Rupert Murdoch's media empire worth $46 billion is now collapsing over the allegation of phone hacking scandal by the London-based tabloid daily News of the World. The paper has already been shut down and Rupert Murdoch's bid to acquire British TV channel Sky Broadcasting has been stalled.
Rupert Murdoch bought the News of the World in 1969 which specialised in sex scandals and populist campaigns. All three political parties in Britain through a consensus in the House of Commons have summoned Rupert Murdoch to explain his conduct.
Two of Rupert Murdoch's newspapers are reported to have bribed the police and employed other illegal methods to obtain information about Queen Elizabeth and former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Phone hacking and other unlawful and unethical methods to obtain news are common in many British newspapers.
BBC and the Guardian newspaper disclosed citing internal e-mails from the News of World that it had bribed people knowledgeable about Buckingham Palace for detailed classified information about the Queen, Prince Charles and other members of the royal family. Police said the cell phones of Prince Charles and his wife Camilla have also been hacked. Prime Minister David Cameron expressed his outrage at police involvement in phone hacking scandal. 'We need to get to the bottom of that, if it's true', the New York Times quoted the prime minister as saying. Scotland Yard refused to be drawn into controversy.
The hunter has now become hunted. Rupert Murdoch owns such prestigious newspapers like The Times, The Sun and the Sunday Time. These papers routinely helped elect prime ministers with timely endorsements. One of the more troubling aspects of the affair has been the sense of collusion between police and the media and a political class that has seemed too cowed to speak out against News of the World's powerful proprietor Rupert Murdoch, Financial Times in an editorial said. Rupert Murdoch has media investments in Australia, India and America and was planning to go to China. Tailpiece Arrogance has a habit of hitting back sometimes in the most inane of situations.
