Before I write on the British phone-hacking case convulsing Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., a bit of disclosure is in order. I work for TIME magazine, which is owned by Time Warner, whose cable channels, including HBO and CNN, compete with News Corp.'s, including FX and Fox News; whose 50%-owned broadcast network, the CW, competes with News Corp.'s Fox; whose film and TV studios (congrats, Harry Potter , on some record-breaking box office!) compete with News Corp.'s 20th Century Fox; and whose print outlets like this one compete for scoops and influence with News Corp.'s, like the Wall Street Journal .
In...