Chris Ratcliffe, Bloomberg / Getty Images
Well, that’s one way to deal with a PR disaster. James Murdoch, media mogul Rupert Murdoch’s son, said Thursday that Sunday’s edition of the News of the World will be the British tabloid’s final one. It’s an ignominious end for the 168-year-old paper, which has become the focus of a stream of appalling revelations—first a leak, then a gusher of news about tapping the phones of celebrities and royals, hacking the phones of murder and terror victims and their families, and paying off police for tips, among others. The scandal has threatened Murdoch’s planned takeover of the BSkyB TV network and even threatened Prime Minister David Cameron’s government. Rumors have flown about whether Murdoch would sacrifice confidante and former News of the World editor Rebekah Brooks, but it appears he has chosen his deputy over his product.