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
[UPDATE] FOX Mole's Laptop Confiscated By Manhattan DA's Office, Murdoch Mutters "Exxxxcellent"
[UPDATE BELOW] In the end, it wasn't Rupert Murdoch's knife-wielding Oz monkeys who came for FOX "mole" Joe Muto, but the Manhattan DA's office. Muto tweeted that he was "search warranted" by a "very polite" crew that took his computer and other personal affects. According to Muto, the warrant indicated, "Fox News is apparently accusing me of grand larceny, amongst other things."
[UPDATE x 2] FOX News: We Found Gawker's Mole
[SECOND UPDATE BELOW] This week, Gawker premiered a new feature giving readers an inside look at News Corp's corporate culture at 1211 Avenue of the Americas via their "newest hire," a person who works for Fox News. Yesterday he/she supplied b-roll footage of Mitt Romney discussing how his wife's Austrian warmbloods were harder to ride than his Missouri fox trotter, and today the Mole wrote of how "oddly low rent" and "soul-crushing" the building is. We suspected that Roger Ailes' goons with Alex Mack-morphing abilities would find the mole, but not this quickly: a Fox News spokesman tells Mediaite, "We've found the person and we're exploring legal options at this time."
Occupy Albany Protesters Decry News Corp's Tax-Dodging During NY Post's Cuomo Interview
Protesters made themselves heard on the New York Post's State News editor's radio interview with Governor Cuomo in Albany today. Fredric Dicker's paychecks happen to be cut by a little company called News Corp, which paid an effective state tax rate of 3.7% instead of the standard 7.1%, along with an effective federal rate of 21% rather than 35%. Apparently you could hear the demonstrators shouting in the background on Dicker's program, but State Troopers prevented them from presenting him with a check for all those unpaid taxes.
NY Post Extra Stupid About Greg Kelly Rape Coverage Criticism
Thursday's blatant character assassination of Greg Kelly's rape accuser masquerading as a newspaper cover can either be explained by the New York Post's profound commitment to misogyny, the NYPD, News Corp, or all of the above. But the paper's response to criticisms of their coverage reflects a piercing hatred for basic literacy and is a new low, even for the Limbo of tabloids.
State Kills $27 Million Schools Deal With News Corp
Two months ago, it was revealed that the NY State Department of Education had awarded a $27 million, no-bid contract to a company owned by News Corp., which seemed especially convenient because former NYC School Chancellor Joel Klein had joined News Corp. to head its growing student technology division. Alas, the lurid phone hacking scandal at a News Corp. tabloid has made the Empire State powers that be rethink things, as State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli announced last week the state was dropping the deal.
Ex-NYC Top Cop Bill Bratton Is Probably Too American To Fix Scotland Yard
As Britain continues to deal with fallout from the News Corp. phone hacking scandal, which includes illegally accessing celebrities, murder victims' and others' voicemails as well as bribing police officers, Prime Minister David Cameron apparently wants a famous New York City law-and-order type to clean house... but former NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton's American citizenship is standing in the way!
Former NYC Schools Chancellor In Charge Of Cleaning Up News Corp Scandal
When Joel "Numbnuts" Klein left his position as New York City's school chancellor last fall to become a senior VP at News Corp's reeducation eduction division, he "seemed happier than ever before." According to the Times, Klein received $4.5 million in compensation this year, gets a monthly car allowance of $1,200, and Rupert Murdoch promised to spend up to $1 billion on the newly formed educational wing of News Corp to fund Klein's visions. But thanks to the phone-hacking scandal that is tearing through Murdoch's media empire, Klein is charged with conducting an internal investigation of News Corp. "I am trying to get as far away from this as I can," he reportedly told a friend.
Justice Dept. Could Issue Subpoenas In News Corp. Probe
Last week, the U.S. Department of Justice said it would look into allegations about News Corp.'s business practices, in light of the disgusting phone-hacking scandal that a News Corp. tabloid was involved in (complete with payoffs to Scotland Yard). Now the News Corp.-owned Wall Street Journal says the Justice Department is preparing subpoenas!
The Day In News Corp: Lawyering Up, Cartoonish Ploy For Sympathy
News Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch may be two days removed from his testimony (and the pie throwing incident) in front of a Parliamentary hearing about the phone-hacking scandal at his now-closed British tabloid, The News of the World, and, sure, maybe people just think he's really clueless and old and sounds like Crocodile Dundee... but that hasn't stopped News Corp. from hiring criminal lawyers here in the U.S.!
Who Remembers Murdoch's Mr. Magoo Performance After Seeing Wendi's Smackdown?
Sure, Rupert Murdoch may have seemed out of it and doddering during his testimony about the phone-hacking scandal that threatens his British (and possibly American) media empire, but maybe that's the point. His biographer Michael Wolff made the point last night on Countdown With Keith Olbermann that Murdoch looked frail and one couldn't help but feel some sympathy for this 80-year-old billionaire media mogul whose, as one critic complained, "Bill O’Reilly-ed, Glenn Beck-ed Fox News has done a great deal to coarsen the political discourse."
