The US Department of Justice has given its seal of approval to the proposed merger between Random House and Penguin.

“This positive first decision by one of the antitrust authorities is an important milestone on the path to uniting two of the world’s leading publishing companies into a truly global publishing group,” said Thomas Rabe, CEO of Bertelsmann AG (the German parent company of Random House). “It will enable investments worldwide in new digital publishing models, in new distribution paths, products, and services, and in the major growth markets.”

Bertelsmann and Penguin’s British parent company, Pearson PLC, announced their plans to merge last year. At the time, Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp was said to be eyeing Penguin for possible purchase in order to bolster their publishing arm (News Corp already owns HarperCollins).

The merger between Random House and Penguin will create the largest publishing house the world has ever known. The new company will be called ‘Penguin Random House,’ and Bertelsmann will control 53 percent of it, while Pearson will control the other 47 percent.

Estimates of Penguin Random House’s projected market share vary widely. When the merger was first announced, it was reported that the new company would control 30 percent of the trade-book market. Now, the media seem to suggest that the figure will be closer to 25 percent. However, if the market share is examined by genre, Penguin Random House’s clout might be much greater. For example, Dennis Johnson over at the independent publisher Melville House suggests that the new conglomerate might end up controlling 50 percent of the literary fiction market.

No doubt Pearson and Bertelsmann are hoping that, by tying the knot, they will be able to strengthen their hand when negotiating with digital companies like Amazon, Google, and Apple. Amazon alone controls a whopping 60 percent of the online book market thanks in large part to its now-ubiquitous Kindle family of e-readers.

Despite the Justice Department’s approval, the merger still faces potential obstacles in Europe. The European Commission still needs to evaluate the deal, and analysts note that it tends to evaluate culture-related mergers with particular care. When Universal Music Group purchased the recorded music division of EMI last year, European Union regulators forced Universal to sell off a large chunk of EMI’s assets, including most of the lucrative Parlophone label. Will Bertelsmann and Pearson be forced to make similar concessions?

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After the three police investigations and thirty arrests that resulted from the News International scandal, the United Kingdom has begun a media ethics trial to investigate the influence and ethical issues surrounding the media. The previous criminal trial began after Murdoch’s tabloid “News of the World” hacked a kidnap-murder victim’s phone and the emails and phones of war veterans and their families.

The former British Prime Minister John Major – Conservative party premier from 1990 to 1997 – testified at the media ethics trial, known as the Leveson inquiry after Lord Justice Leveson was appointed to oversee the evidence.

Major claimed that Rupert tried to influence the government interactions with the European Union by asking Major at a private dinner to withdraw the United Kingdom from the European Union; Major refused.

Murdoch told the inquiry on 25 of April that he “[has] never asked a prime minister for anything.” Major responded that he assumes Murdoch meant, “he [Murdoch] has never asked for anything that would benefit him personally or his company…in my very limited contact with Mr. Murdoch his statement is on a strict interpretation literally true.”

Major went on to explain for what Murdoch seemed to ask. “Certainly he never asked for anything directly from me but he was not averse to pressing for policy changes. In the run-up to the 1997 general election in my third and last meeting with him on 2 February 1997 he made it clear that he disliked my European policies which he wished me to change.”

According to the former Prime Minister, Murdoch made the implication that if Major did not change his European policies the prime minister would lose the support of Murdoch’s media networks. Major stated, “so far as I recall he made no mention of editorial independence but referred to all his papers as ‘we’…Both Mr. Murdoch and I kept our word. I made no change in policy and Mr. Murdoch’s titles did indeed oppose the Conservative party. It came as no surprise to me when soon after our meeting the Sun newspaper announced its support for Labour.”

Shortly after the private dinner party where this conversation took place Murdoch’s two major papers backed Tony Blair in the 1997 general election; Blair won the election three months later.

News International, Murdoch’s news corporation, has since issued a statement in regards to Major’s comments. “News International titles did not act in unison in the 1997 election. The Sunday Times supported John Major, the Times was neutral, and the Sun and the News of the World supported Labour.”

Gordon Brown and Tony Blair have also testified at the inquiry about their relationship with the media mogul. Brown claimed that Murdoch’s papers undermined the British government’s efforts in Afghanistan.

Major made several comments about the influence of Murdoch and his media empire. “I do think parts of his press, parts of his media empire have lowered the general quality of the British media…I think the interaction that there has been with politicians has done no good either to the press or to the politicians.

“I think the sheer scale of the influence he is believed to [have] whether he exercises it or not, is an unattractive facet in British national life, and it does seem to me an oddity that in a nation which prides itself on one man, one vote, we should have one man, who can’t vote, with a large collection of newspapers and a large share of the electronic media outlets.”

