Whither Murdoch Empire?

[Jacob]

More revelations in the Murdoch phone hacking scandal: Police covering up evidence, lying to ministers and judges, knowledge of bribery reaching up into the highest echelons of the company.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/feb/27/police-cover-up-phone-hacking-leveson

Someone suggested that once the money trail becomes more clear in the UK, the US anti-corruption and foreign bribery laws will kick in and Murdoch's American holdings will be in jeopardy too.

So, languish, where do you think it will end?

[Sheilbh]

The big issue is if it has any effect in the US.  If it doesn't cause problems there then it'll pass over here too.  If his American holdings are under threat then I've no doubt Murdoch would destroy his British empire to preserve his position in the US.

[Razgovory]

Haven't paid much attention to it.  Mostly because I'd feel guilty for deriving pleasure in seeing a prime mover in the conservative noise machine derailed.

[DontSayBanana]

The big issue is if it has any effect in the US.  If it doesn't cause problems there then it'll pass over here too.  If his American holdings are under threat then I've no doubt Murdoch would destroy his British empire to preserve his position in the US.

If it reaches that point, I think preserving his position in the US is going to be a non-option.  As mentioned, we've got several laws that take a dim view to companies reaping the benefits here from acting in a corrupt manner overseas.

[Sheilbh]

If it reaches that point, I think preserving his position in the US is going to be a non-option.  As mentioned, we've got several laws that take a dim view to companies reaping the benefits here from acting in a corrupt manner overseas.

And the Murdochs have millions and an empire to defend.  You may be right but I wouldn't bet against him.

[Sheilbh]

This seems big:

James Murdoch resigns as News International chairman
Murdoch remains News Corporation chief operating officer and keeps responsibility for BSkyB as he moves to New York

Dan Sabbagh
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 29 February 2012 14.49 GMT

James Murdoch has stepped down as chairman of News International, the publisher of the Sun and Times, in an internal News Corporation reshuffle.

Wednesday's move sees him give up responsibility for News Corp's crisis-hit British newspaper operation as he completes his relocation to New York.

The man once seen as his father Rupert Murdoch's automatic heir at the top of News Corp retains existing responsibility for "global television", overseeing busineses including the company's 39% stake in BSkyB, Sky-branded pay-TV companies in Europe and Star in Asia – and only gains the opportunity to become involved with the company's US Fox television operation as he settles in across the Atlantic.

James Murdoch's managerial move away from News International explains why he was not in London to help oversee the launch of the Sun's Sunday edition, which has been personally supervised by his father.

Friends say he has been eager to leave the UK and drop responsibility for the Wapping newspapers for several months as the phone hacking scandal enveloped the London outpost of the organisation.

He has faced repeated questions over what he knew about the extent of phone-hacking at the News of the World.

Although the hacking is known to have gone on until 2006, before Murdoch arrived, he presided over a period in 2009 and 2010 where News International denied again and again that phone-hacking was more widespread than the activities of a "single rogue" reporter.

News International, meanwhile, becomes the only newspaper unit of the company not to report directly to a man named Murdoch.

News International chief executive Tom Mockridge will now report to Chase Carey, the US television executive who is the company's number two, its president and chief operating officer.

By contrast those who run Dow Jones, the Wall Street Journal publisher, and News Ltd, the Australian newspaper operation, both report directly to Rupert Murdoch.

Carey told a Deutsche Bank media conference in the US on Tuesday that News Corp executives have talked about selling off or separating the company's newspaper operations from the rest of the business, according to Bloomberg.

In response to a question at the conference, Carey said there certainly was an awareness that News Corp would trade at higher multiples if it did not own newspapers.

The company derives more than 70% of its operating income from its TV businesses, which include the Fox TV network and production arm, and cable channels such as FX and Fox News. Publishing accounts for less than a fifth of annual operating income and is "significantly down year-on-year on profitability", according to Carey.

James Murdoch took up the job overseeing News International in December 2007, when he joined News Corp from BSkyB, where he had been chief executive. At the time he also became the chief executive for News Corporation Europe and Asia, responsibilities which he retains.

