Murdoch folds "News of the Screws"

Fond memories of talking with an editor at the NOTW in the 70s who made money on the side writing letters to the editor each week. Took a while for my US J-school brain to get around that one.

 

As this scandal keeps growing, and it becomes apparent that everyone from the Prime Minister, the Prince of Wales, and even the police investigators themselves were all hacked by Murdoch's tappers...shouldn't we begin to wonder if American politicians were also hacked...and would it be out of the question that another division of News International...say, one with the initials FN, be involved as well?

 

American 9/11 victims' families close enough for you?

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2011/07/transatlantic.php?ref=fpblg

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/07/crew_calls_on_congress_to_investigate_news_corp_in.php

According to the U.K.'s Daily Mirror, a former New York City police officer who works as a private investigator claimed that News Of The World reporters contacted him to get phone records of dead victims of September 11 for the days leading up to the attacks. "[The investigator's] presumption was that they wanted the information so they could hack into the ­relevant voicemails, just like it has been shown they have done in the U.K.," a Mirror source said.

 

Blah. The highest I can see this is going is Brooks. Even at 80, Murdoch is a survivor. He thrives on this. I bet he's having the time of his life right now. And in British politics, everything - including the Iraq war - gets swept under the rug, shuffled off to one side, etc etc.

A year from now, I see no changes.

 

I've had the good fortune of meeting Rupert on a few occasions (including once when I crashed daughter Elizabeth's wedding to an African prince, held atop Rupert's indoor pool. But that's another story for another beer...) and I bet you are right. He's having a blast, licking his lips at being connected at the hip with a fiery young gal, and telling Sumner Redstone to eat his heart out.

 

Any chance this spreads to other news outlets?

If folks are selling info, are they going to limit themselves to one customer?

 

To commemorate the occasion ...

http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/satire/hugh-laurie-as-murdoch-stephen.html

 

I'm sure if Fox reports this story ole' Rup will have a (D) next to his name

 

Murdoch drops bid for BskyB:

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/cutline/news-corp-drops-bid-bskyb-140129329.html

 

That's the big story in all of this. When these hacking stories first appeared, the execs should have realized the BskyB bid would be in jeopardy.

 

MSNBC is reporting that Rebekah Brooks has been arrested.

 

So does the Guardian.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/blog/2011/jul/17/phone-hacking-live-blog

Oh, it also says to break up Murdoch's holdings...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/jul/16/rupert-murdoch-ed-miliband-phone-hacking