It's been almost a month since Rebekah Brooks, the former chief executive of News International, announced her resignation. A small firestorm of criticism over the discovery last week that she was still on the company's payroll forced News Corp. to explain her employment status this week. News International told The Guardian on Monday, "The process for her to resign as a director of the Company is currently underway and will be filed at Companies House shortly." By Tuesday the files surfaced online and suggest that one reason it's taken so long is that Rebekah Brooks held a head-scratching 22 directorships at News Corp.

It's no wonder Brooks was Rupert Murdoch's "priority" when the News Corp. phone hacking scandal hit a breaking point in July. Brooks held appointments with divisions ranging from News International Printers Assets to the Times Newspapers. This makes sense as the many newspaper-related businesses would fall under the umbrella of News Corp.'s British newspaper division. However, as Roy Greenslade wonders, "Brooks remains a director of four News International-related companies and the Press Association … None of which proves, of course, that she is not still being paid by News International and/or News Corporation. So let's ask it once again: is she, or isn't she, on the company payroll? And while we're at it - is Les Hinton, ex Dow Jones chief, still on the payroll too?"

Greenslade probably won't get an answer any time soon. As a company spokesperson announced when the speculation started, "News International declines to comment on the financial arrangements of any individual."

Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments. You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire.
Adam Clark Estes