Rupert Murdoch testifies, says phone hacking is 'lazy' journalism

Media baron Rupert Murdoch scoffed at suggestions that he wields undue political influence in Britain, called critics of tabloids "elitist" and dismissed phone hacking as "a lazy way" for reporters to do their jobs.

In a London courtroom, the 81-year-old tycoon insisted that he tried "very hard to set an example of ethical behavior," despite the fact that dozens of journalists at his British newspapers have been arrested in wide-ranging investigations into illegal news-gathering practices, including bribing police. Murdoch spoke under oath at a judicial inquiry into media ethics that was set up because of the phone-hacking scandal that has engulfed his giant News Corp. and shaken the British political establishment. Even as he sat in the witness box, testimony from his son James was causing a political ruckus. A special advisor to the government minister in charge of the arts and media resigned because of revelations that he had passed sensitive information to James Murdoch's lobbyist on News Corp.'s controversial bid to take over British Sky Broadcasting.