The newspaper was first published on 1 October 1843, in London by John Browne Bell. Priced at just three pence, even before the repeal of the Stamp Act (1855) or paper duty (1861), it was the cheapest newspaper of its time and was aimed directly at the newly literate working classes. It quickly established itself as a purveyor of titillation, shock and criminal news. Much of the source material came from coverage of vice prosecutions, including transcripts of police descriptions of alleged brothels, streetwalkers, and 'immoral' women.And here's a fun snippet from the current Wiki page:
The News of the World was a filth-ridden, excrement laden, English national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom which has FINALLY BEEN FLUSHED AWAY down the toilet. Founded in 1843, the paper will cease publication after the 10 July 2011 edition in the wake of a phone hacking scandalposted by filthy light thief at 10:01 AM on July 7, 2011 [4 favorites]
People (on Sky and Twitter) are saying that News of the World staff were told Brooks offered to resign twice last night, but was refused and the paper closed instead. Incredible stuffHow can you be forced not to resign after being told the alternative is many of the people who worked for you will lose their jobs? IF you offer your resignation and then are told, now we're going to make you a hate figure for a load of people who rake muck for a living. Surely you'd be on the news with a fine selection of swords to fall on.
In addition, I have decided that all of the News of the World's revenue this weekend will go to good causes.posted by sillygwailo at 11:29 AM on July 7, 2011
While we may never be able to make up for distress that has been caused, the right thing to do is for every penny of the circulation revenue we receive this weekend to go to organisations – many of whom are long-term friends and partners – that improve life in Britain and are devoted to treating others with dignity.
According to the Guardian the web domain thesunonsunday.co.uk was registered on 5 July, as cynicalrebrandingexercise.com was already taken.posted by grouse at 2:11 PM on July 7, 2011
Recent allegations of phone hacking and making payments to police with respect to the News of the World are deplorable and unacceptable.I too read that as "allegations ... are deplorable and unacceptable".
12 April 2011 | Hugh Grant: The Bugger, Bugged.posted by ericb at 5:35 PM on July 7, 2011 [2 favorites]
List of newspapers in the United Kingdom.posted by ericb at 5:49 PM on July 7, 2011 [1 favorite]
U.K. newspapers.
History of British newspapers.
"Many of us must have been intrigued over the years about whether the famously intrepid News of the World investigators really made their excuses and left the scenes of depravity that they were helpfully bringing to our attention. Sue and Bob, armed with audio and visual aids, answered that question, at least as far as the chief crime reporter of the News of the World, Neville Thurlbeck, was concerned. After he had plastered on a double-page spread a story entitled "The guesthouse where all rooms come with en suite pervert", he was unmasked by the couple's videotape as the pervert who badgered, begged and finally bribed Bob and Sue into allowing him to indulge in a rather pathetic act of onanism at the foot of their bed."via
"The couple even posted stills showing an aroused Thurlbeck on the Web, where they remained for several years before being taken down around the time of the Mosley scandal. I must have been one of the last people to see them."posted by unliteral at 5:51 PM on July 7, 2011
Jim Hacker: "Don't tell me about the press. I know exactly who reads the papers:posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 6:05 PM on July 7, 2011 [26 favorites]
- The Daily Mirror is read by people who think they run the country;
- The Guardian is read by people who think they ought to run the country;
- The Times is read by people who actually do run the country;
- The Daily Mail is read by the wives of the people who run the country;
- The Financial Times is read by people who own the country;
- The Morning Star is read by people who think the country ought to be run by another country;
- And the Daily Telegraph is read by people who think it is."
Sir Humphrey: "Prime Minister, what about the people who read the Sun?"
Bernard Woolley: "Sun readers don't care who runs the country, as long as she's got big tits."