Rupert Murdoch's Wife Also Shoved Shaving Cream Pie In Attacker's Face
If there's one person to somehow look good from the disgusting News Corp. phone hacking scandal, it's Rupert Murdoch's third wife Wendi Deng Murdoch. She jumped to defend her 80-year-old husband who was the target of a shaving cream pie-holding prankster Jonathan May-Bowles (aka Jonnie Marbles), apparently slapping the man and even turning the tables on him. The Guardian reports, "Deng lunged while startled police officers were barely off the back foot. While a roomful of male advisers also appeared stunned, she scooped up the paper plate fired at her husband and launched it like a grenade back at May-Bowles, a comedian, with an amazing right hook. Such was the force of her shot that the foam directed at her husband's face landed on a police officer and on her own blue-painted toes."
Photos, Video: Someone Hit Rupert Murdoch With Shaving Cream Pie During Hearing
Just now, while James Murdoch was testifying, a man walked up to Rupert Murdoch and attempted to hit the 80-year-old media mogul in the face with what a CNN producer believes is a "shaving foam pie." Murdoch's 42-year-old wife Wendi jumped up and smacked the attacker on the head while son James stood up. While Rupert Murdoch's face was not facing the camera, the CNN producer says the pie did in fact hit Murdoch.
Rupert Murdoch: "This Is The Most Humble Day Of My Life"
News Corp. CEO and chairman Rupert Murdoch and his son James Murdoch are testifying in front of a British Parliamentary committee about the phone-hacking scandal his now-closed tabloid, The News of the World, is embroiled in. While James Murdoch, who is the deputy COO of News Corp. and chairman of the company's British newspaper division, News International, was testifying, his 80-year-old father interrupted him, "I wanted to say one sentence: This is the most humble day of my life."
Rumors Fly About News Corp Replacing Rupert Murdoch With Mustachioed Exec
Media mogul Rupert Murdoch is set to discuss the phone-hacking scandal that has rocked British media, government, and law enforcement in front of Parliament tomorrow (Tuesday, June 19), and the hearing, scheduled for 9:30 a.m. EST, will be streamed on BBC.com (which will also air pre-hearing analysis), and CNN, Fox and MSNBC will also air the hearing. Others who will be testifying: Murdoch's son James, who heads News International, News Corp.'s British newspaper business; former News International CEO and News of the World editor Rebekah Brooks, who was arrested yesterday; and just-resigned Metropolitan Police chief Sir Paul Stephenson. And all this comes as Bloomberg News reports, "News Corp. is considering elevating Chief Operating Officer Chase Carey to chief executive officer to succeed Rupert Murdoch, people with knowledge of the situation said."
Video: Violent Clip From The Untouchables Was Used To "Rally" News Corp Sales Force
One of the Wall Street Journal's favorite hypocrites, The NY Times, has an interesting column from media reporter David Carr that brought up News Corp.'s newspaper insert business, News America, and how the company has "has paid out about $655 million to make embarrassing charges of corporate espionage and anticompetitive behavior go away." In particular, Carr recalled a detail from a Forbes profile of former News America head—and current NY Post publisher—Paul Carlucci and how he would motivate the sales team:
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."
Wall Street Journal To Non-Murdoch Media: You're All A Bunch Of Hypocrites
Today the typically ludicrous Wall Street Journal editorial page stands up for its boss Rupert Murdoch, whose empire is sinking into an ever-expanding scandal morass. (Over the weekend, the Times summed it up best with the incredible headline: "Taint From Tabloids Rubs Off on a Cozy Scotland Yard"—"Taint" since discreetly changed to "Stain"). The Journal's editorials and op-eds are renowned for their cartoonish "THE BUMS LOST!" ranting, and today's entry is particularly roaring, as the paper frames the News Corp. scandal as an assault on "press freedom in general":
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.
Murdoch Favorite Rebekah Brooks Arrested By British Police
Rebekah Brooks, who resigned leading from News Corp's British newspaper division on Friday, was arrested today over her role in the company's growing phone-hacking scandal. And the British authorities arrested her "by appointment" at a London police station.
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."
Dow Jones CEO Resigns, Murdoch Apologizes To Family Of Murder Victim
Les Hinton, the chairman of Dow Jones and one of Rupert Murdoch's most trusted confidants, stepped down today amid the burgeoning hacking scandal at News Corp that has extinguished the British tabloid News of The World, forced News Corp's British subsidiary president (and Murdoch favorite) Rebekah Brooks out of office, and spurred an FBI investigation of the company. As the Guardian reports, Brooks's resignation "removed a human shield" from Hinton, as he held her former position at the time when some of the more appalling activity occurred. The Dow Jones publishes The Wall Street Journal, and the paper has walked a fine line in covering the scandal, with the Times's Bill Keller telling the Daily Beast, "I think the Journal has played it pretty much down the middle."
