Internal reviews on at Murdoch papers

RUPERT Murdoch's scandal-hit News International confirmed yesterday it is reviewing journalistic standards across the company, a United Kingdom media empire that includes The Times of London newspaper.

The British newspaper arm of Murdoch's global empire has been shaken by widespread allegations of illegal behavior at the now-defunct News of the World tabloid, once Britain's most popular Sunday paper. More than a dozen News of the World journalists and executives have been arrested over claims that they systematically intercepted mobile phone messages and illegally paid police for tips.

Claims of wrongdoing at other newspapers have since spread a cloud of suspicion over the entire UK media industry. The publishers of the Daily Mirror and the Daily Mail, which both compete with Murdoch's papers, have announced their own, separate reviews of editorial procedure in the wake of the scandal.

In a statement, News International said its internal review was launched "a number of weeks ago" and was being carried out with the assistance of London law firm, Linklaters. It said the review was under the control of News Corp independent director Viet Dinh and Murdoch advisor Joel Klein, both of whom have served as United States assistant attorneys general, as well as the company's management and standards committee.

News International is a wholly-owned subsidiary of News Corp.

The statement gave few further details, but a person familiar with the matter confirmed that the review would examine publications, including the 226-year-old Times, its sister-publication the Sunday Times, and The Sun, Britain's biggest-selling daily.

The person said the news had been widely circulated internally in the last month.

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