A large public relations firm co-based in Chicago has been hired by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation to help it manage its way through the ongoing phone-hacking scandal.
"Edelman has been retained by the Management and Standards Group at News Corp to provide communications support and Public Affairs counsel," confirmed Cheryl Cook, the agency's Executive Vice President and Director of Media Services.
No U.S.-based Edelman office will be doing any work for News Corp. All activity will be come from Edelman's London office, said Cook.
Edelman has been offering "ad hoc advice" to News Corp. since June 20, which is before it was publicly alleged that staffers of the media conglomerate had broken into the voicemail accounts of several people, The Guardian reported.
News of the deal comes on the same day that the FBI launched an investigation into allegations the company sought to hack into phones belonging to victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
Edelman's roster of clients also includes Chicago-based Kraft, Starbucks and UPS.
