In 1998, a reporter at the Cincinnati Enquirer, Michael Gallagher, wrote an 18 page exposé on Chiquita Brands International and its corporate goings on in Central America. The report sourced phone calls leaked to the newspaper.In fact, Gallagher had illegally tapped into Chiquita’s phone system.In 2010, NBC’s parent company General Electric paid a $23.5 million settlement to the SEC on allegations that its subsidiaries bribed Iraqi officials to win UN contracts. In neither case was Gannett, the parent of the Cincinnati Enquirer, or GE hauled before Congress with its CEO sworn in to answer questions about their conduct.In neither case did media sensationalize what was going on.But things are different with Rupert Murdoch. Why? Because he is amazingly successful and many other media properties unwilling or unable to compete would rather destroy him than innovate ahead of him.The story of what News of the World did is news and it is bad and it should be punished. But the level of piling on with no evidence against Murdoch or even his son, James, is astounding. They are being tried in the court of public opinion solely because of their last name.But beyond that, critics in the United States are using the situation as an excuse to go after the Wall Street Journal, Fox News, and other Murdoch properties. There are no allegations of wrong doings at those other properties, but their competitors just can’t help themselves.Rupert Murdoch is a genuine success story. He has pushed the news forward. And, oh by the way, his properties tend to hover around the center or right of center while most publications with dwindling readers *cough* New York Times *cough* continue their drift left and slow decline.The witch hunt against Murdoch personally is political and professional payback from folks he has bested. It is not surprising, but conservatives should be willing to step up and defend News Corp and Murdoch. Their subsidiary newspaper behaved horribly. Those trying now to exact revenge on Murdoch are behaving just as horribly.