The company said in a statement: "News Corporation today announced that, following his relocation to the company's headquarters in New York, James Murdoch, deputy chief operating officer, has relinquished his position as executive chairman of News International, its UK publishing unit.

"Tom Mockridge, chief executive officer of News International, will continue in his post and will report to News Corporation president and COO Chase Carey."

Rupert Murdoch praised his son's four year stewardship of News Corp's international businesses from London.

"We are all grateful for James' leadership at News International and across Europe and Asia, where he has made lasting contributions to the group's strategy in paid digital content and its efforts to improve and enhance governance programs," he said.

"He has demonstrated leadership and continues to create great value at Star TV, Sky Deutschland, Sky Italia, and BSkyB. Now that he has moved to New York, James will continue to assume a variety of essential corporate leadership mandates, with particular focus on important pay-TV businesses and broader international operations."

James Murdoch said: "I deeply appreciate the dedication of my many talented colleagues at News International who work tirelessly to inform the public and am confident about the tremendous momentum we have achieved under the leadership of my father and Tom Mockridge.

"With the successful launch of the Sun on Sunday and new business practices in place across all titles, News International is now in a strong position to build on its successes in the future. As deputy chief operating officer, I look forward to expanding my commitment to News Corporation's international television businesses and other key initiatives across the company."

One New York-based media executive said the idea of James Murdoch running any significant part of News Corp's US business was ridiculous.

"There's too much trouble hanging over his head," the executive said. "All this newspaper stuff just seems to get worse by the day. How can anyone expect him to fully commit to anything else?

"And anyone who works with him is going to be wondering how long he's going to be around. It would have been easier to let him go. Looks like Rupert is getting sentimental."

[The Minsky Moment]

The big issue is if it has any effect in the US.  If it doesn't cause problems there then it'll pass over here too.  If his American holdings are under threat then I've no doubt Murdoch would destroy his British empire to preserve his position in the US.

Hmm i suspect it will be the other way around as the US authorities are likely to defer to the Metropolitan Police investigation in the UK before tossing out FCPA indictments.  The FCPA investigations appear to have commenced about 8 months ago when the initial hacking stories broke.

[Sheilbh]

Hmm i suspect it will be the other way around as the US authorities are likely to defer to the Metropolitan Police investigation in the UK before tossing out FCPA indictments.  The FCPA investigations appear to have commenced about 8 months ago when the initial hacking stories broke.

I expect you're right.  What I mean is if there's a few senior prosecutions over here I think Murdoch would try and tough it out.  If there's any sense that it's starting to threaten his operations in the US then I'd expect him to close the UK wing down, try and cauterise the problem and get a deal with the DoJ.

[PJL]

Hmm i suspect it will be the other way around as the US authorities are likely to defer to the Metropolitan Police investigation in the UK before tossing out FCPA indictments.  The FCPA investigations appear to have commenced about 8 months ago when the initial hacking stories broke.

I expect you're right.  What I mean is if there's a few senior prosecutions over here I think Murdoch would try and tough it out.  If there's any sense that it's starting to threaten his operations in the US then I'd expect him to close the UK wing down, try and cauterise the problem and get a deal with the DoJ.

More likely that he'll sell out to MBOs rather than close down operations altogether.

[Josquius]

People are too stupid and care too little. The Sun will continue to sell as long as it promises boobs and sensationalism.
A few of their writers will be thrown under a legal bus but the paper will continue and Murdoch will cackle happily away.

[garbon]

People are too stupid and care too little. The Sun will continue to sell as long as it promises boobs and sensationalism.
A few of their writers will be thrown under a legal bus but the paper will continue and Murdoch will cackle happily away.

Yes, the only reason people might not care is because they are too stupid.

[MadImmortalMan]

More peons taking falls...

Two Murdoch journalists reportedly attempt suicide as pressure mounts
By Reuters and msnbc.com staff

Two senior journalists working for Rupert Murdoch's News International have apparently attempted suicide as pressure mounts at the scandal-hit publisher of the now-defunct News of the World.

The suicide attempts follow weeks of intense scrutiny of the role of The Sun, another Murdoch paper, in the phone-hacking scandal and police bribery case.

