MUMBAI: US media conglomerate News Corp chairman, CEO Rupert Murdoch has announced that John Hartigan will step down as News Limited chairman, CEO. He will leave the company on 30 November 2011.

Murdoch said, "John‘s decision will end a distinguished 41 year career with News in which he has given us exemplary service and incredible leadership".

"John was an outstanding reporter, an editor with few peers and has been an inspiring executive, initially as Group Editorial Director and, later, as chief executive for 11 years and chairman and chief executive for the past six.

"Few people have contributed as much as John to the quality of journalism in Australia. He has earned enormous respect among both colleagues and competitors."

Murdoch also praised Hartigan‘s leadership of a long running campaign to defend the public‘s right to know how it is governed and how courts dispense justice.

"Few people have done as much as John to campaign on the public‘s behalf to uphold freedom of speech and freedom of the press in Australia. I thank John for having contributed so much to our company and applaud his great integrity, immense journalistic talent and inspirational leadership".

Hartigan joined the company in Sydney in 1970 as a reporter on The Daily Mirror, and, later, The Daily Telegraph. He went on to work for The Sun in London and the New York Post.

After returning to Australia, Hartigan became Editor of Queensland‘s Sunday Sun, and later the founding Editor of the Brisbane metropolitan daily, The Daily Sun, and a director of Queensland Sun Newspapers.

In 1986 Hartigan was appointed Editor of The Daily Telegraph, and three years later was promoted to Editor-in-Chief of The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Telegraph. In 1997 Hartigan was appointed Group Editorial Director, the company‘s most senior editorial position responsible for of all of the company‘s newspapers.

He was appointed News Limited CEO in 2000 and Chairman and CEO in 2005.

In recent years Hartigan has delivered numerous speeches on the future of journalism at industry conferences and at the National Press Club. In 2007 he delivered the ABC‘s Andrew Olle Lecture to great acclaim and in 2006 he delivered the Australian National University‘s Reconciliation Lecture, calling for new approaches to solving indigenous disadvantage and the need for better education and employment opportunities for indigenous Australians.

In 2007 Hartigan led the formation of a media coalition "Australia‘s Right to Know" which has successfully campaigned for changes in legislation to improve the openness and transparency of government and the courts.

In 2008 Hartigan joined a small group of journalists to be awarded the Walkley Award for Journalistic Leadership.