新聞集團陷竊聽門 媒體版圖或改變

U.S.-based News Corp. is at the center of a phone-hacking scandal in Britain that is having serious business and legal implications for the media giant. There is increased scrutiny in the United States of News Corp. and its chairman, Rupert Murdoch.

電話竊聽醜聞將美國新聞集團推至風口浪尖，使得該媒體巨頭在英國面臨嚴肅的處理和法律問題。美國國內對新聞集團及其董事長魯珀特·默多克的指責聲也日益高漲。

Allegations that the U.S.-based News Corp. violated British law may have legal consequences for the company in the United States. Several U.S. senators and Republican Congressman Peter King have called for an investigation to determine if the company violated any American laws. Attorney General Eric Holder, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have responded with preliminary inquiries.

美國新聞集團被指違反了英國法律，這可能給該集團帶來美國方面的法律後果。美國幾個參議員和共和黨衆議員彼得·金呼籲進行調查，以查明該公司是否也違反了美國法律。美國司法部長艾瑞克·霍爾德、證券交易委員會以及聯邦調查局已作出迴應，展開初步調查。

Jay Fahy, a former federal prosecutor and criminal defense attorney, explains relevant laws.

美國前聯邦檢察官、刑事辯護律師傑伊·費伊解釋了相關的法律。

“On the criminal side, from what we know, it’s the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and perhaps some privacy violations, or mail fraud or wire fraud as to breaking into cell phone records," said Fahy. "There may also be bribery if cell phone companies were somehow given money.”

他說：“我們知道，在刑事罪方面，相關法律是《海外腐敗行爲法》，竊聽手機通話記錄可能侵犯了隱私，或構成郵件欺詐、或通信欺詐。如果給手機公司金錢的話，可能還構成賄賂。”

News Corp. is alleged to have bribed British police to get information for stories run in its tabloid News of the World. The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act extends a U.S. prohibition against bribery to include U.S. companies operating abroad. Former News of the World editor Andy Coulson, who once served as a spokesman for British Prime Minister David Cameron, has been arrested in the case, which involves not only the possible tapping of cell phones in Britain, but of 9/11 victims in the United States.

新聞集團被指賄賂英國警方，爲其旗下的小報《世界新聞報》獲取報導信息。美國的《海外腐敗行爲法》禁止腐敗行爲，在海外運營的美國公司也不例外。前《世界新聞報》編輯、曾任英國首相卡梅倫發言人的安迪·庫爾森已經被逮捕，此案不僅可能涉及在英國竊聽手機信息，而且涉及竊聽美國911恐怖襲擊遇難者的通話記錄。

News Corp. has also suffered multi-billion-dollar business losses. The media giant was forced to scuttle plans to buy a controlling share of the lucrative British Sky Broadcasting, Britain’s biggest satellite broadcaster.

新聞集團還遭受了數十億美元的商業損失。該媒體巨頭被迫放棄收購盈利豐厚的英國最大的衛星廣播運營商英國天空廣播公司的控股權。

Felix Gillette, a reporter for Bloomberg Businessweek, says the scandal has also pummeled the company’s stock.

彭博商業週刊的記者費利克斯·吉列指出，這一醜聞使新聞集團的股票遭到重挫。“They’ve lost on paper more than $5 billion," said Gilette. "I think shareholders are nervous about what this means for the future of the whole company."

他說：“該集團的帳面市值損失了超過50億美元。我想股東對整個公司的未來感到緊張不安。”

News Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch, an Australian by birth, acquired U.S. citizenship to be eligible for media ownership in the United States. His assets include a Hollywood studio and the Fox television network, which is particularly influential among American conservatives.

出生於澳大利亞的新聞集團董事長魯珀特·默多克獲得了美國公民身份，從而有資格在美國擁有媒體的所有權。他的資產包括一家好萊塢電影製片廠和福克斯電視網，後者在美國保守派人士中尤其具有影響力。

Murdoch has been criticized for consolidating media, depriving the public of diverse viewpoints needed to make informed decisions in a democratic society. Among the critics is Dean Starkman, a fellow at the Columbia Journalism Review.

默多克被批評整合媒體，剝奪了一個民主社會的公衆需要多樣化觀點來作出準確決定的權利。批評人士包括《哥倫比亞新聞學評論》的迪恩·斯達克曼。

“This moment, with the scandal in the U.K., it has the potential to radically change the media landscape both here in the U.S. and around the world," said Starkman.

他說：“在這一刻，在英國的這一竊聽醜聞，有可能根本性地改變美國和全世界的媒體版圖。”

Starkman says the phone-hacking scandal could give smaller media organizations an opportunity to challenge the power that News Corp. has acquired. That power includes 27 broadcasting licenses in the United States issued by the Federal Communications Commission. Jay Fahy says the FCC could refuse to renew those licenses.

斯達克曼說，電話竊聽醜聞可能給規模較小的媒體機構一個挑戰新聞集團權勢的機會。該集團的權勢包括聯邦通信委員會頒發的美國的27個廣播執照。傑伊·費伊說，聯邦通信委員會可能會拒絕更新那些執照。

“If the FCC took a hard line on this, and it is proven that Murdoch knew of it, or his son knew of it, or very high level people in the company knew of it, this could cause them to lose those licenses, and if those licenses are lost, that’s the end of his empire," he said.

他說：“如果聯邦通信委員會對此採取強硬行動，而且如果證實默多克對此事件知情，或者他兒子，或者公司的高層知情，他們將可能失去執照。如果失去那些執照，這將是該傳媒帝國的終結。”

Fox News has made little mention of the scandal and did not respond to VOA’s request for an interview. Rupert Murdoch told The Wall Street Journal, which he owns, that he is creating an independent committee to investigate allegations of possibly illegal reporting tactics that have shaken his company.

福克斯新聞網對醜聞事件幾乎隻字不提，而且沒有迴應美國之音的採訪請求。魯珀特·默多克對他旗下的華爾街日報說，他正在設立一個獨立委員會來調查可能的非法報導手段的指稱，這一醜聞指稱已經撼動了新聞集團。