Sang Tan / AP Photo
Rupert Murdoch said he did not know about phone-hacking and illegal payments at News Corp.—fishy statements when you consider how involved he typically is with his papers. The New York Times describes him as a “fully engaged” boss, with former editors at News of the World and The Sun saying he called frequently to communicate what one former editor describes as “telephone terrorism.” Murdoch is said to sometimes have been so involved as to write headlines—a former adviser to Tony Blair says Murdoch himself chose the one-word headline “Treachery” for a News of the World criticizing the then-prime minister. Murdoch also apparently fumed at editors of his British papers for turning down an opportunity to purchase information on parliamentary expense accounts, allowing a rival paper, The Telegraph, to snatch the scoop.