The new institution is to investigate complaints about reporting and ensure that apologies or corrections are published in a timely and appropriate manner. In recent weeks, the major British newspapers had warned against restricting press freedom through stricter media control. Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron said on Monday that his Tories' agreement with their coalition partner the Liberal Democrats and the opposition Labour Party had prevented an overly strict media law. Labor leader David Miliband said the newspapers had "nothing to fear".

In order to guarantee the independence of the new media regulator, it is to be created on a special legal basis - on which the BBC broadcaster and the British central bank are also based. Newspapers will have a say in the composition of the committee, but no right of veto. Media that do not wish to submit to the control will face severe penalties for offenses such as libel. The new media regulator is based on the report of a commission of experts that investigated the News of The World affair.

Journalists at the newspaper had been tapping the phones and voicemails of hundreds of celebrities, relatives of killed soldiers and victims of crime and bribing police officers for years in the hunt for exclusive stories. After the scandal broke in 2011, media mogul Rupert Murdoch shut down News of the World (Werbewoche.ch reported). Dozens of those responsible were arrested. (SDA)
 

"This is the most humbling day of my life," said Rupert Murdoch at the start of the hearing before the Media Committee in the House of Commons in London. The public hearing, which was broadcast live on television, is one of the most sensational hearings ever held by a parliamentary committee.

Murdoch rejected any responsibility for the wiretapping scandal at his British newspapers. He had also seen no evidence that victims of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 in the USA had been wiretapped by journalists. Nor did he assume that the US Federal Police had such evidence. The News of the World had been shut down because of the allegations against the newspaper.

Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation has reacted to the wiretapping affair at the British scandal newspaper News of the World as "quickly and transparently" as possible, Rupert Murdoch and his son James went on to say. The two entrepreneurs reacted dismissively to many questions.

The News of the World accounted for less than one percent of the group, said the 80-year-old media czar. Most of the cases did not even reach the threshold of the Murdochs being involved, added his son James. When the company management became aware of the case of the spied on actress Sienna Miller in 2010, they immediately informed the police and initiated further investigations.

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This was triggered by suspicions that News Corp. journalists had attempted to tap the phones of victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks. According to the Wall Street Journal, the FBI also wants to know whether there were attempts to bribe police officers in order to obtain the information. Meanwhile, according to SDA, Murdoch defended his company's actions in the wiretapping scandal surrounding the British tabloid News of the World. The 80-year-old told the Wall Street Journal, which is also owned by News Corp, that the group would recover from any negative effects of the allegations.

Rupert Murdoch rejected reports that he would sell all his British newspapers because of the scandal, as well as criticism of how he and his son James reacted to the crisis. He was annoyed by all the recent negative press, he explained.
 

This was stated by the son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, James Murdoch, on Thursday. The paper is said to have intercepted the phone calls not only of celebrities, but also of relatives of killed British soldiers, among others. It was recently revealed that journalists from the newspaper are also alleged to have tapped victims of the 2005 London terror attacks. Journalists from the newspaper are also alleged to have cracked the cell phone of a missing girl in 2002 in order to listen to her voicemail.

British Prime Minister David Cameron called for an investigation after the allegations came to light. In 2007, a journalist and a private investigator at the newspaper were already convicted of tapping the phones of celebrities and members of the royal family.