INTERNAL COMMITTEE SCORES WALL ST. JOURNAL‘S MURDOCH INTERVIEW

A committee set up by the Wall Street Journal charged with ensuring its editorial integrity following the acquisition of the newspaper by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp has criticized the Journal‘s reporters and editors for the way they handled a recent exclusive interview with Murdoch during which he said that company executives had handled the telephone-hacking situation “extremely well in every way possible” and that only “minor mistakes” had been made. The committee said that the reporters “could have done a better job” handling the July 15 interview, adding that they allowed Murdoch “to get his side of the story on the record without tougher questioning.” It also wrote: “The Journal was slower than it should have been at the outset to pursue the phone-hacking scandal story, in our opinion, though it is doing much better now with aggressive coverage, fitting placement in the paper, and unflinching headlines.” Meanwhile, Britain’s Guardian newspaper reported today (Tuesday) that lawyers representing celebrities whose phones were hacked by News of the World employees have been notified by police that their own phones were hacked as well. Graham Shear, who represents singer Robbie Williams and actor Jude Law, accused News International of breaching the confidential relationship lawyers must maintain with their clients.