Rupert Murdoch says "I'm sorry" for phone-hacking

Murdoch and News Corp. issued full-page ads in all the major British newspapers apologizing Friday

The News of the World phone-hacking scandal has devolved into madness.  The popular 168-year-old British tabloid published its final issue last Sunday, with all proceeds going to “good causes,” according to James Murdoch, Chairman of News International.  But News Corp.’s public spanking didn’t end there.  Earlier this week, News Corp. pulled its $12 billion takeover bid for full control over British Sky Broadcasting.  And now Rupert Murdoch is officially issuing an apology on behalf of News Corp. and News of the World.

The apology, which ran Friday in the form of full-page ads in all of the major British newspapers, reads:

The News of the World was in the business of holding others to account. It failed when it came to itself.

We are sorry for the serious wrongdoing that occurred.

We are deeply sorry for the hurt suffered by the individuals affected.

We regret not acting faster to sort things out.

I realise that simply apologising is not enough.

Our business was founded on the idea that a free and open press should be a positive force in society.

 We need to live up to this.

In the coming days, as we take further concrete steps to resolve these issues
and make amends for the damage they have caused, you will hear more from us.

The 80-year-old Murdoch also met with the family of Milly Dowler, the 13-year-old murder victim whose phone was hacked into by News of the World reporters, to apologize.

Meanwhile, the person who was really at the center of the scandal, News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks, on Friday apologized and resigned.  In an internal memo sent to News International staff, Brooks wrote:

As Chief Executive of the company, I feel a deep sense of responsibility for the people we have hurt and I want to reiterate how sorry I am for what we now know to have taken place. I have believed that the right and responsible action has been to lead us through the heat of the crisis. However my desire to remain on the bridge has made me a focal point of the debate. This is now detracting attention from all our honest endeavours to fix the problems of the past. Therefore I have given Rupert and James Murdoch my resignation. While it has been a subject of discussion, this time my resignation has been accepted.

Brooks has been replaced by Tom Mockridge, a New Zealander who joined News Corp. in 1991 and has been in charge of Sky Italia since 2003. 

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