[F]urious that the paper was about to be scooped by The Sunday Times’s serialization of a biography of Prince Charles, Ms. Brooks disguised herself as a Times cleaning woman and hid for two hours in a bathroom, according to [Piers] Morgan. When the presses started rolling, she ran over, grabbed a newly printed copy of The Sunday Times, and brought it back to The News of the World — which proceeded to use the material, verbatim, in its own paper the next day.It also features an anecdote starring Metafilter's Own Tom Watson, MP:
[...]
As part of her anti-pedophile campaign, she printed photographs of convicted sex offenders in an effort to “name and shame” them. The campaign backfired when it turned out that some of the photographs showed the wrong people and when vigilantes began harassing and threatening men who they thought were pedophiles.
Tom Watson, a Labour member of Parliament, recalled what happened to him in 2006, shortly after he resigned his position in Tony Blair’s government and called for Mr. Blair’s resignation. The political editor of The Sun, George Pascoe-Watson, approached him at the Labour Party conference in Manchester. The Sun was then an ardent Labour supporter.posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 7:00 PM on July 7, 2011 [2 favorites]
“ ‘My editor, Rebekah Wade, will pursue you for the rest of your life. You will never escape us, my friend,’ ” Mr. Watson said Mr. Pascoe-Watson told him. “Those were his exact words.”
"The consultation on undertakings in lieu offered by News Corporation in relation to their proposed merger with BSkyB closes at midday today. The secretary of state has always been clear that he will take as long as is needed to reach a decision. The secretary of state will consider carefully all the responses submitted and take advice from Ofcom and the Office of Fair Trading before reaching his decision. Given the volume of responses, we anticipate that this will take some time. He will consider all relevant factors including whether the announcement regarding the News of the World's closure has any impact on the question of media plurality."
Amidst all this grisly murk, the day has at least seen a couple of moments of unintended comedy to lighten the gloom.Bagehot's notebook
The first is this detail from the Guardian, which I shall treasure for a while:
News International (NI) continued its internal investigation into phone hacking at the News of the World. Senior sources said they were examining whether former News of the World journalists may have kept money claimed on company expenses instead of passing it on to police officers in exchange for stories. Paying police officers is itself illegal.
Jesus, were the editorial staff bathing in the blood of virgins on a nightly basis or something?It would have to be criminal, it would have to be heinous (basically kids) and the paper would have to be working with the police otherwise it would've come out by now. Something along the lines of they knew about Huntley, passed it to the police and both kept quiet in the interests of profit.
If she predicts a dark day for the company, what she MEANS is a dark day for herThere's been rumours about some very nasty goings-on at News International for a good few years, and this last couple of days a few people (journalists) have said this (Dowler) isn't the worse thing they've heard.
Can it really be the case, as Friday's Independent put it, that the News of the World has been "sacrificed to save one woman"? And if so, why?posted by grouse at 4:49 PM on July 8, 2011
There is a rumor that Brooks gave a cell phone to at least one victim of a sex offender (a few years ago, when the phones were less common, more expensive) "to keep in touch" and the paper monitored calls to/from the phone(s).That would be Sara Payne.
"One example of their support was to give me a phone to help me stay in touch with my family, friends and support network, which turned out to be an absolute lifeline.Hmm, I'm assuming this is now being seen as less helpful than first thought.
But one should be wary of the response to the News of the World scandal, especially in terms of how it affects press freedoms going forward. David Cameron announced two inquiries Friday, including one thatThe public outrage over the Dowler voicemails shouldn't obscure the fact that the police were paid off and that Cameron is deeply implicated in the scandal-- that his ties with Murdoch are part of the larger issue. If what comes out of this is tighter regulation of the press, rather than full inquiry into police corruption, that's a win for Murdoch and a loss for the rest of us.
should look at how our newspapers are regulated and make recommendations for the future…it should be truly independent…independent of the press, so the public will know that newspapers will never again be solely responsible for policing themselves.
