The Stain on News Corp

[Commentary] Rupert Murdoch’s woes, like the blood Lady Macbeth sees, will not go away. His positive quarterly News Corp. earnings report may create the illusion that they will, as does news that his newspapers may not have been the only ones in England that hacked into private phones.The stain will persist.

Each arrested News of the World reporter or editor is a candidate for a plea bargain that might involve sharing the secrets of how many editors knew of phone hacking. Voices in England and the US will continue to proclaim that Rupert Murdoch’s company does not pass the character test required of those who hold TV licenses. Investigations will probe whether Murdoch’s company violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act when his News of the World paid police for information, and whether News Corp. hacked into the systems of advertising or marketing competitors in the U.S., and then purchased their silence with extravagant bounties. Murdoch's ability to frighten politicians and enlist them as his glee club has dissipated.