Humbled Murdoch says sorry as protege Brooks quits

LONDON — Rupert Murdoch's scandal-rocked empire turned dramatically from defiance to contrition Friday as the media magnate accepted the resignation of his lieutenant Rebekah Brooks, said sorry to the public for his company's sins and made a humbling apology to the family of a murdered schoolgirl whose phone was hacked by the News of the World.

The moves represent a shift in strategy aimed at calming a storm that has knocked billions off the value of Murdoch's News Corp., scuttled his ambitions to take control of British Sky Broadcasting, withered his political power in Britain — and th...