Rupert Murdoch’s son, James, announced Thursday that U.K. tabloid The News of the World, which sparked a firestorm of controversy by hacking the cellphones of 13-year-old murder victim Milly Dowler and families of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, will be closed down after it publishes its final edition this weekend.
The paper’s hacking scandal deleteriously affected the stock price of News Corp., leading many to believe that Murdoch sacrificed the 168-year-old tabloid to protect his media empire and diffuse concerns surrounding his attempted $12 billion takeover of satellite broadcaster BSkyB.
“Wrongdoers turned a good newsroom bad and this was not fully understood or adequately pursued. [We] failed to get to the bottom of repeated wrongdoing that occurred without conscience or legitimate purpose,” James Murdoch said in a statement.
“[The News of the World and News International] wrongly maintained that these issues were confined to one reporter. We have now voluntarily given evidence to the police that I believe will prove that this was untrue and those who acted wrongly will have to face the consequences.”
Rebekah Brooks, the current chief executive of News International, was the editor of Britain’s highest-selling Sunday paper when staff members used unlawful means to interfere with the investigation into Dowler’s murder.
Reporters and editors have expressed outrage over the fact that Brooks will retain her current post, verbally attacking the beleaguered head of News Corp. over losing their jobs. Ousted journalists displayed a “lynch mob mentality” when Brooks and her closest allies announced the paper’s closure on the newsroom floor.
The paper’s hacking scandal deleteriously affected the stock price of News Corp., leading many to believe that Murdoch sacrificed the 168-year-old tabloid to protect his media empire and diffuse concerns surrounding his attempted $12 billion takeover of satellite broadcaster BSkyB.
“Wrongdoers turned a good newsroom bad and this was not fully understood or adequately pursued. [We] failed to get to the bottom of repeated wrongdoing that occurred without conscience or legitimate purpose,” James Murdoch said in a statement.
“[The News of the World and News International] wrongly maintained that these issues were confined to one reporter. We have now voluntarily given evidence to the police that I believe will prove that this was untrue and those who acted wrongly will have to face the consequences.”
Reporters and editors have expressed outrage over the fact that Brooks will retain her current post, verbally attacking the beleaguered head of News Corp. over losing their jobs. Ousted journalists displayed a “lynch mob mentality” when Brooks and her closest allies announced the paper’s closure on the newsroom floor.
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