News Corp. Shutters UK Tabloid News of the World; Once Edited by Piers Morgan

How would American TV networks report the news that the New York Post had suddenly shut its doors, announcing that Sunday’s paper would be the last? (Actually, more like the content of the Post but the readership of The Wall Street Journal)

That’s what’s happening in the UK today as News Corp. announced it was shuttering the 168-year-old News of the World tabloid in the wake of the latest in a string of phone hacking scandals.

The News is big news in the UK and is being reported on 24-hour channels, BBC News 24, Al Jazeera English and of course News Corp.’s own SkyNews.

In the U.S., MSNBC, CNN, CNBC (reporting from the Sun Valley media summit being attended by Rupert Murdoch) BloombergTV as well as the News Corp.-owned Fox News and Fox Business Network have reported the news today. Amy Kellogg, the Fox News correspondent in London reported the sudden closure announced by News International CEO James Murdoch, as a way to “stave off the negative publicity” from the scandals. Kellogg reports that until recently News of the World was the top-selling Sunday newspaper in the UK.

The paper counts among its previous editors CNN host Piers Morgan who was the top editor at the paper for a year in 1994. Morgan Tweeted today:

The newspaper was first published on October 1, 1843. Its last edition will be July 10, 2011.

Launch a social media campaign that will build your brand and deliver results in our online Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting June 7. Speakers include Abigail Cusick (Bravo Digital), Gregory Galant (Sawhorse Media), Alex Leo (Thomson Reuters Digital), Jim Tobin (Ignite Social Media), and many more. Read the reviews.