Interestingly, Ms. Cook worked closely with James Murdoch at both BSkyB and StarTV as head of HR, and moved back to News Corp to take a similar HR role just before James Murdoch did.”

The 16 execs reporting to Murdoch encompass News Corp’s senior executive suite and its operating division heads across the world: CFO David DeVoe, General Counsel Lawrence Jacobs, Global Marketing/Corporate Affairs – Gary Ginsberg, Fox Film – Jim Gianopoulos and Tom Rothman, Fox News/Fox Business Channel/TV Stations – Roger Ailes, Fox Network/Entertainment Cable Networks/RSNs – Tony Vinciquerra, News Corp. Europe/Asia – James Murdoch, Myspace/FIM – Peter Levinsohn, News America Marketing/NY Post – Paul Carlucci, Dow Jones/Wall Street Journal - Les Hinton, Harper Collins – Brian Murray, News Limited – James Hartigan, Government Affairs – Michael Regan, Human Resources – Beryl Cook, Content – Anthea Disney.

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