Murdoch's media friends circle the wagons

WELL, THE ANTICIPATED rush to circle the wagons around Rupert Murdock is now in full throttle, from Rudy Giuiani to CNN host Piers Morgan to the Washington Post to the Wall Street Journal and, of course, Fox News. As mayor, Giuliani had been in Murdock's protective custody; Morgan had been the editor of Murdock's now-shuttered tabloid, News of the World, and later the Sun. In an astonishingly servile editorial, even for a paper owned by Murdock, the WSJ suggested that most of the boss's problems are caused by his critics. The common theme in many of these defense arguments: He is an honorable man and should not be subjected to a "witch hunt". Murdoch the victim?

Thanks to this fulsome scandal, we are learning something new about modern journalism every day. The Washington Post, for example, hissed that Britain's tough libel laws had forced the media to engage in hacking and other forms of antisocial misbehavior. Wow! Would you believe Post executive editor Marcus Brauchli had been an editor at the Wall Street Journal under Murdoch? Since Brauchli's arrival at the Post the once-liberal paper has taken some mystifying editorial positions, but none more obtuse than its defense of Rupert Murdoch.

Sometimes, pedigree is everything in the news business.,