Murdoch Favorite Rebekah Brooks Resigns Amid Hacking Scandal Saga
Rebekah Brooks, the chief executive of News Corp.'s British newspaper division, resigned today as the phone hacking scandal fallout continues to boil in the United Kingdom and has started to simmer in the U.S. The departure of Brooks, who was once the editor of now-closed tabloid The News of the World whose reporters allegedly hacked the phones of celebrities, politicians, murder victims, dead soldiers, and, possibly, 9/11 victims, as well as bribed police, is called a "another stunning blow to [Rupert] Murdoch’s once all-powerful empire" by the NY Times. And Times competitor, the News Corp.-owned Wall Street Journal, reports, "Ms. Brooks's resignation is the latest development in what has been a dramatic series of events."
FBI Investigating News Corp. Over Hacking Scandal
The increasingly sensational scandal enveloping media mogul Rupert Murdoch just made it all the way to the F.B.I. The AP reports, and Murdoch's Wall Street Journal confirms, that the feds have launched an investigation into whether The News of the World tried to hack into the phones of 9/11 victims. The probe was launched this morning, a day after Rep. Peter King joined Democrats in calling for an investigation. Jim McCaffrey, a firefighter who lost his brother-in-law Orio Palmer, also a firefighter, on 9/11, told The Guardian, "If these claims are found to be true I think it's a terrible revelation and very, very upsetting to 9/11 family members."
Rep. Peter King Joins "WTF, News Corp" Fray Over Phone-Hacking Scandal
News Corp.'s British phone hacking scandal, which has revolted Britain and the world with revelations that tabloid reporters hacked the phones of murder victims, and possibly 9/11 victims, as well as politicians and celebrities, is now at the government "contempt" stage: Because chairman Rupert Murdoch and his son, James, who heads the conglomerate's British newspaper division, have refused to come before Parliament to answer lawmakers' questions, the media executives have now been issued summons to appear or else they will be held in contempt. And now American lawmakers, including Republican Congressman Peter King, wants the FBI to investigate!
Rupert Murdoch Drops British Sky Broadcasting Takeover Bid, Scandal Deepens
Following the closure of News Corp-owned British tabloid News of the World after revelations that the paper hacked the cell phones of 9/11 victims, murder victims and dead soldiers, Rupert Murdoch has withdrawn the company's $12 billion bid to take over British Sky Broadcasting, the largest satellite broadcasting company in Britain. In a statement, News Corp's deputy chairman said, "We believed that the proposed acquisition of BSkyB by News Corporation would benefit both companies but it has come clear that it is too difficult to progress in this climate."
Video: Daily Show's Jon Stewart Skewers News Of The World As Murdoch's Stock Nosedives
The phone hacking scandal that shut down media mogul Rupert Murdoch's tabloid The News of the World gave The Daily Show plenty of material last night—and this rotten fruit is hanging so low that Jon Stewart and John Oliver didn't have to do much more than simply go through the revolting facts of the case, as Stewart pretended to throw up in his mouth. Some jokes just write themselves, and if you haven't been following along with this yet, the segment serves as a pretty thorough primer on the whole sordid mess:
9/11 Victims' Phone Numbers Allegedly Sought By Murdoch's Defunct Tabloid
The UK tabloid The Mirror is obviously thrilled at the scandal that sunk Rupert Murdoch's century-and-a-half old weekly The News of the World, which folded over the weekend after it was revealed, among other things, that employees of the paper allegedly hacked the phone of a missing teenager who was later found murdered. Now The Mirror is reporting that the phone hacking scandal nearly jumped the pond when reporters at The News of the World allegedly tried to buy the personal information of 9/11 victims who died in the attack on the World Trade Center.
As Phone Hacking Scandal Grows, Rupert Murdoch Will Shut Down Embattled British Tabloid
A phone hacking scandal—which has mushroomed from hacking celebrities' cell phones to revelations that murder victims' and dead soliders' phone were also hacked and cops were paid off—at a Rupert Murdoch-owned British tabloid, News of the World, has proven so troubling that the weekly will shut down after Sunday. News International announced the impending closure today, and chairman James Murdoch, Rupert's son, said the proceeds from the final issue would go to good causes.
Cronyism: Ex-Schools Chancellor Lands $27 Million No Bid State DOE Contract For News Corp.
It isn't just the New York City Department of Education that has some suspicious and very expensive contracts, the New York State Department of Education has some curious deals of its own. Like the $27 million no-bid contract the Daily News reports on which was recently given to a News Corp. company that just happens to be overseen by former city Schools Chancellor Joel Klein. Nothing fishy about that at all!


