Special Report | The Limbaugh and Murdoch Meltdowns: Week of May 27

"The biases the media has are much bigger than conservative or liberal. They're about getting ratings, about making money, about doing stories that are easy to cover." --Al Franken

8 New items including:

• Rush Limbaugh Ratings Drop In Several Big Markets
• Rupert Murdoch Denies Planning To Sell Off UK Newspapers
• Rebekah Brooks Charged Over Phone Hacking, Faces Trial For 'Perverting The Course Of Justice'
• Activists planning for a protracted fight against Limbaugh, and provoking one themselves
• New Arrests in Murdoch Bribery Scandal Raise Question of U.S. Charges
• UK gov't: Press must face tougher penalties
• Staff at The Sun tabloid arrested in bribe inquiry
• Murdoch's firm settles 9 phone hacking lawsuits

David Culver, Ed., Evergreene Digest

Taylor Jones

Rush Limbaugh Ratings Drop In Several Big Markets,  Jack Mirkinson, Huffington Post
Rush Limbaugh's ratings have dropped sharply in several major markets following the firestorm over his comments about Sandra Fluke, Politico reports.

Rupert Murdoch Denies Planning To Sell Off UK Newspapers, Reuters / Huffington Post
Rupert Murdoch has denied reports that News Corp is considering spinning off its British newspapers to protect the rest of his media empire from a phone hacking scandal.

Rebekah Brooks Charged Over Phone Hacking, Faces Trial For 'Perverting The Course Of Justice', Jack Mirkinson, Huffington Post
Rebekah Brooks, the former head of Rupert Murdoch's British newspaper wing and a key figure in the phone hacking crisis, is to face criminal charges over the scandal, it was announced Tuesday (May 15).


Activists planning for a protracted fight against Limbaugh, and provoking one themselves, David Bauder, Associated Press / Minneapolis (MN) Star Tribune

• The liberal Media Matters for America is using a past campaign against Glenn Beck as a template.
• They are spending at least $100,000 for two advertisements that will run in eight cities.
• After “slut” diatribe, can Limbaugh show survive, and should it?

New Arrests in Murdoch Bribery Scandal Raise Question of U.S. Charges, Lois Beckett, ProPublica

• Reuters reported last week that U.S. authorities are "stepping up investigations [4]" of the possible bribery by Murdoch employees. An FBI spokeswoman told ProPublica, "We're aware of the allegations, and we're looking into it."
• Murdoch’s Circle: The Growing News International Scandal

UK gov't: Press must face tougher penalties, Associated Press
The British Cabinet minister responsible for the media says the press must face tougher penalties for breaches of standards in the wake of the tabloid phone-hacking scandal.

Staff at The Sun tabloid arrested in bribe inquiry, David Stringer, Associated Press / Pan Amermenian Net
Five staff at Britain's largest selling tabloid, the Sun, were arrested Saturday (Feb 11) along with three other people over alleged bribes paid to police and defense officials, detectives and the newspaper's parent company said.

Murdoch's firm settles 9 phone hacking lawsuits, Raphael Satter, Associated Press / Huffington Post

• Murdoch's company still faces a host of other lawsuits linked to journalists obtaining scoops using illegal means. Hugh Tomlinson, the lawyer for the victims, said six more new lawsuits had been filed and 50 other cases are being prepared.
• How the Media Is Taking Us Toward War With Iran