Post by wheelspinner on May 2, 2012 2:58:55 GMT -5
Rupert Murdoch is not a fit and proper person to run on internatioanl media company.
Now if we could just find a way to do something about it ....
____________
British MPs slam Murdoch on phone hacking
KAREN KISSANE
Media magnate Rupert Murdoch was not a fit person to run a major international company, a committee of British MPs inquiring into phone hacking has concluded.
The select committee on the media released a report [PDF/1MB] last night that also found:
♦ News International had deliberately tried to cover up hacking
♦ Its executives misled the committee over phone-hacking and some might face contempt-of-parliament charges
♦ It was "astonishing" that James Murdoch had not known of hacking earlier and his alleged ignorance raised questions about his competence.
The committee said of Rupert Murdoch, chairman and chief executive officer of News Corporation, that in not taking steps to become fully informed about phone-hacking at his London newspapers, "he turned a blind eye and exhibited willful blindness ...
"This culture, we consider, permeated from the top … and speaks volumes about the lack of effective corporate governance at News Corporation and [its British arm] News International.
"We conclude, therefore, that Rupert Murdoch is not a fit person to exercise the stewardship of a major international company."
The phrase "fit person" is significant because British media regulator Ofcom is investigating whether News Corporation is fit to hold the licence to run satellite broadcaster BSkyB.
But the report's finding about fitness was not unanimous, with MPs splitting along party lines. Conservative MP Louise Mensch told a press conference that such a finding was beyond the committee's scope and an improper attempt to influence Ofcom.
But Labour MP Tom Watson said, "Everybody in the world knows who is responsible for the wrong-doing at News Corporation. Rupert Murdoch. More than any individual alive he is to blame, morally the deeds are his, he paid the piper and called the tune. It is his company, his culture, his people, his business, his failures, his crimes …"
The report said, "The behavior of News International and some witnesses in this affair demonstrated contempt for the system in the most blatant fashion...We note that it is for the House to decide whether a contempt has been committed and, if so, what punishment should be imposed.â€Â
The report, titled News International and Phone-Hacking, said the committee could not make a definitive conclusion about what James Murdoch, formerly chief executive officer of NI, had known about phone hacking in 2008. Mr Murdoch told the committee he had not realised, when he signed off on a £700,000 payout over hacking to a football boss, Gordon Taylor, that the practice at the News of the World extended beyond a single rogue reporter.
But two of his former senior executives, editor Colin Myler and legal officer Tom Crone, had told the committee that Mr Murdoch understood the significance of an email that indicated hacking was more widespread, and that this was why the Taylor payout needed to be so large.
The committee said it was "astonished that James Murdoch did not seek more information or ask to see the evidence or counsel's opinion when he was briefed by Tom Crone and Colin Myler on the Gordon Taylor case. Even for a large company, £700,000 is a not inconsequential sum of money, and it is extraordinary that the chief executive should authorise its payment on the basis of such scant information.
"If he did, indeed, not ask to see either document, particularly the counsel's opinion, this clearly raises questions of [his] competence."
The committee also said it was non-plussed that James and Rupert Murdoch said that it was as late as December 2010 that they realised the "one rogue reporter" line was untrue - despite a 2010 report by the committee, further media investigations including by the New York Times, and further civil cases: "This, we consider to be simply astonishing."
The committee found that it had been misled by NI's former executive chairman, Les Hinton, as well as by Tom Crone and Colin Myler. "Corporately, the News of the World and News International misled the committee about the true nature and extent of the internal investigations they professed to have carried out in relation to phone hacking; by making statements they would have known were not fully truthful; and by failing to disclose documents which would have helped expose the truth.
"Their instinct throughout, until it was too late, was to cover up rather than seek out wrongdoing and discipline the perpetrators….
"In failing to investigate properly, and by ignoring evidence of widespread wrongdoing, News International and its parent News Corporation exhibited wilful blindness for which the companies' directors - including Rupert Murdoch and James Murdoch - should ultimately be prepared to take responsibility."
In addition to his UK assets, Mr Murdoch’s global empire includes extensive media interests in North America and Australia. His Australian titles include the Melbourne Herald Sun and The Australian.
www.theage.com.au/world/-1xx93.html
Now if we could just find a way to do something about it ....
