Not the least astonishing aspect of the News of the World affair is the useless manner in which the Murdoch family has responded to the crisis. There appears to have been no plan, no attempt to get a grip on the situation; they have instead lurched from one miscalculation to another.
Not that Rupert sees it that way. Apparently the company has made only “minor mistakes” and the crisis has been handled “extremely well in every way possible”. Which is one way of looking at it.
The initial decision to simply shutter the News of the World took everyone by surprise. Perhaps the Murdochs assumed this would put an end to the matter. In retrospect, closing the paper simply invited additional questions. Murdoch’s apparent infatuation with Rebekah Brooks – saving her job at the expense of hundreds of others – suggested the emperor was more interested in protecting a court favourite than demonstrating any real remorse, far less reform.
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