King Deposed

No publisher ever seemed more secure in his job than Cecil Harmsworth King, the chairman of Britain's International Publishing Corporation. He took charge of Britain's biggest publishing empire in 1951 and ruled it completely; his personality radiated confidence. At 67, he is a strapping 6 ft. 4 in., weighs over 200 Ibs., and combines a corrosive wit with an air of disdain for all the lesser creatures. Few publishers anywhere would have felt sure enough of themselves to say of their leading paper, as King said of the London Daily Mirror: "You can't publish a paper which appeals to people less educated and less intellectual."

Thus it came as a surprise to all but the most In insiders last week when King was suddenly ousted as chairman to be replaced by his longtime protege and deputy chairman, Hugh Cudlipp, 54. King was fired more for his political views than anything else. For the last few months, he has been conducting a bitter, almost one-man campaign designed to remove Harold Wilson as Prime Minister. This reached a climax in a front-page editorial in the Daily Mirror last month. Written and signed by King, it declared that Wilson's government had lost "all credibility, all authority" and had brought Britain to its "greatest financial crisis."

Mortified Labor. As soon as the Mirror's 5,000,000 readers got a glimpse of this diatribe, the pound plummeted to its lowest post-devaluation level, and King was widely criticized by politicians and press alike. Among the most mortified were some of the members of the Mirror group's board of directors who belong to the Labor Party and still support Wilson. Adding to their distress was the fact that King rarely took the trouble to consult them on important matters. Moreover, profits declined somewhat last year, taking some of the gloss off the years of heady expansion under King. Last week, at a secret meeting presided over by Cudlipp, the board voted unanimously to sack the chairman.

King learned of the decision one morning while he was shaving. A letter arrived asking him to resign. "I said certainly not," he recalled on TV as he discussed the episode. "If I do, it will look as if I was caught with my hand in the till." Expecting his refusal, the board then dismissed him outright. He was not exactly penitent. "I think it is interesting," he remarked, "that the Daily Mirror under Mr. Cudlipp will now presumably switch over support to the Labor Party just in time to nail the flag to the mast of the ship as it goes down. I think it is a mistake. He presumably does not." Replied Cudlipp: "The most endearing aspect of Cecil's complex character was always his Irish sense of humor."

Lost in the Jungle. The nephew of the Mirror's founder, Lord Northcliffe, King was long thought to be a major stockholder in the newspaper. In fact, he owns only 45,960 shares of a total of 35,750,000 outstanding. In addition, his wife and two of his sons have 13,905 shares. Together, the family's holding is worth some $130,000 in common stock and less than 1% in preferred stock. King is taking his reversal with his customary insouciance. "I removed my predecessor as chairman, Mr. Bartholomew," he reminded people. "You know what Fleet Street is. It's a bit of a jungle. I mean it's not played like an old-fashioned minuet, is it?"

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.