News Corporation's Rebekah Brooks Resigns Amid Tabloid Scandal

Scandal-plagued Rebekah Brooks resigned as chief of News Corporation's NWSA British newspaper unit Friday, succumbing to mounting pressure amid allegations that she knowingly allowed the hacking of various voicemail accounts during her Editorship. The announcement is only the latest in a long string of turns involving the News Corporation and its British publication, The News of The World. The tabloid, which was shuttered at the direction of the Murdoch's, is alleged to have encouraged illegal eavesdropping on private voicemail accounts for news stories. Brooks was Editor during part of the time the hacking was thought to have happened. Though Brooks was a close associate of Rupert Murdoch, it became clear this week that she could not survive the scandal. The public's anger didn't dissipate despite Murdoch's effort to withdraw his company's $12 billion bid for the sole ownership of satellite broadcaster BSkyB. According to a New York Times report, "Ms. Brooks, who has denied that she knew of the phone hacking during her editorship of The News of the World, said in an e-mail to her staff at News International, Mr. Murdoch's newspaper subsidiary, “My desire to remain on the bridge has made me a focal point of the debate. This is now detracting attention from all our honest endeavours to fix the problems of the past. Therefore I have given Rupert and James Murdoch my resignation. While it has been a subject of discussion, this time my resignation has been accepted.” Rupert Murdoch, his son James, and Rebekah Brooks are scheduled to testify before Parliament next week. All three are expected to face difficult questions in light of emerging details about the hacking. The scandal has been a poignant illustration of the rapid currents of public opinion. The tabloids, once revered for their investigative prowess, overstepped the privacy barrier and have paid a significant price by losing readership.