Major claims that he has not talked about the conversation with Murdoch in the last fifteen years but since he was under oath at the inquiry he was bound by law and his word to talk about it.

Major and Murdoch also had meetings in 1992 and 1993 although neither party remembers what was discussed at those meetings. Murdoch claims that he does not remember the conversation at the private dinner with Major in 1997.

Before the meeting in 1993 Major’s press secretary, Sir Gus O’Donnell, sent out a memo stating that Murdoch has “made matters worse” and his papers “ceased to make rational criticisms of policy and are now simply anti-everything and [Major] in particular.”

Image Courtesy of  david_shankbone

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In front of a British government panel today, Rupert Murdoch denied that he tried to wield political influence or use his media holdings to further the business interests of News Corp.

“I take particular pride in the fact that we’ve never pushed our commercial interests in our newspapers,” Murdoch said at the media ethics inquiry brought on by the phone-hacking scandal at News of the World last year.

He was responding to questions about contacts between News Corp. and government officials in connection with the company’s attempted $12 billion takeover of BSkyB, Britain’s top satellite TV network.

But email messages released Tuesday indicate that News Corp. executives at least considered dispatching top editors of The Wall Street Journal Europe and The Times of London, both News Corp. holdings, to advocate the BSkyB deal.

The newly released emails, totaling 163 pages, were exchanged among News Corp. chief lobbyist Frédéric Michel, company officials and government aides. Several refer to Lord Matthew Oakeshott, a member of Parliament whom News Corp. perceived as key to influencing Vince Cable, the government minister who had the authority in the fall of 2010 to approve the BSkyB deal.

News Corp. execs were worried that Oakeshott wouldn’t be receptive to their overtures. In one email to James Murdoch’s aide, Matthew Anderson, and Rebekah Brooks, chief executive at News International, Michel described Oakeshott as “a difficult character [who] hates lobbying (and doesn’t like our empire either2026).”

So Michel, the lobbyist, suggested that they arrange a meeting between Oakeshott and James Harding, editor in chief of The Times. From the email, dated Oct. 12, 2010

On Oct. 18, Michel wrote that Oakeshott would also be “VERY receptive” to a message from Patience Wheatcroft, then the editor of The Wall Street Journal Europe.

That November, Wheatcroft left The Journal after she was named to the House of Lords as a member of the Conservative party, by Prime Minister David Cameron.

It is not clear whether Harding and Wheatcroft were actually asked to lobby Oakeshott.  A spokeswoman for Harding said that “there was never a meeting between James Harding and Lord Oakeshott,” but did not say whether News Corp. officials had asked Harding to have such a meeting. Wheatcroft did not respond to our requests for comment, nor did Oakeshott.

A News Corp. spokesman declined to comment on any of the emails.

Apart from raising questions about Rupert Murdoch’s claim that there was no use of his media holdings to further his company’s interests, the emails document a more general strategy to turn media coverage of the deal in favor of News Corp. in order to give political cover to the minister, Vince Cable, who could approve the deal.

Cable was removed from the bid approval process after he was recorded by journalists saying he had “declared war” on Murdoch. Cable was replaced by Jeremy Hunt, with whom News Corp. appears to have had more luck 2014 the emails point to close communication between Hunt’s aide and News Corp. about how best to push approval of the BSkyB buyout.

Hunt said Wednesday that he “didn’t know the volume of those communications or the tone” of the interactions between his aide and News Corp. The Guardian also reported Wednesday that in 2009 Hunt was at News Corp. headquarters in New York during the company’s meetings on whether to launch the bid.

News Corp. threw the support of its British newspapers behind Cameron’s Conservative party in the 2010 elections, shortly before the BSkyB bid was announced. Cameron has maintained that he had had no “inappropriate conversations” with Murdoch about the deal.

Competing news organizations and others had opposed the deal because they said it would further concentrate the media power of Murdoch, who controls 40 percent of Britain’s newspaper circulation. The bid was eventually put on hold when news of phone-hacking by Murdoch papers broke last summer and engulfed the company in scandal.

by Cora Currier ProPublica, April 25, 2012, 3:16 p.m.

Image Courtesy of   david_shankbone

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This weekend, five more journalists from a Rupert Murdoch-owned British tabloid were arrested as part of an ongoing bribery investigation. The arrested journalists, all from The Sun, were later released, and have yet to be charged with any crimes. (As The Wall Street Journal explained last summer, arrests in the U.K. are often made early in a criminal investigation, and may not be followed by any charges.)

