• Fortune, Friday, July 20, 2007 11:30 AM

As the media and marketing industries focus on Rupert Murdoch's quest for Dow Jones, a little-known sideshow highlights allegedly unsavory business practices on the part of News Corp. And a former employee of subsidiary News America, which comprises the bulk of News Corp.'s magazines and inserts division, may be planning to spill some ugly secrets.

Robert Emmel, a former account manager who worked in in-store marketing, was fired late last year. A few months later, after a competitor subpoenaed him as part of its lawsuit, Emmel revealed he had kept a copy of his computer hard drive because, he said in a deposition, he "had some concerns about some of the business practices that News America had engaged in."

Just what is on those disks is still unknown, but News America isn't taking any chances: In April, the company sued Emmel personally, alleging, among other things, breach of contract and misappropriation of trade secrets. Emmel countersued under Georgia's RICO statute.

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