Mr. Murdoch began a second day of questioning Thursday by a judge-led public inquiry, which is focusing on illicit reporting practices and the cozy relationship between the media and politicians.
In the early going, he apologized for his handling of the company's phone-hacking scandal. And he said he saw nothing wrong with the activities of a News Corp. lobbyist at the center of a new controversy over whether the company was too cozy with the government minister who oversaw regulation of a big News Corp. business deal.
The session quickly turned to the long-running phone-hacking scandal that has battered the company and prompted the government to establish the inquiry. News Corp. closed the News of the World newspaper last summer after revelations that the tabloid illegally intercepted the voice mails of celebrities, politicians and crime victims in pursuit of scoops. The scandal has snowballed to include other allegations of wrongdoing, including bribing public officials and hacking emails, and have spread to other News Corp. media outlets.
It also has sparked several criminal police probes into that and other illicit news-gathering processes which have resulted in more than 40 arrests since January of last year; no one has been charged. News Corp. has said it is assisting police.
Mr. Murdoch on Thursday morning apologized for the way he handled the matter but sought to deflect blame by saying that he was "shielded" from what was happening at News of the World. "I do blame one or two people for that," but said he didn't think he should name them because for all he knew they might still be arrested.
Mr. Murdoch also sought to distance himself by saying that while he was in close contact with the daily tabloid the Sun, he personally hadn't devoted much time to its sister publication, the weekly News of the World. News Corp. also owns the publisher of The Wall Street Journal.
On Wednesday, the media mogul faced questions about whether during his long career he has used his company's newspapers to collect political favors and push his commercial interests—allegations Mr. Murdoch dismissed as "myths."
Mr. Murdoch also on Wednesday faced questions about the company's failed pursuit of full control of British Sky Broadcasting Group BSY.LN +0.07% PLC, which has become a renewed problem amid allegations that News Corp. was too close to Jeremy Hunt, the government minister overseeing regulatory approval of the deal.
Earlier this week, the release of dozens of emails between an adviser to Mr. Hunt and News Corp. lobbyist Frederic Michel suggested a tight alliance between the company and its regulator. The adviser, Adam Smith, resigned on Wednesday.
Mr. Murdoch said Thursday that he "didn't see anything wrong" with a News Corp. lobbyist's interactions with a government minister who oversaw regulatory improvement of a key business deal.
He also said he was surprised by the volume of emails between Mr. Michel and Mr. Hunt's office, but that he saw nothing wrong with Mr. Michel's activities.
Mr. Murdoch added that he had never met Mr. Hunt. And he made no secret of his feelings for Democrat Business Minister Vince Cable. Mr. Cable was the U.K. business minister who was set to oversee approval of the BSkyB bid until he was stripped of the responsibility after being caught on tape by undercover reporters saying he had "declared war on Mr. Murdoch." Mr. Hunt took over the approval process at that point.
Mr. Murdoch said he didn't know much about Mr. Hunt at the time, but added: "we couldn't have gotten anyone worse" than Mr. Cable.
Regardless, Mr. Murdoch conceded that the phone-hacking scandal—which erupted last July, when News Corp. was on the brink of winning approval for the BSkyB deal—ultimately cost it the chance to win approval for the transaction.
The Thursday session began with Mr. Murdoch responding to former U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown's denial of the News Corp. chief's account of a conversation from 2009. Mr. Murdoch had said that, after the company's Sun tabloid withdrew its support from Mr. Brown, the then-prime minister said we would "make war" on News Corp.
"I stand by every word," Mr. Murdoch said of his comments Wednesday, underscoring the fact that he was under oath.
The judge-led inquiry is preparing recommendations for the U.K. government on press regulations in the wake of the long-running scandal over illicit reporting tactics at News Corp.'s U.K. newspaper unit.
[Wall Street Journal]
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