LONDON, July 16, 2011 (AFP) -Rupert Murdoch issued a public apology on Saturday for the phone hacking row, as two of his top executives resigned over the crisis that has engulfed his media empire.
The News Corp chief finally abandoned his attempts to protect Rebekah Brooks, former editor of the scandal-hit News of the World, and accepted her resignation as chief executive of his British newspaper unit, News International.
Hours later he was also saying goodbye to Les Hinton, chief executive of Murdoch's Dow Jones unit and a former chairman of News International.
The departure of Hinton and Brooks now leaves exposed Murdoch's son James, chairman of News International and deputy chief operating officer of News Corp.
Both father and son have been summoned, alongside Brooks, to testify before British lawmakers on Tuesday about phone hacking and alleged payments by journalists to police officers.
As the FBI began probing allegations that Murdoch's US employees may have hacked the phones of victims of the September 11 attacks, the 80-year-old media tycoon changed his strategy for dealing with the crisis.
Where he had previously appeared defiant, Murdoch ran full-page adverts in seven national British newspapers on Saturday with the message: “We are sorry”.
It said: “We are sorry for the serious wrongdoing that occurred. We are deeply sorry for the hurt suffered by the individuals affected. We regret not acting faster to sort things out.”
In a further show of contrition, Murdoch met the parents of murdered teenager Milly Dowler, whose phone was allegedly hacked by the News of the World in 2002 --the claim that sparked the crisis and led to the closure of the paper.
But Murdoch, whose papers once helped decide British elections, faced chants of “Shame on you” from protesters.
And the scandal continued to spiral, with the news that British actor Jude Law is suing The Sun over phone hacking in 2005 and 2006, when Brooks was editor, in the first such claim against the Murdoch-owned daily.
News International dismissed the claims as a “deeply cynical and deliberately mischievous attempt to draw The Sun into the phone-hacking issue.” Law is already suing the now defunct News of the World. |
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