[July 15, 2011] EDITORIAL: Murdoch media mess Tweet Jul 15, 2011 (The Charleston Gazette - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Media mogul Rupert Murdoch -- a billionaire kingpin in the style of Citizen Kane and William Randolph Hearst -- presents two faces in his global empire: Some of his newspapers are lurid and tacky. Other Murdoch outlets, such as Fox News and The Wall Street Journal, are so conservative they're almost wings of the Republican Party. The mighty Murdoch machine has been a huge financial success. But, suddenly, it's suffering calamity because of scummy journalism in London. And now Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., wants a federal probe to learn whether America's laws against foreign bribery were violated. Here's the situation: Seeking garish headlines, Murdoch reporters at the tabloid News of the World hacked into private voicemail messages of 4,000 people -- such as British war casualties, celebrities, terrorist bombing victims and a 13-year-old murdered girl. Meanwhile, bribes allegedly were paid to police to get confidential tidbits in sensational cases. As the hacking scandal threatened to explode, Murdoch's son reportedly authorized $1.6 million in payoffs to silence families whose phones had been penetrated. Britain's Parliament erupted in outrage. Frantically, Murdoch killed the tabloid, the world's largest English-language newspaper, ending its 168-year existence. But public outcry didn't fade. So Murdoch dropped his bid to buy greater control of a British television network. Still, English anger swelled. Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown declared this week that other Murdoch newspapers in London had employed criminals to get information about his private finances and his son's illness. So far, nine of Murdoch's British officials have been charged with crimes. Amid this uproar, Sen. Rockefeller and Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., sent a joint letter Wednesday requesting investigations by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission. Specifically, they want to learn whether Murdoch's News Corporation violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which forbids American firms to bribe officials overseas. They added: "There have also been allegations that News Corporation employees may have illegally accessed the phone records of victims of the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. We urge you to investigate whether any U.S. citizens had their privacy violated by this alleged hacking." Bravo. We hope probes result, because Murdoch's news operations blight objective journalism. Fox News claims to be "fair and balanced" -- but that's a joke. Previously, Fox was the only channel refusing to broadcast a President Obama address on universal health care. The White House commented: "Fox News often operates almost as either the research arm or the communications arm of the Republican Party. Let's not pretend they're a news network the way CNN is." And real news outlets don't pay bribes or hack phones of tragedy victims. To see more of The Charleston Gazette, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.wvgazette.com. Copyright (c) 2011, The Charleston Gazette, W.Va. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]