News International CEO Rebekah Brooks has resigned in the wake of the European media phone hacking scandal, saying that remaining in her post has made her the "focal point of the debate" and a distraction."At News International, we pride ourselves on setting the news agenda for the right reasons. Today we are leading the news for the wrong ones," Brooks wrote in an email to colleagues Friday that was released by News International.
"The reputation of the company we love so much, as well as the press freedoms we value so highly, are all at risk."
Brooks's resignations comes after days of mounting pressure from politicians and shareholders of Rupert Murdoch's British newspaper operations.
On Thursday, Murdoch, chairman of News Corp., and his son, James, changed their minds and said they would testify before a parliamentary panel probing the scandal over phone hacking that started with The News of the World, and forced Murdoch to withdraw a $12-billion US bid to assume full control of Britain’s biggest satellite broadcaster.
'Right and responsible action'
Brooks was editor of News of the World between 2000 and 2003, at the time of some of the hacking, but has said she knew nothing about it. She has been in charge of News International's four British newspapers since 2007.
"I have believed that the right and responsible action has been to lead us through the heat of the crisis. However, my desire to remain on the bridge has made me a focal point of the debate," she wrote to her colleagues Friday.
"This is now detracting attention from all our honest endeavours to fix the problems of the past."
Brooks, 43, said she needs to concentrate on "correcting the distortions and rebutting the allegations about my record as a journalist, an editor and executive."
She said her resignation gives her time to give her full co-operation to all future inquiries, police investigations and an appearance at the British parliamentary committee investigating the phone hacking allegations.
Full Article
Source: CBC news
No comments:
Post a Comment