NEWS CORP comes under pressure again on Thursday, with six journalists from the News of the World, including David Cameron’s former spin doctor Andy Coulson, due to face charges of alleged phone hacking at Westminster Magistrate’s Court in London.
This follows the formal charging of Rebekah Brooks, former News International chief executive, with phone hacking last week.
As the pursuit of Rupert Murdoch’s lieutenants continues in the courts, the mogul himself is becoming even more politically toxic.
Last week, British culture secretary Jeremy Hunt had to explain himself for simply shaking Murdoch’s hand at the Olympics (admittedly Hunt had faced questioning earlier in the year over his handling of News Corp’s BSkyB bid).
And Boris Johnson was heavily criticised for inviting the media mastermind to the games in the first place.
And now Murdoch no longer has God on his side either – the Church of England has finally cast him out from the flock, or at least offloaded its stake in News Corp, after its ethical advisers decided there was no hope of the media giant redeeming itself.
The church’s move means that News Corp is likely to face mounting pressure to address shareholder concerns about its governance.