Did self-policing fail, and, if so, on whose part? It looks from here like the Guardian, another newspaper, did the tireless investigative work that exposed the News of the World’s practices, while public officials at every level were intimately involved in them. If the Guardian did the work that the government failed to do, is the lesson there really that the press should have less power, and the government more? British newspapers are not “solely responsible for policing themselves”: the News of the World engaged in activities that are criminal under existing laws, and that those who enforce laws were well positioned to reveal and put an end to. They did not. The list of the complicit starts with the first policeman who was offered money, but it extends to David Cameron.
Frankie’s headmaster told me he had NotW (and doubtless other newspaper) hacks skulking in bushes in the school grounds and brazenly marching straight into his office demanding comments and answers with impunity.posted by rodgerd at 1:09 PM on July 9, 2011 [2 favorites]
"It is Sunday afternoon, preferably before the war. The wife is already asleep in the armchair, and the children have been sent out for a nice long walk. You put your feet up on the sofa, settle your spectacles on your nose and open the News of the World."Of course, in the original, Orwell, continues:
These are the words of the great writer George Orwell. They were written in 1946 but they have been the sentiments of most of the nation for well over a century and a half as this astonishing paper became part of the fabric of Britain, as central to Sunday as a roast dinner.
Roast beef and Yorkshire, or roast pork and apple sauce, followed up by suet pudding and driven home, as it were, by a cup of mahogany-brown tea, have put you in just the right mood. Your pipe is drawing sweetly, the sofa cushions are soft underneath you, the fire is well alight, the air is warm and stagnant. In these blissful circumstances, what is it that you want to read about?The quotation is from Orwell's essay "Decline of the English Murder" and few would characterize the study of the English gutter press as complimentary to the NotW.
Naturally, about a murder…
Having fashioned a disguise from dirt and wool, I cycled to the newsagents at 7.30am, to find they were already selling fast. Clearly the boycott was having an effect. Having secured a copy, I made my excuses and left – after hiding it inside a necro-zoophiliac porn mag, so any passers-by outside wouldn't judge me too harshly.posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 11:17 AM on July 10, 2011 [1 favorite]
@EXNOTWjourno had been promising to release a series of PDFs and evidence of wrongdoing at News of the World at midnight last night but said in one tweet that she had postponed the disclosures following advice from lawyers.posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 2:05 PM on July 10, 2011
Charles Begley became [The News of the World]'s official Harry Potter correspondent as part of a campaign in the run-up to the launch of the movie [in November 2001], which involved him changing his name to Harry Potter by deed poll and dressing up as the youthful wizard.posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 6:10 PM on July 10, 2011 [2 favorites]
He initially went along with the stunt, but claimed he was horrified when he was ordered to put on his costume less than 90 minutes after the collapse of the second World Trade Centre tower.
Begley alleged that at 4.30pm on the day of the terror attacks his news editor approached him and told him that [Rebekah] Wade wanted him to come to her office dressed as JK Rowling's fictional schoolboy wizard.
CB: Well, to be frank, Greg, as far as my future at News International is concerned, I haven't toed the line for the editor's pet project. I didn't prance around while the World Trade Centre was being bombed, for her personal amusement. I can't just stroll in.Well, quite.
GM: Why not? Charles, that is what we do - we go out and destroy other people's lives.
The sheer scale of the data assault on Brown is unusual, with evidence of attempts to obtain his legal, financial, tax, medical and police records as well as to listen to his voicemail. All of these incidents are linked to media organisations. In many cases, there is evidence of a link to News International.Full report here
Five years earlier, when their first child, Jennifer, was born on 28 December 2001, a small group of specialist doctors and nurses was aware that she had suffered a brain haemorrhage and was dying. By some means which has not been discovered, this highly sensitive information was obtained by news organisations, who published it over the weekend before Jennifer died, on Monday 6 January 2002.posted by rodgerd at 11:36 AM on July 11, 2011
Rees's relationship with journalists was a two-way street. An executive from the News of the World developed a corrupt source in the Passport Office who could provide home addresses, personal details and photographs of anybody who applied for a passport. Rees was paying the executive £100 a time for information from the source (although the executive was passing the source only £25 a time).Guardian
Are you insufficiently repulsed by the Sun's mysteriously-obtained exclusive on Brown's son's cystic fibrosis? Don't worry - like everything about the hacking scandal, there are always more details to emerge to compound the horror. I've been speaking to a source close to Gordon Brown at the time of the story, who recalls that it was served up with a chaser of threat.From the Guardian's live blog.