____________
British MPs slam Murdoch on phone hacking
KAREN KISSANE
Media magnate Rupert Murdoch was not a fit person to run a major international company, a committee of British MPs inquiring into phone hacking has concluded.
The select committee on the media released a report [PDF/1MB] last night that also found:
♦ News International had deliberately tried to cover up hacking
♦ Its executives misled the committee over phone-hacking and some might face contempt-of-parliament charges
♦ It was "astonishing" that James Murdoch had not known of hacking earlier and his alleged ignorance raised questions about his competence.
The committee said of Rupert Murdoch, chairman and chief executive officer of News Corporation, that in not taking steps to become fully informed about phone-hacking at his London newspapers, "he turned a blind eye and exhibited willful blindness ...
"This culture, we consider, permeated from the top … and speaks volumes about the lack of effective corporate governance at News Corporation and [its British arm] News International.
"We conclude, therefore, that Rupert Murdoch is not a fit person to exercise the stewardship of a major international company."
The phrase "fit person" is significant because British media regulator Ofcom is investigating whether News Corporation is fit to hold the licence to run satellite broadcaster BSkyB.
But the report's finding about fitness was not unanimous, with MPs splitting along party lines. Conservative MP Louise Mensch told a press conference that such a finding was beyond the committee's scope and an improper attempt to influence Ofcom.
But Labour MP Tom Watson said, "Everybody in the world knows who is responsible for the wrong-doing at News Corporation. Rupert Murdoch. More than any individual alive he is to blame, morally the deeds are his, he paid the piper and called the tune. It is his company, his culture, his people, his business, his failures, his crimes …"
The report said, "The behavior of News International and some witnesses in this affair demonstrated contempt for the system in the most blatant fashion...We note that it is for the House to decide whether a contempt has been committed and, if so, what punishment should be imposed.â€Â
The report, titled News International and Phone-Hacking, said the committee could not make a definitive conclusion about what James Murdoch, formerly chief executive officer of NI, had known about phone hacking in 2008. Mr Murdoch told the committee he had not realised, when he signed off on a £700,000 payout over hacking to a football boss, Gordon Taylor, that the practice at the News of the World extended beyond a single rogue reporter.
But two of his former senior executives, editor Colin Myler and legal officer Tom Crone, had told the committee that Mr Murdoch understood the significance of an email that indicated hacking was more widespread, and that this was why the Taylor payout needed to be so large.
The committee said it was "astonished that James Murdoch did not seek more information or ask to see the evidence or counsel's opinion when he was briefed by Tom Crone and Colin Myler on the Gordon Taylor case. Even for a large company, £700,000 is a not inconsequential sum of money, and it is extraordinary that the chief executive should authorise its payment on the basis of such scant information.
"If he did, indeed, not ask to see either document, particularly the counsel's opinion, this clearly raises questions of [his] competence."
The committee also said it was non-plussed that James and Rupert Murdoch said that it was as late as December 2010 that they realised the "one rogue reporter" line was untrue - despite a 2010 report by the committee, further media investigations including by the New York Times, and further civil cases: "This, we consider to be simply astonishing."
The committee found that it had been misled by NI's former executive chairman, Les Hinton, as well as by Tom Crone and Colin Myler. "Corporately, the News of the World and News International misled the committee about the true nature and extent of the internal investigations they professed to have carried out in relation to phone hacking; by making statements they would have known were not fully truthful; and by failing to disclose documents which would have helped expose the truth.
"Their instinct throughout, until it was too late, was to cover up rather than seek out wrongdoing and discipline the perpetrators….
"In failing to investigate properly, and by ignoring evidence of widespread wrongdoing, News International and its parent News Corporation exhibited wilful blindness for which the companies' directors - including Rupert Murdoch and James Murdoch - should ultimately be prepared to take responsibility."
In addition to his UK assets, Mr Murdoch’s global empire includes extensive media interests in North America and Australia. His Australian titles include the Melbourne Herald Sun and The Australian.
www.theage.com.au/world/-1xx93.html
