Hacking Scandal Leads to British Tabloid's Demise
There might have been a changing of the guard among the top editors at the News of the World in recent months, but the British tabloid, part of the Murdoch family media dynasty, is going off the presses for good this weekend after a hacking scandal that initially focused on one reporter but now may implicate others, according to News International honcho (and son of Rupert) James Murdoch.
In a statement to the paper’s staff, Murdoch the Younger said, “Wrongdoers turned a good newsroom bad and this was not fully understood or adequately pursued.” The move to shut down News of the World is being viewed by some as a rebranding strategy, according to the BBC, but this Sunday’s edition will be the last of its kind. –KA
BBC:
The 168-year-old tabloid is accused of hacking into the mobile phones of crime victims, celebrities and politicians.
On Thursday, the Met Police said it was seeking to contact 4,000 possible targets named in seized documents.
Its editor Colin Myler said it was “the saddest day of my professional career”.
He added that “nothing should diminish everything this great newspaper has achieved”.
The News of the World, which sells about 2.8million copies a week, is famed for its celebrity scoops and sex scandals, earning it the nickname, the News of the Screws.