Rupert Murdoch has sacrificed the News of the World in a desperate attempt to cauterise a crisis at his $46bn global media empire, as his son admitted personal fault in handling the escalating phone-hacking scandal at the British tabloid newspaper.
James Murdoch, News Corp’s deputy chief operating officer, said in an e-mail to staff that the 168-year-old title his father bought in 1969 would print its final issue this Sunday. The racy tabloid, which specialised in sex scandals and populist campaigns, launched the-then Australian press baron on to the world stage.
Both the News of the World and News International, the UK newspaper arm for which James Murdoch has been responsible since late 2007, “failed to get to the bottom of repeated wrongdoing that occurred without conscience or legitimate purpose”, he said.