Although the news that a Rupert Murdoch-affiiated newspaper group is under criminal investigation may grab the attention of those of us with a special interest in the Evil Empire, what is particularly noteworthy is this little sentence in The U.K. Independent's report on the investigation: "The downstream effects of a prosecution would be apocalyptic. The US authorities’ reaction would put the whole business at risk, as licences would be at risk.”

The Independent writes:

The Independent has learnt the Metropolitan Police has opened an “active investigation” into the corporate liabilities of the UK newspaper group – recently rebranded News UK – which could have serious implications for the ability of its parent company News Corp to operate in the United States. One of Rupert Murdoch’s most senior lawyers has been interviewed under caution on behalf of the company and two other very senior figures have been officially cautioned for corporate offences. John Turnbull, who works on News Corp’s Management and Standards Committee (MSC) which co-ordinates the company’s interactions with the Metropolitan Police, answered formal questions from detectives earlier this year.

The development has caused pandemonium at the upper echelons of the Murdoch media empire. Shortly afterwards, executives in America ordered that the company dramatically scale back its co-operation with the Metropolitan Police.

A News Corp analysis of the effects of a corporate charge, produced in New York, said the consequences could “kill the corporation and 46,000 jobs would be in jeopardy”.

Although the article also says that the corporation's pleas for special consideration - in order to avoid massive job losses - have fallen on deaf ears so far, I suspect that Murdoch's high-priced lawyers will find a way for the conglomerate to skate in the U.S. That is, unless there's enough public scrutiny and outcry against it.