Murdoch broadcasting group BSkyB may continue to broadcast
The BSkyB broadcasting group, which is partly owned by Rupert Murdoch's US media group News Corp, will be allowed to continue broadcasting in the UK. Investigations into the wiretapping scandal surrounding News Corp. have not produced any evidence that BSkyB is also involved.
Sky is "fit and proper" to retain its broadcasting licenses, the media commission Ofcom declared on Thursday. Murdoch's media empire holds 39 percent of BSkyB. Employees of the former British Murdoch scandal newspaper News of the World are alleged to have tapped the answering machines of numerous celebrities and politicians and bribed police officers. In the wake of the scandal, Murdoch closed the newspaper without further ado.
Ofcom stated that there were no indications that Sky journalists were using similar methods to obtain exclusive news. However, the Media Commission is still investigating two cases in which Sky claims to have hacked email accounts. Ofcom also found no breaches at Murdoch's son James, who resigned as head of BSkyB in April. However, the commission criticized the former chief commercial officer of the News of the World for "his repeated failure to respond on his own initiative" to the scandal. (sda)