But the arrests have once again raised questions about whether Murdoch’s News Corp. might face prosecution for bribery in the U.S. under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Reuters reported last week that U.S. authorities are “stepping up investigations” of the possible bribery by Murdoch employees. An FBI spokeswoman told ProPublica, “We’re aware of the allegations, and we’re looking into it.”

As we noted during the unfolding of the phone hacking scandal last summer, the U.S. has stepped up prosecutions of companies for bribery of foreign officials in recent years, and the fines for these violations can be steep. Companies can face prosecution by the Justice Department if they record bribery payments, or be pursued by the Securities and Exchange Commission for fake record-keeping if they falsify documents to conceal the bribes.

The statute of limitations on civil Foreign Corrupt Practices Act charges is five years. The New York Times reported Saturday that it was not clear when the allegations that led to the Sun arrests had taken place, “though some of those arrested have told friends that they were questioned on events from almost a decade ago.”

Those arrested at The Sun included the paper’s chief reporter, chief foreign correspondent and deputy editor. Last month, four other current and former Sun journalists were arrested, including the paper’s crime editor and former managing editor. A police officer, a member of the armed services and an employee of the Ministry of Defense were also arrested this weekend “on suspicion of corruption,” broadening the scope of the investigation from its original focus, bribery of police officers by journalists, to bribery of other officials as well.

The arrests were based on information provided by News Corp.’s Management and Standards Committee, an internal unit created in response to the phone hacking scandal last summer. The committee reports to Joel Klein, a former U.S. assistant attorney general and New York City schools chancellor who is now a News Corp. executive.

Our request for comment from News Corp. this morning was not immediately answered. In a January news release following the earlier arrests, the company reiterated its pledge “that unacceptable news gathering practices by individuals in the past would not be repeated.”

The latest arrests, which were accompanied by police searches of the journalists’ homes, have prompted anger and frustration from some British journalists, directed at the police and politicians driving the investigation, and at News Corp. executives. ”Once again, Rupert Murdoch is trying to pin the blame on individual journalists, hoping that a few scalps will salvage his corporate reputation,” the general secretary of the National Union of Journalists told The Guardian.

The Sun’s associate editor, Trevor Kavanagh, called the investigation “a witch-hunt” that threatens press freedom, and said there was “nothing disreputable” about paying for stories. ”Sometimes money changes hands,” Kavanagh wrote in The Sun. “This has been standard procedure as long as newspapers have existed, here and abroad.”

Last summer, the phone-hacking scandal resulted in the closure of another Murdoch-owned publication, the 168-year-old British tabloid News of the World, but News International executive Tom Mockridge reassured staff this weekend that Murdoch had pledged his “total commitment” to continuing to own and publish The Sun.

Murdoch will reportedly fly to London this week.

The publisher of the shuttered News of the World has paid hundreds of thousands of pounds in phone-hacking settlements to celebrities, celebrity employees and politicians, including at least $200,000 to actor Jude Law and at least $63,000 to Guy Pelly, a friend of Prince Harry’s, according to the Guardian.

by Lois Beckett, ProPublica, Feb. 13, 2012, 2:46 p.m.

Image Courtesy of   stocklight / Shutterstock.com

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The ten worst media disasters of 2011 include a politician who lost his place, a country singer who lost his job, and a celebrity who lost his show. The list was published December 14 on the Mr. Media Training Blog, the world’s most visited media training website.

The media spokespersons were selected based on the impact of their gaffes. All ten people reinforced an existing narrative about their lack of preparedness for office, their lack of discipline, or their lack of compassion. Videos of all ten media disasters are available at http://www.mrmediatraining.com/index.php/2011/12/14/the-ten-worst-media-disasters-of-2011/.

10. Hank Williams, Jr. Compares President Obama to Adolf Hitler

In October, country singer Hank Williams, Jr. was fired up during an appearance on Fox and Friends. While reflecting on a golf match between President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner, Mr. Williams quipped, “It would be like Hitler playing golf with Netanyahu.” ESPN promptly dropped his theme song as its Monday Night Football opener.

9. Sarah Palin’s “Blood Libel”

Months before Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) was shot in Tucson, Former Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) released a “crosshairs map,” which placed a target over Ms. Giffords’ congressional district. In the days after the shooting, Ms. Palin was blamed by some journalists for the shooting.

Palin was upset by media stories connecting her to the crime; she was right that no evidence linked the shooter to her map. But she over-reacted, gracelessly blaming the media for committing “blood libel.” That term is most commonly used as an anti-Semitic slur referring to Jews murdering Christians. Her poll numbers immediately plummeted among Independents and Republicans.