Marina Hyde.
"Gordon insisted - despite a heavy brow-beating from Rebekah - that he was not willing to let his son's medical condition be the stuff of a Sun exclusive," recalls this source. "So he put out a statement on PA to spike their scoop and make clear that despite his condition, Fraser was fit and healthy. The Sun were utterly furious, and Brown's communications team were told that if Gordon wanted to get into No10, he needed to learn that was not how things were done."
Yes, how DARE the then-chancellor refuse to accept that his child's health was not technically a commercial Murdoch property? I'd like to tell you there's a sick bag located in the rear pocket of the seat in front of you. But I'm afraid you're on your own.
This House believes that it is in the public interest for Rupert Murdoch and News Corporation to withdraw their bid for BSkyB.posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 7:56 AM on July 12, 2011 [1 favorite]
Stand by folks, story coming detailing @PiersMorgan's complicity in phone hacking. We're naming names and places. #CircularFiringSquadposted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 8:09 AM on July 12, 2011 [1 favorite]
Yes, how DARE the then-chancellor refuse to accept that his child's health was not technically a commercial Murdoch property? I'd like to tell you there's a sick bag located in the rear pocket of the seat in front of you. But I'm afraid you're on your own.God, I think I actually threw up a little. Damn, I had this wee-bit of a hope that the Murdoch's didn't control everything, that may be there was some amount of hyperbole. Apparently not.
It is therefore with a great deal of satisfaction that I observe the Alien's current troubles. This man has done more to harm journalism in America and Britain than any other person.posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 10:13 PM on July 12, 2011 [2 favorites]
Fox News UK: Fair & Balanced - This site shits unicorns that weep rainbows
secret message is secret
YOU CAN'T HAVE IT MR MURDOCH
HA HA HA HA HA HA
NO FOX NEWS UK FOR YOU
HA HA HA HA HA HA
Piss off Murdoch.
Books you should read: Nicholas Shaxon - Treasure Islands -->
Nick Davies - Flat Earth News -->
Both go a long way in explaining the the world we live in. -->
Don't get apathetic, get angry. You have the power and tools -->
to change the world for the better. Use them. -->
.---------------------------.
/,--..---..---..---..---..--. `.
//___||___||___||___||___||___\_|
[j__ ######################## [_|
\============================|
.==| |"""||"""||"""||"""| |"""||
/======"---""---""---""---"=| =||
|____ []* ____ | ==||
// \\ // \\ |===||
"\__/"---------------"\__/"-+---+'
Catch the fail bus to the Murdocholypse!
_
| \
| |
| |
|\ | |
/, ~\ / /
X `-.....-------./ /
~-. ~ ~ |
\ / |
\ /_ ___\ /
| /\ ~~~~~ \ |
| | \ || |
| |\ \ || )
(_/ (_/ ((_/
ASCII cat says, "Meow meow read Chomsky meow"
/\ /\
//\\_//\\ ____
\_ _/ / /
/ * * \ /^^^]
\_\O/_/ [ ]
/ \_ [ /
\ \_ / /
[ [ / \/ _/
_[ [ \ /_/
"la la la la - can't catch me!", says the naughty UK fox.
