Kurnit resigns from News Corp venture

The upheaval at the News Corp/MCI online venture came full circle as Scott Kurnit, the man hired to lead the charge, resigned Thursday.

The announcement came only a day after the launch of the iGuide Web site. As reported earlier, MCI shook up things with its decision to pull out of the venture and reduce its stake from 50 percent to 15 percent. This resulted in the dismissal of about 200 employees.

News Corp, according to various reports, is now seeking another equity investor in its iGuide Internet-focused service. Oracle is mentioned as the likely party to join hands with News Corp.

Greg Clark, head of News Corp's technology division, has been named as the acting head of iGuide. Kurnit, who came over from Prodigy Services, is said to be undecided on what he plans to do next. Meanwhile, MCI has struck an alliance with Microsoft and its online service, Microsoft Network.