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Subscribe to RSSLONDON -- U.K. broadcaster Sky News -- part-owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation -- admitted Thursday that it approved the hacking of emails by a journalist, but insisted it had been done in the public interest.
The news channel said that in one case it broke into the emails belonging to Anne and John Darwin, who became notorious after the latter tried to fake his own death in a canoeing accident as part of an elaborate insurance fraud.
NBC News Correspondent Jim Maceda shares details from the testimony.
The news channel said in a statement Thursday that "we do not take such decisions lightly or frequently" and said the investigation had served the public interest, The Associated Press reported.
John Ryley, the head of Sky News, told The Guardian newspaper that the broadcaster had "authorized a journalist to access the emails of individuals suspected of criminal activity."
Ex-tabloid editor and friend of UK PM arrested in phone-hacking probe
James Murdoch insists he didn't mislead British lawmakers
Journalist: CNN star Piers Morgan must have known about tabloid phone hacking
Former chief executive of News International, Rebekah Brooks, has been arrested for a second time by police investigating allegations of illegal phone hacking. ITN's Neil Connery reports.
The Guardian named the journalist involved as Gerard Tubb, the broadcaster's northern England correspondent.
It said he also accessed email accounts of a suspected child sex offender and his wife.
Darwin went missing in Britain in 2002 after going out to sea in a canoe and was presumed dead. However, he flew to Panama and his wife later joined him there. They were exposed after posing for a photograph with a realtor in Panama.
Undeterred by arrests and criminal investigations of his staff, media tycoon Rupert Murdoch launched the publication of a new tabloid, the Sunday Sun, He hopes to fill the gap left by the paper he had to close because of a phone hacking scandal. Annabel Roberts reports.
Sky News didn't identify which story was the result of hacking, but The Associated Press reported that in an article dated July 21, 2008, Tubb said the channel had uncovered documentary evidence showing that John Darwin had decided to come back to England because he was having trouble staying in Panama.
"We discovered an email," the article begins, without giving any explanation of how the message was obtained.
Sky News said the emails were later handed to police, according to The AP.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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So it's ok to break the law if you determine it's in the public's best interest? Just want to make sure I have it straight.
Yes, that does seem to be the argument, doesn't it. Coming soon, "Rupert Death Squads," roaming the streets and gunning down those determined to be a burden on society. Who could complain about that?
News Corp is quite the criminal enterprise, isn't it?
Well, you know, criminal newspapers sure have my trust when it comes to 'protecting my interest,' NOT.
@ Brett Bern: It is if you the journalist really thinks so. However, if it is that important to do so (hopefully on moral grounds), have the courage stand by your actions. (Think of the reporter on the Daniel Elsberg Papers)
In this case we are not trying to stop a war, or a genocide or, freeing an innocent man.
We are talking about sleeze pure and simple then trying to cover it up.
Prison time for all.
Sure....... they didn't hack into celebrity emails for the $$$$$, it was because they care tooooo much.
Time to start locking some of these clowns up.
Anybody seen a story on MSNBC about recent developments in the Trayvon Martin case since NBC got caught editing the 911 tape ??
On the front page of the website, in fact. In a fairly prominent place.
Yep....It is definitely on the front page of the website under "Videos".
I don't know if a day has gone by since this story broke where it wasn't on the front page.
My favorites are the misleading titles. One insinuated that some type of action was taking place in the case but it was just the standard protests that have been going on for awhile.
Heads should also roll for the claim Zimmerman says "f-ing c--ns" on the 911 tape and ABC claiming a video was proof that there were "no visible injuries" after the incident.
The media had their narrative: Racist stalks and murders helpless kid with skittles.
They're as crooked as the "crooks" they were hacking into. If they did it in the 'public interest', then perhaps it would be further in the public interest to see all of them sitting in a jail cell. No....that would be public justice.
The "public interest" won't be served until Rupert Murdoch and his son are in jail.
At the very least it makes you wonder about Fox News......
If you don't know about Fox News already, you're probably beyond redemption. ;)
And you probably don't wonder about MSNBC. LOL. Hypocrites.
Most people who whine about Fox News will never get it.
Nothing like Fox "News"!! Selective outrage when liberals do bad things but not conservatives.....Bill O'Reilly, who speaks for traditional values, had to pay out millions of dollars in an out of court settlement for sexually harassing one of his employees..That doesn't stop him or his network (owned by the literally criminal News Corp) from pushing those conservative family values........Constantly defending the leading spokesman for conservatism, Rush Limbaugh, even though Rush is a pill popping junkie on his fourth marriage, with three divorces under his belt,...Why are so many of you guys such frauds and hypocrites?
