As Prince Metternich mused, on hearing of the death of Talleyrand: “What did he mean by that?” Every move by Rupert Murdoch in response to the phone-hacking scandal that has rocked News Corp is treated to an intense form of Kremlinology. Yesterday’s announcement that James Murdoch had stepped down as executive chairman of News International leaves the UK newspaper business without a Murdoch at the helm for the first time. That obviously means something. But what, exactly?
正如梅特涅亲王(Prince Metternich)在听到塔列朗(Talleyrand)死讯时沉思自问“他这是什么意思”的那样,对于重创了新闻集团(News Corporation)的电话窃听丑闻,鲁珀特•默多克(Rupert Murdoch)的每一项应对举措,都受到了苏俄政策研究(Kremlinology)式的解读。新闻集团昨日宣布,詹姆斯•默多克(James Murdoch)将不再担任新闻国际(News International)执行董事长一职,这让这块英国报纸业务首次不在默多克家族的控制之下。显然,这意味着什么。但究竟是什么呢?