There are lots of reasons for Rupert Murdoch’s success. One is that his reporters are just more enterprising and creative than the competition. For instance:

… According to the Guardian’s story, Murdoch’s News Group Newspapers paid about $1.6 million in out-of-court settlements to buy silence from public figures whose phones had been illegally hacked by News of the World reporters and their hired hands. In some cases, Murdoch’s minions also illegally accessed these targets’ “confidential personal data including tax records, social security files, bank statements and itemised phone bills.”
The Guardian piece, by Nick Davies, cites no named sources but points to “Scotland Yard paperwork” to substantiate its claims about the newspaper’s law-breaking. In an interview with the Australian ABC, Davies said that private investigators working for News of the World engaged in “blagging”—that is, “conning their way into confidential databases.” They also hacked mobile telephone networks to eavesdrop on phone messages.
Following publication of the Guardian story, British officials confirmed that 31 reporters from two Murdoch papers—as well as other reporters at other news outlets—had used illegal means to obtain personal data. Victim names you might recognize: Gwyneth Paltrow, Elle Macpherson, and former U.K. Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott.

They don’t teach this stuff in journalism school!