News Corp. shareholders are calling for James Murdoch’s head, but there are at least superficial clean-up efforts going on internally at News Corp.
News International reporters have been told to call an “alertline” to report corrupt or illegal activities in the newsroom, stemming from revelations that News of the World reporters had paid police for information, reports the Independent.
Like a college honor code, the policy states that employees who suspect violations must report them to the News Corp. legal department, but they promise legal support for anyone who wrongly accuses someone in good faith.
Metropolitan police are in the throes of Operation Elveden, an investigation into a series of emails that suggest police officers were paid by News of the World between 2003 and 2007, and the legal firm Linklaters is auditing emails at sister paper The Sun.
The new policy especially strict on buttering up public servants, including “gifts, entertainment or hospitality” in its definition of bribery.
Does that mean reporters can’t treat a bobby to a pint at the pub?
Any hospitality must be “reasonable in value, respectable in type or venue, and have a legitimate business purpose,” according to the Independent.
