Accel Partners’ Jim Breyer Slated To Join News Corp Board, Perkins To Exit

Jim Breyer, a partner of venture capital firm Accel Partners, has been nominated for election to the board of directors of media conglomerate News Corporation, the company announced this morning.

Breyer will stand for election at News Corp’s annual meeting of stockholders on October 21, 2011 in Los Angeles, California. The company also said that directors Kenneth E. Cowley and Thomas J. Perkins – yes, that would be the founding partner of VC firm and Accel Partners rival Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers – will step down from the board afterwards.

Rupert Murdoch, chairman and CEO of News Corporation, commented on Breyer’s nomination thusly:

“Jim has a remarkable track record in the investment community and his background in media and technology will enable him to make significant contributions to News Corporation’s Board.”

Breyer is a lead investor/director in companies like Facebook, UberMedia, Brightcove, Prosper, Vostu, Legendary Pictures and Etsy. He also sits on the boards of directors of Wal-Mart and Dell.

In April 2011, Forbes published its Midas List of top ten investors and ranked Breyer el numero uno.

His high-profile role at Facebook deserves to be put in the spotlight here, because News Corporation famously acquired once-rival MySpace for $580 million in 2005, only to sell it a few months ago for a reported $35 million.

News Corp is, of course, a massive, diversified and global media company, with operations in a plethora of business segments, including filmed entertainment, television, cable network programming, newspapers, magazines and book publishing.