A lot of loose ends began to come together at News Corp on Friday as Rupert Murdoch shuffled execs ahead of the imminent announcement of the Dow Jones takeover completion and, more importantly his son announced he would stand down as CEO of BSkyB to take on the job of running News Corp’s European and Asian operations.

The implication of Murdoch Jr’s move is vital for the rest of the media industry, particularly in the digital space. It has become increasingly obvious, as James Murdoch has won over his early critics, that he is responsible for his father’s significant moves in the digital media space. In fact in the early days Rupert Murdoch was largely reticent about the web and its impact, but his son’s influence has helped move News Corp well and truly into the digital space.

The digital media industry must beware that News Corp is pushing ahead with its aggressive digital media strategy, the next stage of which will be the announcement of the removal of the WSJ.com payment barrier, and media rivals such as the Financial Times and CNN will need to respond.

At Google’s Zeitgeist conference earlier this year, James Murdoch hinted at his vision of the changing nature of media and the interconnectedness of the growing number of media channels. It might not be the most inspirational speech ever given, but it gives an indication of Murdoch Jr’s appreciation for the digital world and in light of Friday’s moves, indicates this is just the beginning of a major push from News Corp.