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Les Hinton is the chief executive of Dow Jones and the publisher of the
Wall Street Journal, the most prestigious and valued media holdings of
Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation
media empire. Hinton is implicated as a key player in at least the
cover up of illegal break-ins involving hundreds of voice mail accounts
belonging to news worthy British citizens high and low. Hinton was
chairman of News International, the parent company of Murdoch's London
tabloids and newspapers (including the Times of London), at the time of
the illegal activities and police investigations. (Image)
What Happened Under Hinton's Reign?
The UK phone jacking scandal started in 2007 when news broke that the News of the World, London's leading tabloid, had been breaking into to voice mail accounts of prominent British citizens:
"In 2006,
reporters at the paper used private investigators to illegally gain
access to hundreds of mobile phone voicemail accounts held by a variety
of people of interest to the newspaper. In 2007 the paper's royal
correspondent, Clive Goodman, pleaded guilty to illegal interception of personal communication and was jailed for four months; the paper's editor, Andy Coulson,
had resigned two weeks earlier. In 2009/2010, further revelations
emerged on the extent of the phone hacking, and how it was common
knowledge within the News of the World and its News International
parent. According to a former reporter at the paper, "Everyone knew.
The office cat knew," about the illegal activities used to scoop
stories." Wikipedia
It died down due to lackluster investigation by the London Metropolitan Police. But when it was revealed that the electronic spying was focused on crime victims and orphans, the British public had quite enough.
James Murdoch, son of Mr. Murdoch, pulled the plug on the News of World,
earlier this week after claims it paid private investigators to
illegally intercept the voice mail messages of murdered schoolgirl Milly
Dowler, bereaved military families and relatives of London bombing
victims. It is also accused of paying thousands of pounds illegally to
corrupt police officers. Irish Times, July 9
The Sky is Falling
Now, Murdoch's highly lucrative deal to take over 60% of broadcasting giant BSkyB is threatened by this scandal. Prime Minister David Cameron's Culture Minister was expected to approve the acquisition. Quickly, that option may become a political impossibility given Cameron's personal involvement with News Corporation executives, in particular, Rebekah Brooks.
The much reviled Brooks is the former head of the News of the World, shut down just this week as a result of the scandal. Brooks and Cameron appear to be very close. They take regular horseback rides together in the woods near Brooks' country estate and Cameron attended a Christmas party at the Brooks estate, something he was criticized for in the London press.
Hints About Hinton
Les Hinton was and is once again a key player in the investigation.
The Guardian summed up the problems facing Murdoch's prize possession, the WSJ:
"As News Corporation battles to prevent the damage caused by the phone-hacking scandal spilling over into its all-important US holdings, attention is falling on Les Hinton, one of Rupert Murdoch's closest executives in New York, who was deeply involved in the handling of the affair.
Since 2007, Hinton has been chief executive of Dow Jones, publisher of the Wall Street Journal
and one of the most prestigious of Murdoch's possessions. The bastion
of US business coverage is seen as the crown jewel of Murdoch's media
empire." Ed Pilkington, The Guardian, July 8
Hinton faces major challenges right now. The Guardian reports that he may have misrepresented News Corporation's internal investigations to the British Parliament.
"Hinton
replied by standing up for Andy Coulson, the News of the World editor
who had resigned over the Goodman affair while denying any knowledge of
it: "I believe absolutely that Andy did not have knowledge of what was
going on." Coulson was arrested on Friday in connection with the
phone-hacking investigation." Guardian, July 8.
