How bad has the News Corp.'s British phone-tapping scandal gotten? So bad that earlier today a group of British lawmakers issued a report that called Rupert Murdoch unfit to lead his empire. "We conclude, therefore, that Rupert Murdoch is not a fit person to exercise the stewardship of a major international company," the report from Parliament's Culture, Media and Sport committee reads. Ouch!
Murdoch Unfit To Lead His Empire, Say UK Parliament Officials
News Corp Phone Hacking Whistleblower Found Dead In Apartment
Former News of the World reporter and News Corp whistleblower Sean Hoare was found dead at his home earlier today. In an investigation last year of the phone-hacking scandal that has engulfed News Corp, Hoare told the New York Times that Prime Minister David Cameron's aide and former editor of the News of the World, Andy Coulson, "was fully aware of the hacking" that was going on at the tabloid. The Guardian reports that the police are stating that Hoare's death is "being treated as unexplained, but not thought to be suspicious."
Head Of Scotland Yard Resigns As Phone-Hacking Revelations Multiply
The leader of London's Metropolitan Police Services, better known as Scotland Yard, resigned today. Sir Paul Stephenson stated that his job was "in danger of being eclipsed by the ongoing debate by senior offices and the media. And this can never be right." Revelations that the police agency failed to thoroughly investigate the tabloid News of the World for its part in the phone-hacking scandal, and that Scotland Yard was a "revolving door" for News Corp employees, who in some cases paid police officers for confidential information, have deeply tarnished the institution in recent days.
Attorney General Holder Looking Into News Corp, David Cameron Met With Murdoch Execs 26 Times
In the wake of News Corp's phone-hacking scandal that has forced the closure of a British tabloid and the resignations of two of Rupert Murdoch's most trusted deputies, lawmakers in the US have called on authorities to investigate the American wing of the company that owns The New York Post, The Wall Street Journal and FOX Broadcasting Company. Now, according to CNN, US Attorney General Eric Holder says he will look into allegations that the shuttered British paper, News of the World, attempted to hack into 9/11 victim's phones. "There have been members of Congress in the United State who have asked us to investigate those same allegations," Holder told reporters, "And we are progressing in the right regard using the appropriate federal agencies in the United States."
Third Reporter Sues Post Over Racism, Says Dunleavy Used N-Word
Yet another employee is suing the New York Post, accusing the editors and reporters at the tabloid of racist and sexual harassment. You'll recall that former editor Sandra Guzman filed a discrimination lawsuit in November, describing the Post newsroom as a male-dominated frat house run by the crude, misogynistic editor in chief Col Allan. (Among other things, Guzman claims they fired her in retaliation after she complained about a controversial political cartoon.) Weeks later, a black reporter named Austin Fenner filed his own lawsuit expanding on Guzman's allegations, and now another black reporter, Ikimulisa Livingston, has joined his lawsuit. What's new here is that she is actually still employed at the Post, and famous reporter Steve Dunleavy has been targeted for some allegedly racist conduct.
Steve Dunleavy, Longtime Post Columnist, Retires
After over three decades at The Post and a 55-year-long career, right-wing "populist" reporter Steve Dunleavy bowed out today, explaining to readers that "when the bones get a bit creaky, you can't stay at the dance too long...I never spent a single hour at Columbia School of Journalism, except when I gave a lecture to journalism students - and I was about as popular as a fire hydrant at the Westchester dog show...Oh, yeah, I will miss those great cops and firefighters, the nutty judges and politicians and the criminal lawyers who were more colorful than an explosion in a paint factory." Here's video of Dunleavy telling the famous story of slashing his dad's tires to get a scoop.

