Even as Rupert Murdoch maneuvers to buy Time Warner, the extent of the criminal activities of his existent empire have yet to be fully revealed. In the U.K., the phone hacking scandal continues as two former senior editors of one of Murdoch’s former tabloids, have now been charged.
From The Guardian:
Neil Wallis and Jules Stenson, the former deputy editor and features editor of the News of the World, are to be charged with an alleged conspiracy to hack phones.
The Crown Prosecution Service announced on Tuesday that Wallis and Stenson would be charged with conspiring with former News of the World editor Andy Coulson, five other journalists from the paper, private investigator Glenn Mulcaire and “other persons unknown” to illegally intercept voicemail messages “of well-known people and those associated with them” between 1 January 2003 and 26 January 2007.
They are due to appear before Westminister magistrates’ court on 21 August.
Murdoch shut down his News of the World British tabloid shortly after the phone hacking scandal broke. But even as this scandal continues, Murdoch is trying to exponentially expand his media empire by taking over Time Warner. However, as Media Matters notes, it may be crucial for Murdoch to put the scandal behind him in order to succeed. Whether these new charges will impede Murdoch’s media tentacles remains to be seen.
NOTE TO RUPY
Old man, those socks are tacky. Surely, with your wealth, you can hire a fashion consultant.