As the news continues to unfold of the scandal involving the Murdoch Empire, with revelations and disclosures surfacing almost hourly, you can't help but feel this whole story has become something akin to a Morality Play. Good versus Evil. The temptations and promises of power in exchange for principles. And how it has corrupted and distorted every aspect of our media as the result.

The irony is that it could just have easily gone the other way.

Rupert Murdoch (from an interview early on in his career): “The newspaper can create great controversies, stir up anger within the community, discussion. It can throw light on injustices just as it can do the opposite, It can hide things and be a great power for evil.”

Great power for Evil. Yes, it's certainly become that. And it started with bargains and promises. And in order to achieve that level of power something has to fall by the wayside. Selling ones soul, if you want to go the Morality Play route. It would seem Murdoch did the trade quite gladly and never gave the consequences a second thought.

Murdoch believes he has done nothing wrong. His entire empire is built on the perception he is giving the people what they want and in doing so has made him one of the wealthiest men in the world. That it is subject to the whims of those helping him achieve that power is of no consequence to him. That his entire empire and mission is built on a foundation of bribes and influence peddling seems shocking to those close to him who are now resigning in droves. I was reminded of the documentary footage I saw recently of the citizens of the town of Dachau in Germany at the end of the war, being forced to see what was going on in the concentration camp a few yards away from them. The shock and revulsion were prevalent and the horror at what was done was plainly obvious and how the wave of guilt overcame many to the point of suicide. Not saying the Newscorp scandal is cause for mass suicide, but the sense of sudden guilt and shame is pretty palpable as is the sense of denial. Arrogance making it impossible to believe any moral wrong has actually been done.

As news of the scandal threatens to land here in the U.S., pundits are quick to point out American media aren't anything like British tabloids - we don't hack phones and bribe police. We don't have Page 3 Girls. We don't linger over lurid details. Maybe we don't, but Newscorp and Murdoch have set up a style of journalism that gives winking approval to playing fast and loose with facts, skillfully manipulating the truth so it comes out as a lie and twists lies around so they appear true. Those may not be legal issues, but they are certainly moral ones and it has been the Murdoch Style of journalism that has permeated just about every aspect of our Mainstream Media and turned it into the wall of noise it is today.

Someone once told me Rupert Murdoch doesn't actually care about politics one way or the other - it's only a means to an end. It is a business and a quest for personal power plain and simple. It just happens to impact most peoples lives on a daily basis. But that doesn't seem to, or at least didn't seem to, be of any importance to those in charge and those answering to Murdoch. Not until now as the growing anger and disgust continue to swell.

How this will all play out in the coming days, weeks, months is anyone's guess. I've stopped issuing hunches, because there is no use predicting anything at this point. It has become stranger than I've imagined.

Earlier today (July 16), BBC Radio 4 ran a fifteen minute Profile of Rupert Murdoch, including numerous interviews with those around him, including his own mother who, at 102 is still a presence.

It makes for an interesting listen and it adds to the notion this is a tragedy of far-reaching proportions. Not just for the immediate scandal at hand, but for how information itself has been abused and distorted for a very long time.

And what will it look like on the very long and rocky road back.

Update: We're slowly chipping away at the emergency, even though we haven't gotten very past the 1/3 mark. There's still a long ways to go and not much time left. My grateful thanks to those of you who have donated over night. Your help is appreciated beyond my words to convey it. If we had a few more like you, we'd be out of the woods and we could get back to normal. Unfortunately, when you have the loss of your website facing you, the loss of the archive that this website completely relies on for its daily posts facing you, it's hard to think of anything beyond raising enough money to keep disaster at bay. So won't you please consider making a donation in order to keep Newstalgia alive? Any amount is desperately needed, no matter how paltry you may think it is - every penny and every dollar goes in to chip away at the emergency. And every penny and every dollar helps. We can make this happen, but I need your help.

This day in 1941 was staring at the 600th since that ominous overture to Poland in 1939. And in that time, Europe was engulfed in a series of invasions, surrenders and daily desperation.

From London came word that German bombing raids over Britain the previous night were mostly confined to the Southeast and Northeast of England, but casualties were reported to be small. It was also the second successive night London went without a raid alarm.

