This is an update for crisis public relations practitioners on how the Murdoch family and New Ltd has managed the hacking scandal crisis (to see earlier blogs click on ‘Murdoch’ tag). As reported below in the NYT, Les Hinton is set to appear by video conference on Oct 24. This inquiry’s focus is now on ‘getting James’, and Les Hinton’s interrogation is a stepping stone on that path. Will they get anything out of Hinton? From a crisis PR point of view this is one of the most interesting activities globally because the crisis,so far, has been handled by the Murdochs with text book expertise.
We can be sure the ctee members are aware of the barrister’s adage, ‘Never ask a question unless you know the answer.’ But, we’re pretty confident, judging by performance so far, the Murdoch team is
one step ahead. Both sides will be looking for a PR win.
British Parliament Will Question Former News Corp. Executive
By RAVI SOMAIYA: Published: October 11, 2011
LONDON — Rupert Murdoch’s former chief lieutenant, Les Hinton, will appear before Parliament to answer further questions on theNews of the World phone hacking scandal, lawmakers said Tuesday.
The parliamentary committee investigating the scandal said that Mr. Hinton will give evidence by video link from the United States on Oct. 24. Mr. Hinton was chairman of News International, the British newspaper unit of Mr. Murdoch’s News Corporation media empire, from 1995 to 2007; he then became publisher of The Wall Street Journal.
He resigned from that post over the summer in the wake of revelations that journalists at the company’s British tabloid weekly The News of the World had repeatedly broken into the private voicemail boxes of celebrities and people in the news, among other questionable practices.
The scandal led the company to shut The News of the World, and threatened to shake News Corporation to its foundations. In dramatic hearings over the summer, Mr. Murdoch, his son James and other senior figures from The News of the World and News International were shown to be sharply at odds over the question of who knew that phone hacking was endemic at the newspaper, and when they knew it. The company had insisted until early this year that the practice was limited to one “rogue reporter,” Clive Goodman, who was jailed on hacking-related charges in 2007.
Mr. Hinton “was in charge during a lot of the critical period,” said John Whittingdale, the committee chairman, in a telephone interview on Tuesday. Of particular interest, Mr. Whittingdale said, is a letter sent to Mr. Hinton and other senior figures at News International in early 2007 by Mr. Goodman, which alleged that phone hacking was undertaken by others and was “widely discussed” at the newspaper…..