8. NPR Fundraiser Ron Schiller Blasts The Tea Party

National Public Radio’s chief fundraiser, Ron Schiller, went to lunch with a couple of men claiming to be Muslim donors in March. It turned out they were Republican activists with a hidden camera. During the meal, Schiller called members of the Tea Party, “seriously racist, racist people.”

That he made those comments was bad enough; that he made them while NPR was already in the midst of a heated debate about its public funding was flabbergasting. His comments led to his immediate resignation and the resignation of NPR’s CEO. The House of Representatives voted to strip NPR of its federal funding; the Senate prevented that from happening – for now.

7. Rupert Murdoch Channels Tony Hayward

While testifying before the British Parliament in July, News Corp CEO Rupert Murdoch was asked whether he accepted the ultimate responsibility for his company’s phone hacking scandal. Not only did he say “no,” but he delivered his answer without even a hint of humility. By delivering such an indifferent answer, he gave former BP Executive Tony “I’d like my life back” Hayward competition as the world’s most clueless corporate executive.

6. Rick Perry’s “Oops” Moment

During a Republican presidential debate in November, Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX) confidently declared he would eliminate three government agencies – and promptly forgot what they were. For 47 painful seconds, Mr. Perry tried to recall the third agency he would eliminate. He finally gave up, shrugged his shoulders, and lamely said, “Oops.” That one moment likely sank any remaining chances Mr. Perry had of winning the nomination.

5. President Obama Jokes About Joblessness

With the nation’s unemployment rate above nine percent and millions of Americans desperate to find work, President Obama cracked a joke in June that few people found funny. When a questioner asked a serious question about the nation’s inefficient permitting process, Mr. Obama cracked wise about his two-year-old pledge to create shovel-ready jobs, joking, “Shovel-ready was not as shovel-ready as we expected.” Many people blasted the President for displaying an insensitive political tin ear.

4. Charlie Sheen’s Downward Spiral

There’s little funny about addiction, and Charlie Sheen’s dangerous spiral was sad to watch. Sheen stayed in the news for months, but it was his out-of-touch interview with sycophantic radio host Alex Jones in February that led to his dismissal from his top-rated sitcom, Two and a Half Men.

In that interview, Sheen made vaguely anti-Semitic comments about “Men” creator Chuck Lorre, called Alcoholics Anonymous a “bootleg cult,” and labeled Thomas Jefferson a “pussy.”

3. The Herman Cain Affair

Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain was caught flat-footed in October when numerous women accused him of sexual harassment (another woman later asserted she had had a long-term affair with him).

Mr. Cain changed his story on an almost-hourly basis, even arguing that a “settlement” meant something different than an “agreement.” Mr. Cain dropped out of the race in December, maintaining his innocence to a public that no longer believed him.

2. (Alleged) Penn State Child Rapist Jerry Sandusky Speaks

When former Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky spoke to NBC’s Bob Costas in November about horrific allegations that he raped numerous boys, no one was prepared for his jaw-dropping answer to this direct question: “Are you sexually attracted to young boys?” It took Sandusky 16 seconds to say “no.”

Instead, he began by saying how much he “enjoyed” young people and loves to be around them. Sandusky’s alleged actions, combined with Penn State’s ineffectual response, led to the firings of the University president and legendary football coach Joe Paterno.

1. Anthony Weiner’s Twitter Scandal

Self-immolations rarely come in more spectacular fashion than when Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) was caught tweeting naughty photos to strangers in June.

His approach to crisis management was to deny the charges and claim his Twitter account had been hacked; call a reporter a “jackass;” say that although he hadn’t sent the photos, he couldn’t rule out “with certitude” that the erect undies shot was of him; hold a tearful press conference to admit he had actually tweeted the photos himself; watch helplessly as a nude photo of his penis was released; and resign in shame.

After Mr. Weiner resigned, a Republican won his seat, costing Democrats a critical seat in the House of Representatives.

Image Courtesy of  http://www.flickr.com/photos/americanprogressaction/

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What would you expect someone to pay you for revealing your deepest, darkest secrets? At what point does journalism turn into harassment? These are issues being explored and debated in The Leveson Inquiry, an examination of the British media that has gripped the UK.

The explosive scandal hit the public’s TV screens over the summer when it was revealed that tabloid newspaper The News of the World had been gaining much of its ‘exclusive’ information by hacking into the phones of many celebrities, politicians and victims of crimes. Private investigators had even been tailing people embroiled in the most news-worthy stories.

In some cases, the phone hacking had led to email hacking and had even given journalists access to private passwords and PIN numbers. More and more victims of the hacking came forward, an outcry broke out, and the paper finally closed down on July 10 2011, publishing its last edition.

