Murdoch meltdown could have ripple effect

Pub date July 19, 2011
WriterSarah Phelan
SectionPolitics Blog

Listening to media baron Rupert Murdoch denying responsibility for the phone-hacking scandal that has Brits in paroxysms, reminded me of former US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales 2007 testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee in which he couldn’t seem to remember anything:  Murdoch is either losing his mind, or is a so-so actor with good legal advisers. But either way, it was hard to buy into his claims that he didn’t know what was going on.

And I can’t help wondering if the ever-widening scandal will get folks starting to demand more scrutiny of Murdoch’s tactics on this side of the pond, and whether this could represent the beginning of a sea change in the way outfits like Murdoch’s Fox News operate?