Murdoch stands ground at inquiry

　　Rupert Murdoch has rebuffed repeated suggestions he traded the political backing of his newspapers for commercial favours and an easy ride for the biggest attempted takeover in News Corp’s history.

　　鲁珀特•默多克(James Murdoch)否认了一再向他抛出的提议，即他利用旗下报纸在政治事务上的舆论导向，换取商业利益并为新闻集团(News Corp)史上最大的收购企图铺路。

　　During an assured appearance before the Leveson inquiry into British press ethics in London, the 81-year-old chairman and chief executive seemed wrong-footed only once, when asked about the timing of his $12bn proposal to take full control of British Sky Broadcasting, launched within weeks of David Cameron’s election in 2010.

　　81岁的新闻集团主席兼首席执行官在伦敦出席针对英国报业道德的莱韦森调查(Leveson inquiry)的听证，表现得胸有成竹，似乎只有一次露出窘态，那就是在被问及他企图买断英国天空广播公司(BSkyB)的120亿美元要约的时机时。这起收购是在2010年戴维•卡梅伦(David Cameron)当选几星期后发起的。

　　After a pause, Mr Murdoch said he did not know, later saying the timing had been coincidental. His evidence contradicted testimony the previous day from his son, James, who said the company waited until after the election so the bid would not “become a political football.”

　　停顿片刻之后，默多克表示他答不上来，稍后他表示，这个时机只是巧合。他的证词和前一天其子詹姆斯(James)的证词有冲突。詹姆斯表示，新闻集团刻意等到选举之后才发起收购，使这起收购不致“成为政治足球”。

　　Mr Murdoch has been courted by British political leaders for more than 30 years, and his son’s appearance focused on the flow of information News Corp appeared to have received about ministers’ thinking during the BSkyB bid review.

　　30多年来，英国政治领导人一直讨好默多克。新闻集团似乎在BSkyB收购得到审批期间，获悉相关部长级官员的思路，这一信息流是其子出席听证的重点。

　　Mr Murdoch’s appearance, under oath before an inquiry with the powers to summon witnesses and make recommentations to ministers, was a milestone in the long-running investigations into a scandal that first came to light in 2006. The owner of media properties stretching from The Australian to the New York Post portrayed himself as distant from many of the most contentious events under scrutiny in the UK, including the BSkyB approach and handling of the phone-hacking and police payments scandals.

　　在对最初于2006年曝光的一起丑闻的漫长调查中，默多克在宣誓状态下出席调查的听证会是一个里程碑。该项调查有权传唤证人，并向大臣提出建议。这位媒体大亨拥有从《澳大利亚人报》(The Australian)到《纽约邮报》(New York Post)等媒体。他称自己没有涉及目前在英国受到关注的不少有争议的事件，包括对BSkyB的收购企图，以及对电话窃听和贿赂警察等丑闻的处理。

　　In written testimony, he said he became aware only in late 2010 or early 2011 that illegal “hacking” of mobile phone voicemails was not confined to one “rogue” reporter, as the company long maintained.

　　在书面证词中，默多克表示，直到2010年底或2011年初，他才得知非法“侵入”手机语音邮件不仅限于一位“违规”记者——这是该公司一直坚持的立场。

　　He added: “I did not involve myself in or ask about newsgathering techniques at The Sun or the News of the World.”

　　默多克补充道：“我没有介入或询问《太阳报》(The Sun)或者《世界新闻报》(News of the World)的新闻收集手段。”

　　The Sunday tabloid News Corp closed last July, after revelations that it had hacked the voicemail of a murdered teenage girl.

　　《世界新闻报》是每周日出版的小报，曾窃听一位被谋杀的少女的语音邮件，此事泄露之后，新闻集团在去年7月将该报停刊。