Many of its editors and employees, former editor Andy Coulson in particular, denied all knowledge of the phone hacking, and many were arrested. Founder and Chairman of News Corporation and owner of News of the World Rupert Murdoch was also put into a tricky situation, jeopardising his takeover of BSkyB.

So what is the outcome of this huge story? On July 13 2011, Prime Minister David Cameron announced a two-part inquiry chaired by Lord Justice Leveson to investigate the role of the press and police in the scandal. It will also examine the current culture, practices and ethics of the media and govern the future of press regulation.

The inquiry opened on Monday November 14, with an introduction from Lord Justice Leveson himself saying: “The press provides an essential check on all aspects of public life. That is why any failure within the media affects all of us. At the heart of this Inquiry, therefore, may be one simple question: who guards the guardians?”

Among the key hearings were: JK Rowling, Sienna Miller, Hugh Grant and Steve Coogan. Possibly the lowest of the low, parents of abducted children were targeted. When 13-year-old Milly Dowler was abducted and killed in 2002, her parents would continually call her phone, hoping for some response about their daughter’s disappearance.

Almost unbelievably, Milly’s phone was also hacked, voicemail messages deleted from her inbox. Mrs. Dowler recounted how elated she was when she realized something had changed: “I rang her phone. It clicked through onto her voicemail, so I heard her voice and it was just like, ‘she’s picked up her voicemail, she’s alive’.”

The inquiry also heard from young actress, Sienna Miller. She told of a closely-guarded secret being revealed, meaning she was led to accuse her family and closest friends after an anonymous journalist rang her saying he knew all about it.

Her run-ins with the paparazzi were possibly the most shocking: “I would often find myself — I was 21 — at midnight running down a dark street on my own with ten big men chasing me and the fact that they had cameras in their hands meant that that was legal, but if you take away the cameras, what have you got?”

Miss Miller’s statement raises a valid point – where is the line? Is Britain to maintain its freedom of the media, meaning tabloid journalists are able to hound celebrities to breaking point just for that photograph of them lashing out? Or will a new, stricter policy be put in place, meaning they can’t publish anything they want by any means necessary? And will this hinder freedom of speech if it is put in place?

Either way, it seems something must be done to prevent further incidents. JK Rowling highlighted: “The attitude seems to be…you’re famous, you’re asking for it.” Is this now an excuse that is wearing a little thin?

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The ‘Occupy Wall Street’ protests are still continuing and have now expanded to a second park in New York City, Washington Square Park. Roughly 1,000 protesters marched away from the financial district and headed into the park. After the commotion of the impact the protesters had in Central Park, there are worries the same problems will occur in the Greenwich Village park.

The protesters were blamed for causing environmental damage to Central Park and as a result the park was left in an ‘unsanitized’ condition for over a week. The protests began over three weeks ago and have been going strong ever since, extending out of the island of Manhattan. The protests that originally began in the lower east side of manhattan has now led to 25 cities nationwide.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has criticized the Occupy Wall Street protesters for unfairly blaming ‘hard-working’ people for problems facing America. Bloomberg said ‘I don’t appreciate the bashing of all the hard working people who live and work here and pay the taxes that support our city.’

But there has been some support from Washington for the protesters cause, House Democratic Leader, Nancy Pelosi said “I support the message to the establishment, whether it’s Wall Street or the political establishment and the rest, that change has to happen.”

While there has been support from diplomats for the protesters there has undoubtedly been criticism. Herman Cain, Republican presidential contender spoke about the expansion of ‘Occupy wall Street’ and called the protesters “jealous’ Americans who “play the victim card” and want to “take somebody else’s” Cadillac.

Protester Katie White told Toonari Post “All we are looking for is for union workers and college graduates to have equal employment opportunities and for those who have become very wealthy in America to give their fair share back.” When asked about how the media is portraying the protesters she replied;

“All those accusations are false, we are engaged in a peaceful protest and are causing no harm. We are teachers, fire-fighters, plumbers etc not drug-using bums.” Tuesday 11th marched peacefully protested outside Rupert Murdoch’s Manhattan home as part of a ‘Millionaires March’. They chanted outside his home on 59th street ‘enough is enough!’, and ‘Mr.Murdoch pay your fair share!’.

The protest later moved on towards other millionaires homes, including JP Morgan Chase CEO, Jamie Dimon and David Koch and Howard Mileston. The ‘Occupy Wall Street’ protests have become a symbolic protest of union workers and college graduates fighting for the inequalities of the U.S. These 26 day protests has been captured daily by national and international media.

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The scandal shaking Rupert Murdoch’s media empire in the United Kingdom has crossed the waters to the United States.

U.S. authorities have acknowledged that they are looking into a report by Britain’s Daily Mirror newspaper that reporters with The News of the World offered to pay a New York police officer for private phone records of some 9/11 victims.

