Education

Klein Takes On Hacking Case, Stays in Ed. Duties

By Ian Quillen — July 07, 2011 1 min read
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Joel I. Klein, the former New York City schools chancellor who is now head of News Corp.'s new education division, will be giving oversight and guidance about a cell phone hacking scandal involving a British tabloid the media conglomerate owns, according to a report in a New York Times blog.

But Klein will only be providing strategic oversight on the case, and will continue to remain in charge of the education division, a News Corp. spokesperson told Education Week.

The scandal stems from allegations that News of the World hacked the cellphone of a murdered 13-year-old girl nine years ago, and has put News Corp., owned by Rupert Murdoch, under fire from British parliament.

[UPDATE (1:08 p.m.): The Associated Press is reporting today that News of the World will be closed, costing about 200 employees their jobs.]

Before serving as chancellor in New York, Klein worked for more than three decades as a Washington lawyer, including two years at the White House Counsel’s office during President Bill Clinton’s administration. He was hired by News Corp. last fall, as the company, which also owns outlets such as Fox News and the Wall Street Journal, made its first dive into education by purchasing ed-tech company Wireless Generation.

A version of this news article first appeared in the Digital Education blog.