Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. has announced that it will close British tabloid News of the World in response to a firestorm of scandals involving intercepting the voice mails of celebrities and crime victims. The announcement came Thursday after calls for investigation into the phone hacks by both the British public and members of Parliment. There is speculation that News of the World staffers and News Corp. executives may face criminal charges.
The scandal actually began 2 years ago when it was discovered that NotW editors had paid a private investigator to hack into voice mail boxes of celebrities and staff for the royal family. However, new revelations over the last week have reignited the scandal. It is now believed that NotW staffers hacked into the mobile phones of a teen murder victim, victims of the 7/7 attacks, and the families of soldiers killed in Afghanistan and Iraq.
News Corps’. Rebakah Brooks (pictured above) claimed that she did not approve of and was not involved in the hacks, and Rupert Murdoch has apologized for the behavior of his employees.
The scandal comes at a bad time for Murdoch, who is seeking approval from the British government to take over British Sky Broadcasting Group a satellite broadcasting company in the UK. Authorities have already delayed the decision due to tens of thousand complaint emails received over the past few days. News Corp. also owns the US based Fox Network, including Fox News and Fox Business News