U.S. officials explained that News Corp. employees sought to hack into the phones of victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and tried to bribe law enforcement officers for information.

The Daily Mirror‘s report, citing an unidentified source, has yet to be independently verified but has already fueled U.S. emotions over the phone hacking scandal that has taken over Britain and shaken Murdoch’s company.

Legal experts say the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) is ordinarily used against companies accused of paying bribes to win contracts. But some U.S. lawmakers and experts have suggested it could be used against News Corp. because News of the World journalists allegedly bribed police officers to gain information.

New York attorney, Normal Siegel, who represents Sept. 11 family members in three legal cases, sent letters on Monday, July 11 requesting meetings with FBI Director Robert Mueller, Attorney General Eric Holder and Representative John Conyers, the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee.

“We will, of course, provide an appropriate response to any letter from representatives from the 9/11 victims,” said Bill Carter of the FBI’s national press office.

It was not immediately clear whether federal prosecutors in Manhattan were involved in the case. They would most likely have jurisdiction over any prosecution because the 9/11 victims and their cellphones were in Manhattan when they died.

Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV, democrat of West Virginia, was the first to issue a statement on the matter, saying on Tuesday, July 12 that the U.S. government should hold investigations to “ensure that Americans have not had their privacy violated.”

He was also joined by the two New Jersey senators, Robert Menendez and Frank R. Lautenberg. Sen. Menendez asked the Justice Department to investigate the claims involving 9/11 victims, saying in his letter that the “large scope” of the hacking in Britain made it “imperative to investigate whether victims in the United States have been affected as well.”

It appears that it is not enough that U.S. citizens remain scarred over what took place on that dark day of Sept. 11 since, overseas, the tragic phone calls are being taken without permission, violating the rights of those families.

These revelations have critically damaged Murdoch’s British operations, leading to the withdrawal of his $12 billion offer for the country’s largest satellite television operator, British Sky Broadcasting. They have also created a major political test for British Prime Minister David Cameron over his close personal ties to News Corp. executives.

Media analyst, Claire Enders said News Corp. might be tempted to sell its other British newspapers — The Sun, The Times and the Sunday Times. This is an outcome favored by some analysts and shareholders.

“The politicians want the Murdoch’s role in public life to be greatly diminished,” Enders said. “They would like them to move to New York and stay there.”

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For nearly 3 hours, the emergency parliament hearing grilled Rupert and James Murdoch on News International’s role in the phone-hacking scandal Tuesday at Westminster, London. The hearing was an important part of what ex-Labour leader Lord Kinnock called a “real assessment of press ownership in the UK.”

The Commons culture, media and sport committee was responsible for the questioning and were prepared to dig deep into the cooperate procedures of the media empire that lead to such gross neglect of basic codes of journalism. Mr. Murdoch started out by saying “this is the most humble day of my life,” but kept his answers otherwise elusive as the hearing went on.

Several crucial questions came up — among them the issue of the top administration’s knowledge of the illegal activity, their financial track record, their vigilance in regard to accountability as well as the oversight of News of the World. Mr. Murdoch seemed frail and as the hearing went on, irritated by the detail and persistence of the committee member’s questions. James Murdoch on the other hand were quick to try explaining the actions and responses of the company in the longest phrases possible, insisting on finishing his trail of thought and elaborate on his father’s brief responses.

Key issues were pointed out during the process. Overall, Mr. Murdoch claimed he did not believe mistakes were made during the handling of the issue. He acknowledged that terrible wrongdoings were carried out and that mistakes were made in the course of the events but that the handling that followed was done with the best of intentions. He also made a point of saying that the News of the World was less than 1% of his company and that he employs people on trust to run his divisions.

Mr. Murdoch also emphasized that the UK greatly benefits from having a competitive press and a transparent society. On the question of public interest and the ethical concerns of investigative techniques, James Murdoch added that breaking the law is a serious matter that should be held accountable. On the question on whether NoW should not have been aware that phone-hacking is a crime, James Murdoch simply stated that he believed the company acted quickly once the problem was discovered.

The atmosphere at the hearing was tense. The Murdochs did their best not to incriminate themselves despite the fact that the nature of the committee was strictly in the interest of the public’s curiosity — in contrast to a court of law, the MPs was trying to extract new information about the circumstances of the allegations for their future report.