__ __ _____ ____ _ _ ___ _ ______ _ _ _
| \/ | ____/ ___| / \ | | / _ \| | |__ / | / | |
| |\/| | _|| | _ / _ \ | | | | | | | / /| | | | |
| | | | |__| |_| |/ ___ \| |__| |_| | |___ / /_|_|_| |_|
|_| |_|_____\____/_/ \_\_____\___/|_____/____(_|_)_(_)
__ __ _____ ____ _ _ ___ _ ______ _ _ _
| \/ | ____/ ___| / \ | | / _ \| | |__ / | / | |
| |\/| | _|| | _ / _ \ | | | | | | | / /| | | | |
| | | | |__| |_| |/ ___ \| |__| |_| | |___ / /_|_|_| |_|
|_| |_|_____\____/_/ \_\_____\___/|_____/____(_|_)_(_)
__ __ _____ ____ _ _ ___ _ ______ _ _ _
| \/ | ____/ ___| / \ | | / _ \| | |__ / | / | |
| |\/| | _|| | _ / _ \ | | | | | | | / /| | | | |
| | | | |__| |_| |/ ___ \| |__| |_| | |___ / /_|_|_| |_|
|_| |_|_____\____/_/ \_\_____\___/|_____/____(_|_)_(_)
_ UP YOURS _
|_| |_|
| | /^^^\ | |
_| |_ (| "o" |) _| |_
_| | | | _ (_---_) _ | | | |_
| | | | |' | _| |_ | `| | | | |
| | / \ | |
\ / / /(. .)\ \ \ /
\ / / / | . | \ \ \ /
\ \/ / ||Y|| \ \/ /
\__/ || || \__/
() ()
|| ||
ooO Ooo
To James, Rupert, Rebekah
and their office junior,
David.
/^----^\
| 0 0 |
| \/ |
Whoo!! / \
Free | |;;;|
Bradley | |;;;| \ \
Manning!! | \;;| \\//
Whoo!! \ \| / /
------------------(((--(((------------\ \----------,
-- ___ ---- __ --- ____ ---- _____ -- __ - \
__ -- __ -- _____ --- __ ---- ___ ---- __ -- /
---------------/ /---------------\ \--------------`
\ \ / /
//\ //
\ \\
/
Naughty ASCII owl! We've told you before about
trying to slip political messages into cheap
domain grabbing stunts. No Hogwarts for you!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #
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# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Shout outs to the crew:
Tom Watson - not all MPs are rotten
UKUncut - great work despite the METs utterly
devious attempt to blacken your
name on March 26
New Statesmen - for running great politically
biting stuff like interviews
with the bass player in Blur.
Hugh Grant - if we have to be ruled by Tories
then we'd rather it be you than
the current lot.
Kate Bush - not sure remaking the your old
songs is the best use of your time.
Just sayin'
Little Nicky Clegg - go on, pull out, send them
crashing down.
Fred West as played by the bloke from The Wire
(looking forward to this - aren't you?)
istyosty - saving us from increasing the ad revenue of
the Daily Mail since 1873. Love to you.
Dappy of the So Solid Crew - big love to the man.
R3m3mb3r h8ers h8 & lov3rs lov3.
------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
|_) / \ |_ | ( /\ | | ( /\ /_ |_ (
| \ \_/ | |_ _) /--\ \_/ _) /--\ \_| |_ _)
------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------
()-() Squeak. Squeak. We're Anonymouse, ()-()
(o o) -- we're everywhere. But mostly in (o o)
/\o/\ your cheese. Squeak. Squeak. /\o/\
------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------
-->11.52 John Whittingdale, the chairman of the DCMS committee, says that they will be sending summons for both Murdochs to compel them. Still some confusion over whether they have the power to force them to attend.posted by Anything at 4:35 AM on July 14, 2011
11.53 Whittingdale: "The advice we have is that if they [the Murdochs] are in the country, they can be served with a summons". Hat-tip to PoliticsHome's Paul Waugh for that.
