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(Adds Uber CEO not likely to attend FII conference)
By Imani Moise and Saeed Azhar
NEW YORK/DUBAI Oct 11 (Reuters) - Media companies are pulling out of a Saudi investment conference because of growing outrage over the disappearance of a prominent Saudi journalist in Turkey.
Economist Editor-In-Chief Zanny Minton Beddoes will not participate in the Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh, spokeswoman Lauren Hackett said in an email.
Andrew Ross Sorkin, a CNBC anchor and New York Times business journalist, tweeted that he was not attending the conference, saying he was "terribly distressed by the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and reports of his murder."
Pressure has mounted on Saudi Arabia since Khashoggi, a critic of Saudi policies, went missing. He was last seen entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2.
The New York Times Co has also decided to pull out of the event as a media sponsor, spokeswoman Eileen Murphy said.
The Financial Times said in a statement that it was reviewing its involvement as a media partner.
Uber Technologies Inc Chief Executive Officer Dara Khosrowshahi said in a statement he won't attend the FII conference in Riyadh unless substantially different set of facts emerge.
Viacom Inc CEO Bob Bakish, who was slated to speak at the conference, has decided to not attend the event, company spokesman Justin Dini said.
Other media companies slated to appear at the conference include CNN and Bloomberg, according to the event's website.
The disappearance of Khashoggi, a U.S. resident who wrote columns for the Washington Post, has cast a shadow over the three-day conference known as "Davos in the desert," which is scheduled to begin on Oct. 23. The Post is owned by Amazon.com Inc founder and Chief Executive Jeff Bezos.
The event attracted some of the world's business elite including Wall Street's top bosses and executives from multinational media, tech and financial services companies.
Turkish officials have said Khashoggi was murdered inside the consulate where he went to get documents for his planned marriage. Riyadh has said the claims are baseless.
JPMorgan Chase & Co CEO Jamie Dimon is scheduled to speak, as is Mastercard Inc CEO Ajay Banga. Representatives for both companies did not respond to requests for comment.
Another billionaire, Steve Case, one of the founders of AOL, also decided to distance himself from Saudi Arabia, saying he would no longer attend the event.
"In light of recent events, I have decided to put my plans on hold, pending further information regarding Jamal Khashoggi." Case tweeted https://twitter.com/SteveCase/status/1050527146991648768.