The RAF retaliated with attacks on targets throughout occupied Europe.

The Free French Island of Tahiti declared itself on the side of DeGaulle.

There were unconfirmed yet persistent reports that Athens had fallen to the Germans and that Greece was in danger of being a lost Allied cause.

From Berlin came news that the previous nights address by Charles Lindbergh of the America First Committee at Madison Square Garden in New York drew praise in the German press, fueling speculation that maybe America would not get involved in the War after all.

Hitler concluded talks with Hungarian leaders in the wake of preparing German plans for the occupied Balkan region. Japanese Foreign Minister Matsuoka returned to Tokyo, armed with assurances and a renewed alliance with Berlin. Rumors that Germany was planning a move to Spain and Portugal were shrugged off as British propaganda, despite credible reports that some 2,500 German operatives posing as "tourists" were roaming the streets of Madrid.

It was also learned that German brewers were considering the idea of "light beer" to go with calls from the government to curb alcohol use, even though they hadn't even entered the experimental stage yet. And shortages were turning into rationing of cigarettes and cigars, in the wake of government calls to ban tobacco, which was deemed not such a good thing from a morale point of view.

And back in the U.S. - Secretary of State Cordell Hull called for renewed support of Britain in their fight against the axis and to support Lend-Lease.

All on this day in April, 1941 as reported by NBC and it's News Of The World.

News for this day in 1942 covered the war on a number of fronts.

Reports from London told of intense fighting in North Africa, with German forces aiming at Tobruk in Libya. Several thousand more U.S. troops landed in Northern Ireland with reports of no submarine attacks en route. The U.S. Army introduced the new design of helmet, abandoning the old one used during World War 1. News was also reported of the signing of the Anglo-Russian pact.

From neutral Stockholm came sparse reports from the Eastern Front, but word of Russian attacks on Sebastopol and Kharkov in an attempt to drive the German army out of the area were revealed.

From New York and Washington it was learned that the Japanese had landed on Kiska in the Aleutian Islands. It was viewed as a face-saving measure by Tokyo in lieu of the crippling loses from the battles of Midway and The Coral Sea, even though the Aleutian Islands were not viewed as an important strategic gain. Still, it made for a propaganda tool, as it meant the Japanese had landed in North America.

This day in 1942 also marked the 43rd anniversary of Gen. Douglas MacArthur's entry into West Point and much was made of the promise by MacArthur to return to The Philippines. It was also announced that, as of midnight, a huge rubber drive was inaugurated and everyone in the U.S. was urged to turn in rubber goods for the war effort. Today also marked the inauguration of V-Mail.

And that's what happened on this June 13th in 1942 as reported by NBC's News Of The World.

The latest in the Rupert Murdoch/News of The World/News Corp/News International Phone hacking scandal finds the much-awaited release of the findings of the Leveson Inquiry damning of Rupert Murdoch and the Editors in charge at News Of The World.

In short, the Members Of Parliament found Rupert Murdoch had a curious habit of "looking the other way" with regards to the Phone Hacking Scandal. And as a result, was deemed by the panel to be "unfit to run an International Business".

Although the panel was split along Partisan lines - with four of the Conservative Members of Parliament voting not to include the "unfit to run a company" disclosure, they were unanimous in their agreement that Murdoch had mislead and deceived the Leveson Inquiry as to the true nature of the scandal.

In the report findings, aired over BBC Radio 4 's program PM, it was considered by some to be not all that earth shattering and that the scandal as a whole had more interest in Westminster than it did on the street.

Whether or not that's true remains to be seen. It's interesting to note that calls on this side of the Atlantic for an FCC inquiry into the operations of Murdoch's Fox News seem to have made more newsworthy headlines in the UK than over here. The move may be regarded as more symbolic than anything else, judging by the somewhat punchless and ineffectual state the FCC is in. However, there is still the ongoing DOJ Investigation of Phone Hacking and Bribery charges involving News Of The World related cases over here.

And all that lurks somewhere in the future.

But for now, Westminster has spoken and Rupert Murdoch's school of Tabloid Journalism received a slap on its faux-incompetent wrist.