But despite the News of the World’s sins, and bearing in mind its 168-year-old history, are these figures really good news? I’m not sure that the gloating Left, whose own newspapers are in a shaky state, have really thought this one through.People reading newspapers is not a beneficial thing in and of itself, especially when that includes the kind of unethical bad "journalism" produced by the News of the World or The Sun. So yeah, this is good news. It'd be better if they switched to The Observer, but switching to no paper at all is a net positive.
Dow Jones CEO quits, Murdoch apologizes in hacking scandal.posted by ericb at 1:33 PM on July 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
News Group Newspapers, the publishers of The Sun, said tonight in a statement: "We believe this is a deeply cynical and deliberately mischievous attempt to draw The Sun into the phone-hacking issue."Hahaha!
just marveling at the thought that anyone wronged so deeply by him could be in the same room with him and restrain themselves from staking him through the heart and filling his mouth with garlic to keep him from rising again.Was seeing the story on BBC World just now. Now I don't know how they've responded to Murdoch pere's apology, but judging from their facial expressions, it's perhaps obvious that they were trying to contain something, whether it's surprise or revulsion I don't know. It most certainly would have been revulsion, if I was in their situation.
Would Murdoch really sack his son [James]? I don't see why we should rule out infanticide in this case. Writing in the Financial Times [...] former media tycoon and current prison inmate Conrad Black held that "Murdoch has no loyalty to anyone or anything except his company. He has difficulty keeping friendships; rarely keeps his word for long; is an exploiter of the discomfort of others; and has betrayed every political leader who ever helped him in any country, except Ronald Reagan and perhaps Tony Blair."posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 8:05 PM on July 15, 2011
Mainstream American politicians of both parties have generally avoided open combat with Murdoch, with Bill and then Hillary Clinton famously seeking to court him and reach an accommodation. Even Obama, who has warred openly with Fox at times, has more recently pulled back, even after seven-figure contributions to groups tied to the Republican Party were reported last year.
But Murdoch, wounded, suddenly appears mortal, and his enemies are emboldened.
Fox News president Roger Ailes “is going to be hamstrung,” said Murdoch biographer and AdWeek editor Michael Wolff. Ailes “operates independently, but in this context he will not be able to operate independently: This is going to be in the hands of lawyers and higher PR officials, and it will not be about what’s good for Fox, it’ll be what’s good for News Corp. and for an ultimate settlement.”
Evidence that Murdoch is lying in the ad is inscribed in his parting salutation, "Sincerely."posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 9:33 PM on July 15, 2011 [2 favorites]
One cannot live off the liberty and benefits of a free press while ignoring the privacy of the people. People such as Murdoch and I, as heads of publishing conglomerates, have a responsibility to maintain and respect this boundary. While Murdoch may understand the significance of what we do under the umbrella of free speech, he may fail to recognize the liability attached to publication.posted by Anything at 9:11 AM on July 16, 2011 [2 favorites]
...
No matter how offensive or distasteful some people may find Hustler magazine and my other publications, no one has appeared unwillingly in their pages. I do not create sensationalism at the expense of people living private lives.
American news outlets have a far greater sense of separation from the political elite of their country than there is in Britain. In the UK, both parties chased the endorsement of the News of the World. Prime Ministers of left and right invited its editors to cocktail parties and sleep-overs. Its power and importance was reflected in its disturbingly close relationship with the entire political establishment, including Brown and Cameron. That is what made it the British Watergate.posted by Anything at 9:43 AM on July 16, 2011 [2 favorites]
In contrast, no Democrat would bother to court the support of Fox News or the New York Post. They are conservative niche media, which has excluded them from half of the US political establishment and kept them philosophically pure.
Police said that a 43-year-old woman was arrested by appointment at a London police station on Sunday on on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications and on suspicion of corruption allegations.Why do the UK police announce arrests in this manner? I can see the desire to avoid prejudicing court proceedings or the public view of the arrested by not giving their name. But what, then, is the justification for giving out age and gender? In this case, that is enough to fairly conclusively determine who was arrested.
