Deborah Turness has been named president of NBC News.

Turness joins the network from ITV News where she served as editor for nine years. The British journalist's appointment has been something of an open secret in media circles in recent weeks.

"I am hugely excited by the opportunities that lie ahead and look forward to working with the talented journalists and technicians who make it one of the great global news operations," Turness said in a statement.

She will become the first woman to head NBC's news operations, but her groundbreaking appointment comes at a difficult time for the division.

In her new post, Turness will be tasked with reversing the "Today" show's ratings slide. The venerable program has lost first place to ABC's "Good Morning America" and has had difficulty moving forward from the decision...

Antoinette Cook Bush has been appointed as the executive vice president and global head of government affairs for Rupert Murdoch's new News Corporation, the company announced on Wednesday.

Bush will take over her new position, based in Washington, D.C., starting June 24. She will report to Robert Thomson, CEO of the new News Corporation.

News Corporation proposed splitting itself into two independently traded businesses last June, one housing its publishing assets, the other boasting its more lucrative film and television businesses. 

Two other executives earlier had been named for the company. Anoushka Healy, the group managing editor for the Times and the Sunday Times in London, was named chief strategy officer, and William Lewis, who joined News Corp. in 2010 to help run the British newspaper group News...

The Onion, America's finest fake news organization, was the latest victim of cyber hacking on Monday when the Syrian Electronic Army took over its Twitter account to tweet a slew of anti-Israel messages.

Some of the tweets read:

"Israel denies forging new alliance with Al Qaeda: 'We were friends all along, so it can't be new' - IDF Spokesperson,"

UN's Ban Ki Moon condemns Syria for being struck by israel: "It was in the way of Jewish missiles"

"We only wish this one was a joke, but this is what we have to live through in #Syria."

Also read:...

The morning after giving her first televised interview with ABC News' Diane Sawyer, accused murderer Amanda Knox stopped by "Good Morning America" on Wednesday to express how grateful she is to have the chance to clear her name.

"I'm so grateful to be here," she told Robin Roberts. "I'm so grateful to have this chance."

Also read: Amanda Knox Acquitted of Murder, Sexual Assault

Knox was convicted by an Italian court for the 2007 murder of her study-abroad roommate, 21-year-old Meredith Kercher, before the case was overturned in 2011 by the Italian Supreme Court, and she was...