'I Failed,' Murdoch Admits at Phone Hacking Probe (CNN, BBC, NYT, GUA, HUFF)

By Hollywood Wiretap staff

A contrite Rupert Murdoch admitted today to a phone-hacking cover-up at one of his tabloid newspapers and apologized for not paying more attention to a scandal that led him to shutter the News of the World. The scandal, being probed by Britain�s Leveson Inquiry, has rocked his media empire to its core and could lead to further repercussions for British politicians and police who are increasingly looking like they will become futher enmeshed. "I also have to say that I failed," he said before a long pause, the BBC observed. "And I am very sorry for it." Murdoch admitted there was a "cover-up" of phone hacking at News of the World, but he said his News Corp. had been a victim, not the perpetrator: "Someone took charge of a cover-up, which we were victim to and I regret." He blamed "one or two very strong individuals" at the paper, but did not name them, saying it was because they could still face criminal charges, per the BBC. He told the commission, which is looking into media ethics, that he and senior executives were "shielded" from the extent of phone-hacking.