Mr. Murdoch reiterated on several occasions that not he nor his son had any part in the illegalities but it was clear that James had been aware of the payments to the police. The real question was the depth of his knowledge

Interestingly enough, Mr. Murdoch opened with an apology despite being denied an opening statement by the chair at the beginning. It is of course not without importance, as Iain Watson of the BBC News noted, that he needed to be summoned by the MPs and did not volunteer to give evidence. The initial apology was even further undermined by the fact that the Murdochs admit they were still financing Glen Mulcaire, the demon hacker who brought them down, making their apologies utterly insincere.

Finally, it seemed preposterous that a man known for his legendary grasp of his empire was painstakingly uninformed when having to answer questions about News of the World. Both men’s lack of knowledge of the paper’s basic structure was absurd and considering that most of the police bribery and phone tapping took place between 2002 and 2009, it is quite unimaginable that the top management were left clueless on the illegal procedures for obtaining news content. Why were questions not asked?

The hearing of Rupert and James Murdoch was conducted respectfully by the committee, albeit a few notes of sarcasm aimed at the duo’s cartoonish ignorance. The BBC’s political editor Nick Robinson blogged from inside the room: “It is hard to equate the man sitting a few feet away from me with the global media mogul feared by political leaders throughout my adult lifetime.” Public responses had also been carried out in a peaceful order with a row of protesters holding up signs shortly before the Murdochs addressed the committee. Peace was only broken for one dramatic moment when a man from the audience suddenly stood up and attempted to throw a paper plate of shaving foam in the face of Rupert Murdoch. The attempt was mostly thwarted – particularly by Mrs. Murdoch who rushed to direct the ‘pie’ at the assailant himself.

The result was ambiguous. MPs from the committee told BBC reporters that they believed the meeting had been ‘a good day’ for parliament and for democracy but so many questions remained unanswered. Murdoch played the part of victim of betrayal very well while his son, eager to make sure he didn’t come off as all-knowing, staled the session the best he could with his negations and tentative descriptions. Will the truth about Rupert Murdoch’s full involvement in the scandal ever see the light of day? Not without tangible evidence. And considering the tight-lipped inner circle of the Murdoch empire, such evidence seem only a fairy godmother away from a fairytale.

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Sean Hoare, former News of the World reporter and first to blow the whistle on the endemic phone-hacking at the paper, was found dead at his home on Monday, according to British media. Hoare, who was fired from NoW for alcohol and drug abuse, also went on the record to the New York Times, saying that Andy Coulson, former communications chief for the British prime minister and editor at NoW while Hoare was employed there, not only knew about the phone-hacking but actively encouraged the practice. Coulson has so far denied any knowledge of the matter.

The tragic news of Sean Hoare’s death is another shocking turn in the media scandal that has already engulfed the Murdoch media empire and threatens the stability of the British government. His body was found at his home in Watford near London, UK. According to local police, who has yet to confirm Hoare’s identity, “Upon police an ambulance arrival [...], the body of a man was found. The man was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after.” Despite unexplained cause of death, the police does not suspect foul play.

His death is another bombshell in the unfolding events, arriving just after the high profile resignation of two top policemen of the Scotland Yard. Questions have been raised about the cosy relationship between NoW and the police department and whether it led to negligence on behalf of the official effort to get to the bottom of the phone-hacking scandal which has been years under way.

Hoare was the first reporter to officially confirm the claims of phone-hacking. He described in an interview with the BBC that he was personally asked by Andy Coulson, his editor at the time, to tap into phones – which makes Coulson’s insistence upon ignorance ‘a lie’, according to Hoare. Last week, he revealed to the New York Times that NoW reporters had access to police technology that locates people by using their mobile phone signals. The service was allegedly provided in exchange for payments to police officers. The use of “pinging” can pinpoint the location of a person using calculations of distances between phone masts.

The Guardian was able to publish further details about ‘pinging’ as Hoare explained the procedure of obtaining the target location. A reporter would ask a news desk executive about a person and “within 15 to 30 minutes someone on the news desk would come back and say ‘Right, that’s where they are.’”

“The chain of command is one of absolute discipline, and that’s why I never bought into it, like with Andy [Coulson] saying he wasn’t aware of it and all that. That’s bollocks,” told Hoare.

The unexpected death of Sean Hoare has come at the most critical time for the UK. British Prime minister David Cameron is under considerable pressure and has cut a 5-day-trip to Africa short to attend a special sitting of parliament Tuesday for an emergency discussion on the scandal. Opposition labour party members are accusing him of extreme failure of judgement when it came to hiring Coulson and some MP’s have even called for his resignation.

Rupert Murdoch, his son James Murdoch and former chief executive of News International, Rebekah Brooks are expected to appear at the parliament hearing as well. Considering the pressure, the exchange could turn out to be very dramatic.

Former colleagues have been remembering Hoare today through public statements and social media updates. David Yelland, former editor of the British tabloid the Sun tweeted “Sean Hoare was trying to be honest, struggling with addiction. But he was a good man. My God.”

