Rebekah Brooks, Les Hinton, Paul Stephenson

If a modern-day scandal's first act requires apologies, the second act necessitates resignations. And so it came to pass on July 15, when Rebekah Brooks and Les Hinton stepped down from News Corp., casualties of a rapidly unfolding British phone-hacking saga. Two days later, Sir Paul Stephenson, Scotland Yard commissioner, fell on his sword as a result of accusations of police involvement in the affair. It was to be expected: Hinton, CEO of Dow Jones, ran Rupert Murdoch's British newspapers during many of the hacking offenses; Brooks was editor of the now shuttered News of the World during the period of...