16. Rupert Murdoch’s 90% Apology

Who Did It?

In 2011, when a mobile phone hacking scandal rocked the foundation of his media empire, News Corp. Chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch issued an apology in full-page newspaper advertisements the day after the story broke. The ads, headed “We are sorry,” went on to read:

We are sorry for the serious wrongdoing that occurred. We are deeply sorry for the hurt suffered by the individuals affected. We regret not acting faster to sort things out. I realise that simply apologising is not enough.¹

At first glance, the apology appears to take full responsibility—but not quite. Mr. Murdoch composed that first sentence, “We are sorry for the serious wrongdoing that occurred,” in the passive voice, in which the doer of the action is not stated. This is a form of speech common in British culture (as common as the British spelling style of “realise” and “apologising”) to convey their characteristic reserve; but it is also form of speech used by public figures—particularly politicians—to duck responsibility, as you saw in the previous chapter.

The sentence does not say who did the wrongdoing. If Mr. Murdoch had used the active voice and written, “We are sorry for the serious wrongdoing we committed” instead of “that occured,” he would have taken 100% responsibility.

As an Australian, Mr. Murdoch is steeped in British culture. He is also a lifelong journalist who is fully schooled in grammar. But he is also a man who was faced with an embarrassing public situation aptly described by the New York Times headline “Tentacles of Phone-Hacking Scandal Grow Tighter,”² and he had to tread very carefully.

Which raises two questions: Which aspect of Mr. Murdoch’s character did his newspaper apology reflect, and what was his true intent?

Flash forward to 2012 when, after a nearly year-long investigation by the United Kingdom Parliament’s Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, the group issued a report that found that Rupert Murdoch is “not a fit person to exercise the stewardship of a major international company.”³

Humbled, Mr. Murdoch sent an e-mail to his News Corp. employees saying, “We certainly should have acted more quickly and aggressively to uncover wrongdoing. We deeply regret what took place and have taken our share of responsibility for not rectifying the situation sooner.”⁴

He finally took full responsibility with the active voice and made a 100% apology.