Things go from bad to worse for Rupert Murdoch, thanks to a former British prime minister

Things just got a little more painful for media baron Rupert Murdoch, whose News Corp. owns Fox News, the now defunct News of the World, and numerous other newspapers.

CNN is reporting that former British prime minister Gordon Brown has accused Murdoch's journalists of "trying to illegally obtain private medical information about his family, details of his bank accounts and his phone messages", according to a source close to Brown.

The Sun, another one of Murdoch's tabloids, published details about Brown's son, who was seriously sick. Murdoch's broadsheet, the Sunday Times, obtained financial details about Brown by tricking his accountants, according to the CNN source.

If this leads to more advertiser and reader boycotts at other Murdoch-owned properties, watch out. When a corporation is in distress, the sharks move in. I wouldn't be surprised if the hedge funds are already starting to sell News Corp. stock short, which has the potential to drive the share price into the sewer.