The intent of the independent director is to counter-balance the presumed (and actual) potential self-interest of executive Directors and ensure that all shareholder interests are dominant.

In the Murdoch case, because of the power of the Chairman/CEO/dominant shareholder, this appears not to be the case. Therefore, with News Corp, whether the directors are independent or executive is somewhat moot.

The ONLY way to ensure that a corporation is focussed on shareholder objectives is to firstly, establish the corporation's shareholders' metrics on value, benefit, growth and risk; and secondly, to have those metrics and the corporation's alignment with them independently certified.

The role then of the independent director is not so much to protect shareholder interests, because that will be done by establishing, publishing and certifying the corporation's objectives. Rather, the independent director's role will be to provide independent oversight on the processes of the corporation.