Rupert Murdoch Closes News Of The World

In a remarkable turn of events, Rupert Murdoch has decided to close the News Of The World after an international backlash over a phone hacking scandal. James Murdoch, Chairman of News International, made the announcement on the website Thursday, and also stated that no ads would run on the paper over the weekend.

The significance of the closure will affect the 200 staff working at the Paper, with Sunday's edition being its last. It is not yet known whether they will be offered new jobs in News Corp or made redundant. After 168 years, the News Of The World will end its reign over the British tabloid industry. The paper sells an estimated 2.8 million copies a week according to the BBC.

With over 4000 potential cases involving phone taps on public figures and the general public, the ongoing controversy and universal condemnation has hit Rupert Murdoch and News Corp at the worst possible time. There are now calls for the takeover bid of BskyB to be postponed until the scandal can be put to rest, which could take months, or even years.

The fiasco is symbolic because it not only shows how certain individuals exceeded their moral authority to get exclusive stories, but violated the most basic of privacy laws, tainting News Corp's global image.

Whether Rupert Murdoch will feel a financial sting is still unclear, as Britain's The Sun newspaper could be made into a 7 day edition to fill the market gap.

What do you feel about this scandal?

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