British Prime Minister David Cameron says there needs to be a public inquiry into allegations that the NewsCorp.-owned newspaper News of the World hacked mobile phones to listen to voicemails of murder and terrorism victims. The latest allegation against the Murdoch tabloid is that a private investigator employed by the paper hacked into the personal accounts of family members of soldiers killed in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Murdoch continues to stand by Rebekah Brooks, chief executive of News International, who was the paper’s editor at the time the hacking took place. But will this ultimately affect Murdoch’s media empire? Companies continue to withdraw advertising from News of the World, as Murdoch is in a takeover bid for British broadcaster BSkyB, a move that would require government approval.
Rob Cox, the U.S. editor of Reuters BreakingViews, has been following this story from a business perspective.
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