The resignation of Sir Paul Stephenson, Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, is a shocking blow to David Cameron’s credibility as Prime Minister. There’s a sense now of a tidal wave of scandal surrounding the entire British establishment.posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 2:26 PM on July 17, 2011
Britain's top police officer has resigned and turned on the prime minister in a dramatic escalation of the phone hacking scandal.posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 5:30 PM on July 17, 2011
In a carefully-worded resignation speech that appeared aimed directly at Downing Street, Sir Paul Stephenson, the commissioner of the Metropolitan police, said the prime minister risked being "compromised" by his closeness to former News of the World editor Andy Coulson.
When News Corp. and CEO Rupert Murdoch secured enough shares to buy Dow Jones & Co. four years ago, these columns welcomed our new owner and promised to stand by the same standards and principles we always had. That promise is worth repeating now that politicians and our competitors are using the phone-hacking years ago at a British corner of News Corp. to assail the Journal, and perhaps injure press freedom in general.posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 6:12 PM on July 17, 2011
The prize for righteous hindsight goes to the online publication ProPublica for recording the well-fed regrets of the Bancroft family that sold Dow Jones to News Corp. at a 67% market premium in 2007. The Bancrofts were admirable owners in many ways, but at the end of their ownership their appetite for dividends meant that little cash remained to invest in journalism. We shudder to think what the Journal would look like today without the sale to News Corp.posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 6:41 PM on July 17, 2011 [2 favorites]
The public may be disgusted by illegal and immoral practices among tabloid journalists, and dismayed by the thought of politicians unbalanced by the urge to keep the favour of newspaper executives. At the point at which this sorry tale touches the police, however, it becomes frightening. Unless a huge amount of what has been alleged these past two weeks is sheer fiction, Britain's police are riven with corruption on an institutional scale. Journalists who bribe policemen are indicative of a flawed industry. Policemen who can be bribed are indicative of a flawed state.posted by daveje at 4:10 AM on July 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
The revelations over the hacking of grieving relatives' voicemails were the equivalent of a tornado ripping through an orphanage. "What kind of God would allow such a thing?" asked the villagers, wading through the aftermath. And they started to suspect He didn't exist.Charlie Brooker: 'Rupert Murdoch: what will MPs do without someone to fear?'
Would you buy a Bible from Rupert Murdoch, head of News Corporation?posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 8:39 AM on July 18, 2011
You probably already have.
And in the most costly payout, it spent half a billion dollars in 2010 on another settlement, just days before the case was scheduled to go to trial. The plaintiff, Valassis Communications, had already won a $300 million verdict in Michigan, but dropped the lawsuit in exchange for $500 million and an agreement to cooperate on certain ventures going forward.and Valassis is primarily known for their America’s Looking For Its Missing Children program. I'm not sure which is worse- engaging in underhanded business practices in order to undercut a company responsible for running a missing kids program, or joining together with that same company knowing what we do now about their ethics and practices regarding missing kids.
OnE Flew East oNe Flew WesT...
FNFWT
OEEThree geese in a flock
One flew East
One flew West
And one flew over the cuckoo's nest"Thirdly, the record of meetings between Cameron and News International executives released on Friday does not reveal a modernising prime minister governing in the national interest, but a victim of a vested interest. His meetings with News International executives in a year exceed those with all other news organisations put together. Not a single figure from the BBC was granted an audience. It is one of those assemblages of small facts that change the way a public figure is viewed."(my emphasis)
Sean Hoare, the former News of the World showbiz reporter who was the first named journalist to allege Andy Coulson was aware of phone hacking by his staff, has been found dead, the Guardian has learned.posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 10:09 AM on July 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
[...]
"The death is currently being treated as unexplained, but not thought to be suspicious. Police investigations into this incident are ongoing."