The kicker is the discovery that Fox News viewers were wrong about factual news questions more than half the time. In other words, they'd be better-informed if they watched no news programs at all, and just guessed. And we're not talking about matters of opinion here, just basic, objective, factual information.
Not a Drone:
MSNBC has been charged with hacking emails and voice-mails? Had criminal charges leveled against them? Had numerous leading executives resign or get fired or arrested? fux news is a snake pit full of self-aggrandizing televangelists.
@Drone
Fox News has testified in court that it was not a news station and as such was not bound by journistic standards and had a right to lie to its viewers. Why should anyone believe anything they say?
Earlyout.
"If you don't know about Fox News already, you're probably beyond redemption. ;)"
I was just trying to do something Fox can't do, be Fair and Balanced.
When has the media become the law? The media does not have any authority to conduct a legal investigation into any criminal matter.
The medias job is to report what happens on a daily basis and nothing more. Sure they can investigate such acts as companies that use fracking techniques because the result is within the public eye such as peoples water being lit on fire because of the problems associated with fracking putting hazardous chemicals into the ground.
But the the media does not have the right to use illegal methods to obtain information in a criminal case. Such media are acting like they are the judge jury and hangman or vigilantes.
Oh by the way Cheasepeke Engery in Carrollton, stop harassing people and following people around to force us to keep our mouths shut about your illegal and damaging drilling practices that are going to cause problems with our water tables because of your stupidity.
Carroll County is not going to sit back while you purposely contaminate the ground water supply where you hope that people will move out and sell their land cheap to you because no one wants to a buy or live in a house where everytime they turn the water on they can ignite the gas coming out of the spicket because your drilling operation is nothing short of irresponsibility in trying to get as much natural gas out of the ground at one time.
Don't sell your land to any type of drilling company that uses fracking instead sell your land to those companies that use conventional drilling techniques that do not involve creating earthquakes over the drilling process has occured.
Loser.
"When has the media become the law? The media does not have any authority to conduct a legal investigation into any criminal matter."
Have you been paying attention to the Trayvon Martin case?
UNFORTUNATELY your view of the media is extremely ignorant.
The media doesn't report what happens on a daily basis and nothing more. They look for stories and will go to excessive lengths to find them.... including skirting and outright breaking the law.
Collecting scalps, Rupert. Fox news is next on the docket.
This is a commentary, not only on Murdoch and the FOX Empire but a broader reflection of the powerful forces behind the Political Right in general. In spite of all their rhetoric about morals and religion and them being the true protectors of the American way, they are little more than hackers and common criminals who will stoop at nothing to get what they want.
And the Democrat politician's son hacking Sarah Palin's email?
Is he not a "common criminal who will stoop at nothing to get what he wants"?
He was arrested and stood trial. It's good to see you support the same happening to Murdoch.
It’s funny that whenever you criticize the Right for outrageous crimes, they come back and give a little example of a Liberal doing a lesser deed. A conservative politician will have gay sex with pages or use tax payer dollars to fly to South America to have an affair, but the right bring up Paula Jones trying to say that it was equally egregious.
(exception is Edwards- THAT was awful and worthy of a Republican)
Murdoch didn't do the hacking. Those who should most certainly should face charges. This happened in the UK, whatever laws were broken should apply.
If you can prove that Murdoch specifically ordered the hacking then please feel free to provide such evidence.
It must be awesome to live in a world where you can blame the owner of a company for the actions of those within the company....especially media types who are obsessed about "getting the story" at all costs. In the UK they are even worse than the USA from what I've seen.
And Tao33, my "comeback" was made for a specific reason that clearly goes above your tiny head. A tiny head that ignores that Edwards was a Democrat and allows you to associate his crummy behavior as "worthy of a Republican" rather than simply "crummy behavior".
Scumbags. And that Peirs Morgan should be fired from CNN. He was in charge when some of the hacking was going on. He listed to recordings that could only come from someone’s voice mail. Hmm, and one wonders why he left England in the first place.
How funny, on the comments section of every story you have one person like "not a drone" who goes from thread to thread saying, "yeah but what about obama, or what about msnbc". Do they pay you guys by the post or by the word? I noticed this last night on a number of stories, there is always one or two of you that post "rubber and glue" comments on every thread, even if that thread had nothing to do with politics.
They actually might get paid. Or they are, in fact, drones.
I get paid? Is that projection?
"We hacked this losers email 'for the public good'
Ummm - LIAR.
You did it for the money, for the ratings, for the money to be made.
Don't dishonor us by telling us it was 'for the public good'.