The whole phone hacking scandal in the U.K. is evolving at a major clip. Here’s a round-up from the past 24 hours.
- The WSJ (a Murdoch company) is reporting the Ruppert Murdoch is considering selling News International as an attempt to save News Corp over all. Murdoch has already put feelers out to see if there are any interested buyers in the British newspaper company.
- Harvey Pitt, the SEC chairman under Bush, is calling for an investigation by the SEC into News Corp related to the shareholders. News Corp stocks have taken a major hit since the news of the scandal erupted.
- Jay Rockefeller is also jumping on the investigation bandwagon. Rockefeller’s concern is that the phone hacking of 9/11 victims may have spread to this side of the pond.
- News Limited, the Australian news company owned by News Corp, is launching an internal investigation to see if any hacking or bribery has gone on there.
- Back in the U.K., David Cameron has announced a full-fledged investigation by the government into the scandal. It’s also looking like Murdoch’s attempted takeover of bSkyb news in the U.K. might finally hit a brick wall as U.K. lawmakers vote later today to demand Murdoch abandon the attempted takeover.
- And speaking of investigations in the U.K. another one is launching. This goes hand in hand with Rockefeller’s call as the investigation looks into allegations that 9/11 victims were targeted by the phone hackers.
- The head lawyer for News International has resigned from the company.
That’s a lot of developments over the past 24 hours and this story is not losing steam. The biggest takeaway from the news is that the story has gained major attention on the global front and is now seeing calls for more investigations abroad, as well as here in the U.S. I suspect today will be another news filled day when it comes to the Murdoch scandal.