The man and the woman, who were reportedly involved in separate incidents, were rescued in time, a friend of one of them said, according to a report Tuesday on stuff.co.nz.

"It was not a suicide pact," the friend told the New Zealand-based news organization. "The attempts were not simultaneous and there is no suggestion of a pact."

Eleven current and former staff of the Sun, Britain's best-selling daily tabloid, have been arrested this year on suspicion of bribing police or civil servants for tip-offs, Reuters reported Tuesday.

Their arrests have come as a result of information provided to the police by the Management and Standards Committee, or MSC, a body set up by parent company News Corp to facilitate police investigations and liaise with the courts.

The work of the MSC, which was set up to be independent of the conglomerate's British newspaper arm News International, has caused bitterness among staff, many of whom feel betrayed by an employer they have loyally served.

"People think that they've been thrown under a bus," one News International employee told Reuters. "They're beyond angry - there's an utter sense of betrayal, not just with the organization but with a general lynch-mob hysteria."

News International, the European arm of Murdoch's empire, is facing multiple criminal investigations and civil court cases as well as a public inquiry into press standards after long-simmering criticism of its practices came to a head last July.

Politicians once close to Murdoch, including Prime Minister David Cameron, turned their backs on him and demanded answers after the Guardian newspaper revealed the News of the World had hacked the phone of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler.

The two journalists who attempted suicide have been checked into the hospital, according to a report Tuesday by the Financial Times. The newspaper reported that their care is being paid for by News International. 

The London Evening Standard reported that other News International journalists are "terribly stressed and many are on the edge." The company has reportedly offered psychiatric help to any journalist who wants help. 

[jimmy olsen]

Not looking good for his Empire in Britain.

http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/01/11481154-rupert-murdoch-not-a-fit-person-to-run-major-firm-uk-lawmakers-say?lite

Updated at 7:14 a.m. ET: LONDON -- Rupert Murdoch is not "a fit person" to run a major international corporation, a multi-party committee of British lawmakers said Monday.

In a devastating report into the tabloid phone-hacking scandal, the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee accused the News Corp chief of exhibiting "willful blindness" towards the wrongdoing in his organisation.

The report says News Corp's British subsidiary, News International, misled Parliament about the scale of phone hacking at its News of the World weekly tabloid.

'Huge failings'
It also said the company had deliberately ignored evidence of malpractice, covered up evidence and frustrated efforts to expose wrongdoing.

"News International and its parent News Corporation exhibited willful blindness, for which the companies' directors - including Rupert Murdoch and James Murdoch - should ultimately take responsibility," it said.

"Their instinct throughout, until it was too late, was to cover up rather than seek out wrongdoing and discipline the perpetrators," the lawmakers said in an 85 page report.

"Even if there were a 'don't ask, don't tell' culture at News International, the whole affair demonstrates huge failings of corporate governance," they concluded.

The committee agreed unanimously that three key News International executives misled Parliament by offering false accounts of their knowledge of the extent of phone hacking at the News of The World -- a rare and serious censure which usually demands a personal apology to legislators.   

However, the report's conclusions about Murdoch's fitness to govern were not unanimous. MPs from the ruling Conservative party issued a dissenting opinion, and described the characterization of Murdoch as unfit to run a company as "over the top".

The report, published on the House of Commons website in PDF format, stated: "On the basis of the facts and evidence before the Committee, we conclude that, if at all relevant times Rupert Murdoch did not take steps to become fully informed about phone-hacking, he turned a blind eye and exhibited wilful blindness to what was going on in his companies and publications.

"This culture, we consider, permeated from the top throughout the organisation and speaks volumes about the lack of effective corporate governance at News Corporation and News International. We conclude, therefore, that Rupert Murdoch is not a fit person to exercise the stewardship of a major international company."

As well as damning News Corp, the report will also embarrass Prime Minister David Cameron, who acknowledged again on Monday that politicians were in thrall to the Murdochs and whose Conservative Party faces local elections across much of Britain on Thursday.

Cameron was summoned to parliament on Monday to explain why he would not investigate emails revealing that a ministerial aide had assured News Corp its bid for BSkyB would be approved.

