Dow Jones CEO resigns before Murdoch era

NEW YORK, Dec. 6 (UPI) -- Richard Zannino, chief executive officer of Dow Jones & Co., resigned Thursday, one week before Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. takes over.

The resignation was expected to be the first in a series of executive departures from Dow Jones and highlight a dramatic change about to sweep through the company, the Wall Street Journal, published by Dow Jones, said.

News Corp's $5 billion acquisition of the company is expected to be approved by Dow Jones shareholders at a meeting next Thursday, ending more than a century of ownership by the Bancroft family.