It’s big news when a 168-year-old dies; it’s even bigger news when the demise is self-inflicted. On Thursday, responding to the astonishing (even for British tabloids) phone-hacking and police-paying charges, News International said that it would shutter its News of the World after one more issue this coming Sunday. The company’s predicament and how it aims to get out of it says much about what companies can do when faced with critical issues of reputation-saving and dynasty-management — and what no company, however powerful, can surmount.