Image by Mig_R

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The FBI announced on Thursday that it will launch a probe into News Corporation, Fox News parent company, after the phone hacking scandal that has rocked the media world. Allegations have begun to surface that News Corp. hacked into private citizens’ voicemail including victims of 9/11. The public outrage has been loud and clear demanding an investigation into Rupert Murdoch’s giant media empire.

U.S. Senators Jay Rockefeller, Barbara Boxer, Robert Menendez and Frank Lautenberg (all Democrats) have called for various investigations. “My bet is we’ll find some criminal stuff,” Senator Rockefeller told CNN. “This is going to be a huge issue.”

Senator Frank Lautenberg wrote a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder and asked for the Department of Justice to investigate New Corp. for possible violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA.) Senator Boxer has also requested the FCPA to investigate.

Even some Republicans are beginning to throw Murdoch under the proverbial bus. Rep. Peter King (R-NY), who is not known for his impartiality, wrote a letter to FBI Director Robert Mueller. In it, he compared Murdoch’s brand of “fair and balanced” journalism to a criminal enterprise. “According the recent reports, journalists working for the News of the World solicited a New York police officer to gain access to the content of private phone records of 9/11 victims,” wrote King. “It is revolting to imagine that members of the media would seek to compromise the integrity of a public official for financial gain in the pursuit of yellow journalism,” He also said the allegations, could merit “felony charges.”

News Corp. continues to do damage control. The company is no longer trying to acquire controlling interest in British Sky Broadcasting. In England, the public outcry over the hacking scandal was even more boisterous than in the United States. Parliament also voted unanimously to disapprove the takeover forcing News Corp. to abandon their bid. News Corp. will likely have to give up all of their U.K. newspapers now that most of their advertisers are jumping ship.

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Current TV landed in Italy in May 2008 on channel 130 of Sky Italia platform, with the purpose of representing an alternative global network of independent information.

Italy is the first non English-speaking country where this channel has been launched, and it constitutes an actual alternative in the Italian scenario where media, especially television, can’t be defined really free and independent and the information’s flow is subjected to a strong conditioning.

Some weeks ago Sky Italia announced the intention of dropping Current TV in consequence of the decision taken in New York by News Corporation, the Rupert Murdoch’s company which owns Sky Italia. This decision was a “complete shock” for Al Gore, the co-founder and the chairman of Current.

After he had got the news he travelled to Italy to react and start a campaign in support of Current. He invited all the Italian Sky’s subscribers and Current viewers to press for the revocation of the measure in the name of independent and free information’s right. He also participated to Annozero, the political talk show conducted by Michele Santoro, an Italian journalist and anchorman who had been hosted by Current in 2010 for the program “Raiperunanotte” in reply to the interruption and the ban of the Italian public service broadcaster’s political talk shows imposed by the government in occasion of the regional elections.

“In this time of rapid political, economic and social transition, the future of healthy democracies depends on independent journalism that is untethered and unafraid. We at Current have dedicated our international media platform to unleash truth tellers, and there is no more critical time for truth telling than in Italy right now,” said Al Gore. “I came to Italy to personally ask Current’s loyal viewers here to tell Sky they want to keep Current.”

Gore upholds that the sudden decision of Sky Italia is due to a real abuse of power from News Corporation, and the reasons are totally political. The first point regards the discontent of Murdoch about the decision of Current to hire Keith Olbermann, a US leftwing journalist considered rather troublesome who has often been clearly critical of News Corporation.

A second point regards the “rapprochement” between Rupert Murdoch and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, “Sky Italia is in the midst of negotiations to enter the digital terrestrial television market and they need Berlusconi’s support,” said Gore.

Current TV has been often critical of Berlusconi and his government and it also broadcasted the documentary produced by PBS “Citizen Berlusconi” about his media’s empire and the conflict of interests, which had never been broadcasted in Italy.

News Corp and Sky Italia excuse their decision through only commercial motivations.

“The non-renewal of Current TV’s carriage agreement with Sky Italia is purely commercial. Current TV asked Sky Italia for double the carriage fee when prime-time viewing had fallen by 40% in the past year. Sky Italia’s offer was in line with the market and reflected the performance of the channel. It had nothing to do with politics”, told a News Corporation spokesman.

However the contradictions of the reasons of News Corp seem to be many and many are the unclear and discordant points especially in regard of the resolution of the contract, the offers of negotiation for a renewal and the data about the audience rating.

For sure the loss of Current TV in Italy would represent also the loss of a channel of independent, not partisan nor influenced information, which is rather uncommon in this country.

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