ED. NOTE: We are just thisclose to our fundraising goals to protect this fabulous archive of Gordon's. If you haven't contributed (even $5 moves us closer to the goalposts), please consider doing so tonight.

News for this day in 1940 was all about the deteriorating situation in Norway and the reaction on both sides of the Atlantic to what was becoming an ominous tide to the war. It was also around this day the world got a new word to mull around; Quisling.

Vidkun Quisling was head of the puppet government which ultimately paved the way for Berlin to take over Norway with comparative ease. After this episode, anyone accused of selling out or being a traitor to his own country was referred to as a "Quisling". But the invasion of Norway wasn't without resistance, and the small Norwegian Army, still loyal to the King who was now in hiding somewhere in the mountains, was facing the German onslaught, along with assistance from Britain. It wasn't sufficient enough to prevent the German army from occupying Oslo and several other key cities in the country. As of this day, most fighting was taking place around the port city of Narvik and speculation was rife that Norway would be one of several small European countries coming under German occupation in the coming months.

News from Capitol Hill was also in reaction to the situation in Norway, with a feature report of heroism on the part of American Ambassador to Norway Daisy Harriman in aiding refugees and keeping the State Department informed of the goings on.

All of this led many in Washington to wonder just how long it was going to be before the U.S. got involved in the shooting war.

But at the moment, it was all very distant and abstract, even as it was being reported by the NBC Blue Network on their News Of The World for April 13, 1940.

The scandal that refuses to go away. The ongoing Leveson Inquiry into phone hacking and bribery at News of The World and News International netted another stay in jail for Rebekah Brooks this morning. This time however, she was joined in finger prints and mug shots by husband Charlie Brooks, noted Horse trainer and author as he was taken in as a possible accessory.

Also involved in the early morning roundup were former Head of Security at News International Mark Hanna and three others, as yet unidentified but only referred to as "men in their late 30's and 40's".

The ongoing Inquiry and seemingly endless revelations about corruption, cover-up and bribery having to do with the phone hacking scandal is now taking on a more serious tone, as was revealed in a BBC Radio 4 Interview today on the PM program. The possibilities of life in prison could await Brooks, although it would seem unlikely, are nonetheless very real options facing those convicted in this scandal.

The focus of the Leveson Inquiry, while the arrests are going on, is focused on bribes and corruption withing the Police Force as the result of the News Of The World/News International scandal. Today's testimony will most likely lead to additional arrests in the coming days.

The inquiry and the scandal have no end in sight.

Here, as way of catching up if you've missed it, is today's slice of Drama as presented on The World At One and PM, both from BBC Radio 4.

More, I am sure, will be forthcoming.

As the War in Europe started to heat up, all eyes were on the border dispute between Finland and Russia, this March 9th in 1940.

With Germany pressing Moscow for a settlement, fighting had broken out while this broadcast was on the air. The French government was optimistic the Finns would successfully repel Soviet aggression, and Hitler sent Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop on a mission to Rome to try and find some resolution.

Meanwhile, German radio was quick to accuse the U.S. of inciting the Finns to carry on their dispute, although in Washington there was no confirmation or denial of those rumors or give any indication they would have anything to do with the conflict now or in the future.

But Capitol Hill had its own set of situations to deal with. Since it was an election year (1940 Presidential elections), squabbles erupted within the Democratic party over a piece of legislation being introduced called The Hatch Act, or as it was referred to, the "Pure Politics Law" and Congresswoman Mary Norton, Labor Committee Chairperson, condemned the Smith committee move to drop the Labor Relations Board and revise the current Labor law. Norton threatened to take the issue before the voters and make it a campaign topic in 1940.

And so went this day, along with much other news for March 9, 1940 as presented by NBC's News Of The World with reports direct from London and Berlin by reporters who seemed to have trouble reading their own copy.

News as it happens. Or news, it just so happens.

March 6th in 1948 got off to a bumpy start. Beginning with reports from Berlin that Communists were infiltrating the West German labor unions. A coup was underway in Czechoslovakia. A Three Power Conference on Post-War Germany was getting underway in London minus the participation of the Soviet Union. Finland was negotiating a Military Alliance Treaty with the Soviet Union in Helsinki. The Western European Alliance Conference was getting underway in Brussels. And the United Nations decided to dump the Palestine Partition situation in the laps of the U.S. and USSR to sort out. A violence resumed in Haifa.

