Murdoch withdraws BSkyB deal. The News of the World phone hacking scandal didn’t just bring down a paper, it also destroyed Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation’s £8 billion bid to buy BSkyB. After a week of public and political outrage over News International’s dubious methods of information gathering, Murdoch officially withdraw his bid yesterday to purchase the pay-TV broadcaster.

News Corp deputy chairman Chase Carey admitted the purchase had become “too difficult to progress in this climate.” An article at The Guardian declares it “the biggest single reverse” of Murdoch’s career. Former PM Gordon Brown, a man who was continually targeted for over a decade by News International papers and had his legal, financial and medical records allegedly accessed, addressed the House of Commons yesterday to condemn News International and the power of Rupert Murdoch.

It was a rare speech for Brown – only his second since losing the top job – but a feisty one. “In their behaviour towards those without a voice of their own, News International descended from the gutter to the sewer,” said Brown. “The tragedy is that they let the rats out of the sewer.” — read the latest commentary wrap on the latest News International scandal on the Crikey website

Turnbull on Twitter. MP Malcolm Turnbull is a huge Twitter fan and user, but he went for some true twit behaviour with this tweet this morning, when he tweeted the personal details of a man who’s been allegedly harassing him.

Crikey tried to ring Thomas Lynch but his phone was turned off. When another tweeters questioned Turnbull over the legal and ethical appropriateness of putting a person’s private phone number on his twitter account, Turnbull replied: “I have asked him to desist in the past, but to no avail. If it encourages more civil communications that would be a good thing.” Regardless, Turnbull has now deleted the tweet showing Lynch’s phone number.

Front page of the day. Rupert Murdoch and News of the World blah blah. What about Brit sports star who might have to wear EU flags on their uniforms? Outrageous!

Twitter gears up automatic ads for big clients

“Twitter is courting bigtime advertisers and will soon allow them to tailor, automate and publish ads in bulk directly onto the Internet microblogging service, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.” — SBS

Apple Australia slashes app prices by up to 25%

“Prices on Apple’s iTunes App Store in Australia have been slashed to take into account the recent surge in the Australian dollar.” — The Age

Amazon to launch an iPad rival

“Amazon plans to release a tablet computer by October, people familiar with the matter said, intensifying its rivalry with Apple’s iPad.” — Wall Street Journal

How rude

“Noni Hazlehurst’s controversial reading of the storybook Go the F*** to Sleep has been yanked off YouTube.” — TV Tonight

The (next) revolution will be televised

“Stimulated by deregulation and an insatiable demand for news and information amid the uncertainties that have followed the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak, investors are racing to set up new television channels.” — The New York Times

New Google + goes genderless

“Starting this week, Google will no longer require users to state whether they are male or female. The change, explained by product manager Frances Haugen in the video above, came after users requested it.” — Mashable

An ex-NotW reporter spills the dirt on the newsroom

“I remember asking a reporter how he knew such intimate info as how Paul McCartney and Heather Mills had a blowup at home. I was met with a look of surprise. It was the paper’s big scoop that week, how Mills had moved out after a fight. It actually crossed my mind that McCartney might be this person’s source, maybe to get revenge on his despised ex. I now can guess how the reporter gained such private information.” — The Hollywood Reporter