He insisted there was no need to refer the case to his independent adviser on ministerial conduct, noting the emails had been handed to a judicial inquiry into press ethics, but did concede that politicians had been too keen to please the media.

"I am perfectly prepared to admit that the relationship between politicians and media proprietors got too close," he said during a rowdy debate, blaming politicians of both main parties for the failing.

Committee Chairman John Whittingdale opened its hearing of James and Rupert Murdoch last year saying his committee found it inconceivable that only one reporter at the News of the World, the weekly tabloid owned by News Corp's UK subsidiary, weekly had been involved in the hacking scandal.

"In the last few weeks, not only has evidence emerged that I think has vindicated the Committee's conclusion, but abuses have been revealed that have angered and shocked the entire country," he said. "It is also clear that Parliament has been misled."

Audiences around the world witnessed the 81-year-old Rupert Murdoch - whose newspapers could make or break British politicians - saying it was the most humble day of his life and saw him hit with a foam pie at the height of the scandal last July.

He answered many of the questions in monosyllables, sometimes flummoxing the committee members, while James Murdoch infuriated them at times with lengthy management-speak.

Media regulator Ofcom will take the report's findings into consideration in its continuing assessment of whether BSkyB's owners and directors are "fit and proper" persons to hold a broadcast license.

A previous critical report by the committee came before last July's revelation that people working for the News of the World had hacked into the voicemail of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler, which fuelled public anger and led to more revelations.

Reuters, the Associated Press and msnbc.com's Alastair Jamieson contributed to this report.

[Martinus]

I'm enjoying this witch-hunt immensely. 

[jimmy olsen]

Excellent!

http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/15/11712098-ex-murdoch-editor-brooks-five-others-to-be-charged-over-phone-hacking-scandal?lite

Ex-Murdoch editor Brooks, five others, to be charged over phone-hacking scandal

By msnbc.com and news services

Updated at 4 a.m. ET: LONDON - Rebekah Brooks, the flame-haired former chief executive of Rupert Murdoch's British newspaper arm, is set to be charged over alleged attempts to conceal evidence of Britain's tabloid phone hacking scandal, prosecutors said.

"I have concluded ... there is sufficient evidence for there to be a realistic prospect of conviction," Alison Levitt, the principal legal adviser to Britain's Directorof Public Prosecutions, said in a statement. 

If convicted, she could face a prison sentence, along with five others charged, including her husband.

The news is a personal blow for Murdoch and also embarrassing for British Prime Minister David Cameron, who was close friends with Brooks and her husband, Charlie Brooks.

Also to be charged were Brooks' race horse trainer husband, her secretary and other staff from News International, including her driver and security officials from the British newspaper arm of Murdoch's News Corp media empire. All were set to answer bail later on Tuesday, at which time they would be officially charged, police said.


Brooks, 43, who quit as News International chief executive in July, faces three separate allegations of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

She and others were accused of conspiring to "permanently ... remove seven boxes of material from the archive of News International" and to "conceal documents, computers and other electronic equipment from officers of the Metropolitan Police Service," according to the CPS.

The criminal charges are the first to be filed since police launched a new inquiry into phone hacking in Jan. 2011. Previously, two people were jailed in 2007 for hacking the phones of members of the royal household.

The offenses were all alleged to have taken place in the frantic days last July when Rupert Murdoch closed down the 168-year-old News of The World amid widespread public disgust over revelations that it had hacked the cell phone of a missing schoolgirl who was later found dead.

Murdoch announced his decision on July 7, 2011. Levitt said thealleged offenses took place between July 6 and July 19.

'Unprecedented posturing'
Minutes before British police announced their decision, Brooks and her husband issued a statement, saying "we deplore this weak and unjust decision."

"After the further unprecedented posturing of the (Crown Prosecution Service) we will respond later today after our return from the police station," the statement added.

Police re-launched an investigation in January last year into claims journalists at the tabloid routinely hacked into the phones of celebrities, politicians and victims of crime to generate front page stories.

They are also investigating whether staff hacked into computers and made illegal payments to public officials including the police to get ahead in their reporting.

More than 160 staff are now working on one of the biggest investigations ever carried out by London police and almost 50 people have been arrested.

Msnbc.com staff, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.