Meanwhile, back in the States - A Filibuster was getting ready over pending Civil Rights legislation in the Senate. Eight Dixiecrats pledged to hold up proceedings by reading everything from the DC phonebook to Webster's Dictionary in an attempt to kill any vote having to do with progress. Also pending was a vote on revisions in the Marshall Plan.

And Harry Bridges was ousted as President of the CIO with calls for his deportation back to Australia. Such was the love in that room.

All this, and it was only the morning news via John Cameron Swayze and The NBC News Of The World.

In a not-terribly-surprising turn of events, it was announced today that James Murdoch would be stepping down from his duties at News International, while retaining his duties with Newscorp, overseeing International Pay-TV operations and maintaining his Chair position at BSkyB.

This news follows word that Rupert Murdoch returned to the UK to run operations that included the launch of the Sunday edition of The Sun.

Amid speculation that James has now been banished from the Murdoch empire and that Rupert, upset over James insistence to shut News Of The World, got back in the drivers seat and assumed control thus making James no longer heir apparent to the Empire.

Of course, no one is out of the woods yet. There is still the looming investigation of phone hacking and bribery extending over to these shores, which has yet to become an actual case. Meanwhile, there are still some 6,000 (yes, six THOUSAND) outstanding phone hacking cases pending, which should keep everyone busy for the foreseeable future.

Here are two reports - the first from BBC Radio 4's PM Program and the second via The Six O'Clock News.

As they say, stay tuned.

In what has been generally regarded as a "two finger salute" (middle finger to us) to media and audience criticism over the News Of The World phone hacking debacle and the latest word that 10 journalists at the Sun (five more left in handcuffs since earlier in the week) have been arrested as a result of the ongoing Scotland Yard investigation, Rupert Murdoch's choice to launch a Sunday tabloid to be tentatively known as The Sunday Sun leaves some wondering just what's going on.

In an e-mail statement, Murdoch, who flew to London the previous night to meet with largely disgruntled journalists at the now-embattled Sun, said he would be launching the new tabloid soon and that the arrested journalists would be allowed to resume their duties as before, despite provisos from the arrested journalists that no contact could be made with each other.

All this points up to a new wrinkle in the ever-changing, ever-evolving, ever-baffling story of News Corp/News International/saga of Rupert Murdoch.

The latest set of concerns regarding the arrests at The Sun had largely to do with News International cooperation with Scotland Yard in providing incriminating evidence by which the arrests were made. The protests being one of the sacred rights of investigative journalists to protect sources was being violated and that Murdoch was, in effect, tossing them under the bus as a show of "good faith" in aiding the investigation.

But for my two-cents, I am sensing a massive smokescreen, an attempt to sidetrack attention from the much bigger picture and that's the upcoming U.S. investigation (a much bigger and far more damaging situation financially). To muddle the current scandal in an flurry of protests and accusations over what constitutes journalistic protection and what constitutes violation of civil rights takes the focus of the investigation off the real problem and tosses it on to the journalistic community as a whole. Cries of censorship and government manipulation of the Press are being echoed all over the UK tonight and I believe this is exactly what the Murdoch empire is betting on. And truths be told, the Police may be over-reaching in their quest at investigating wrong doings, instead of going after an industry wide practice of phone-hacking and eavesdropping largely established for many years by the Murdoch empire.

It's one thing to consult a confidential source, a person or persons willing to come forward to a member of the Press with sensitive information and another to obtain that information by hacking into the personal phone and e-mails of a person or persons unaware they are being hacked or eavesdropped. It's the difference between two consenting adults and the forcing of an unwilling (or unknowing) adult into providing information.

But I think the attempt at painting the entire picture with too broad a brush is an intention to throw the entire issue into a state of confusion and thus taint any further investigation into the phone hacking scandal.

Like I said, my two cents and just a hunch.

For the time though, and to get up to speed if you've missed anything, here are three sets of reports, beginning with The Media Show from last Wednesday, followed by a segment from this morning's Today Program, followed by PM and ending with News At 6, all from BBC's Radio 4.

One thing's for certain - more will be revealed.