Murdoch Largesse: NOTW Crew Offered Work in Siberia

News of the World staffers were promised they'd be taken care of, but it's turned out to be very cold comfort. The entire crew found themselves out on the street when owner Rupert Murdoch's (now busted) editor Rebekah Brooks announced a shutdown of the tabloid amid the phone hacking scandal. She promised that the company would find them other jobs. Now it seems several senior people have been offered poorly paid stringer or other work in the far corners of the world, including Siberia. Workers are "underwhelmed," observes the Guardian.

There's also an opening for a Dow Jones "symbology analyst, Russian language." The "idea that you would go from the News of the World to becoming an oil reporter for Dow Jones, a high-end financial wire service, is laughable," said one former employee. Company officials said they're just getting started finding work for former employees. "We are exploring every opportunity to find employment for those affected by the closure," said a spokeswoman. Several workers are preparing a class action suit seeking damages for the sudden shutdown, charging they're being punished for crimes by others. (More Rebekah Brooks stories.)