Gotcha! The Sun sinks Murdoch

[Commentary] News International, the British subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, is at the center of the bribery scandal in the UK.

A furor about voicemail interceptions has already forced the closure of the best-selling News of the World. This has merged into an even more damaging investigation into illegal payments to police officers and civil servants. The reckoning for Murdoch has been brutal. A year ago the British outpost of the mighty News Corp empire was unassailable. Politicians of all stripes and seniority doffed their caps in deference to Murdoch’s power and ruthlessness. News Corp was close to securing full control of the highly profitable British Sky Broadcasting. Now, all looks close to ruin.

Investigators at The Sun are talking about “serious suspected criminality over a sustained period.” The swashbuckling style of News International was rooted in an age when proprietors told politicians what to do, journalists did what they liked, and police officers were on cash retainers. Those days have passed. So has Murdoch’s dominion.