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establishment and may cost him a multi-billion dollar broadcasting deal.
Murdoch (80) swept into his London headquarters in the front passenger seat of a red Range Rover, holding up the last edition of the best selling newspaper, the News of the World, that he had closed hours earlier in a bid to contain the crisis.
Wearing a white panama-style hat, he ignored reporters massed at the entrance, focusing his attention on the newspaper he bought in 1969 as the cornerstone of a vast media empire. His car sped out of the complex again 15 minutes later but it was not clear what meetings he had planned.
Best known for its lurid headlines exposing misadventures of the rich, royal and famous, the last News of the World said simply “Thank You & Goodbye” over a montage of some of its most celebrated splashes of the past 168 years.
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For admirers it had been a stock feature of lazy Sundays, for critics it had become a symbol of craven irresponsibility in the British media.
“All human life was here,” the News of the World declared.
Murdoch had seemed on the point of clinching approval for a cherished prize, the buyout of broadcaster BSkyB, only last week; but revelations phone-hacking had extended beyond celebrities to relatives of a murdered girl, of victims of 2005 London bomb attacks and of soldiers killed in action stirred broad public anger.
Editor Colin Myler told media massed outside the newspaper’s offices he deeply regretted the newspaper’s closure.
“This is not where we wanted to be and it’s not where we deserve to be, but as a final tribute to 7,5 million readers, this is for you and for the staff, thank you.”
The scandal has raised questions about relations between politicians, including Prime Minister David Cameron – who hired a former editor of the paper as his spin doctor – and media barons such as News Corp chairman and chief executive Murdoch.
It has also brought to light accusations that journalists working for Murdoch and others illegally paid police for informa- tion.
A senior police officer said the London police force had been “very damaged” by its failure to Press an initial investigation into telephone hacking at the News of the World. – Reuters.
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