It must have scared the rest of Fleet Street when [Sean Hoare] started talking – he had bought, sold and snorted cocaine with some of the most powerful names in tabloid journalism. One retains a senior position on the Daily Mirror. "I last saw him in Little Havana," he recalled, "at three in the morning, on his hands and knees. He had lost his cocaine wrap. I said to him, 'This is not really the behaviour we expect of a senior journalist from a great Labour paper.' He said, 'Have you got any fucking drugs?'"posted by jokeefe at 11:23 AM on July 18, 2011 [2 favorites]
my tinfoil hat makes me scared that it's more sinister :(I'm sure whatever has led to the closure of a 168 year-old newspaper, the resignation of the top two policemen in Britain, the "daughter" of the most powerful media mogul in the world and maybe the Prime Minister isn't something worth bumping off a showbiz reporter for.
12pm Home AffairsSo the Home Affairs Select Comittee hearing is a bit early for our American cousins, but die-hards can set their alarm for 7 AM ET.
Subject: Unauthorised tapping or hacking of mobile communications
Witness(es): Sir Paul Stephenson, Commissioner, Metropolitan Police (at 12 noon); and Dick Fedorcio, Director of Public Affairs and Internal Communication, Metropolitan Police (at 12.30 p.m.)
Location: The Grimond Room, Portcullis House
2.30pm Culture, Media and Sport
Subject: Phone-hacking
Witness(es): Rebekah Brooks, Chief Executive Officer, News International Ltd, Rupert Murdoch, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, News Corporation, and James Murdoch, Deputy Chief Operating Officer and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, International News Corporation
Location: The Wilson Room, Portcullis House
The Guardian has learned that a bag containing the items was found in an underground car park in the Design Centre at the exclusive Chelsea Harbour development on Monday afternoon.Oh boy, how he must regret that. What a screwup.
The car park, under a shopping centre, is yards from the gated apartment block where Brooks lives with her husband, a former racehorse trainer and close friend of the prime minister David Cameron.
It is understood the bag was handed into security at around 3pm and that shortly afterwards, Brooks's husband, Charlie, arrived and tried to reclaim it. He was unable to prove the bag was his and the security guard refused to release it.
Domain name:
new-times.co.uk
Registrant:
News International Newspapers Limited
If hackgate were a screenplay, this would be the point where the writers need a firm guiding hand. Laptop in bin feels phoned inposted by grouse at 3:36 PM on July 18, 2011 [15 favorites]
News Corp. (NWSA) is considering elevating Chief Operating Officer Chase Carey to chief executive officer, succeeding Rupert Murdoch, people with knowledge of the situation said.posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 5:09 PM on July 18, 2011
Apparently if you don’t change the standard security code that every phone comes with, then anyone can call your number and, if you don’t answer, tap in the standard four digit code to hear all your messages. I’ll change mine just in case, but it makes me wonder how many public figures and celebrities are aware of this little trick.posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 6:06 PM on July 18, 2011 [7 favorites]
@williamhillNews William Hill Bookiesposted by humph at 5:21 AM on July 19, 2011 [3 favorites]
We're 16/1 that David Cameron is no longer Convervative Leader by midnight on Sunday. #hackgate #notw #tories
Whan that Scandal, with his shoures sooteposted by Jehan at 10:39 AM on July 19, 2011 [9 favorites]
The droghte of Trewth hath perced to the roote
And bathed every manne in swich licour,
Of which Vertu Engendred is the flour;
Whan Grauniad eek with his sweete breeth
Inspired hath in every holt and heeth
The tendre coppes, and the yonge sone
Hath in Downing Street his halfe cours yronne,
And smale twitteres maken melodye,
That slepen al the nyght with open ye
(So priketh hem Outrage in hir tweetinges);
Thanne longen folk to goon committee hearinges
And politicians for to seken straunge crimes
To ferne justice, kowthe in sondry tymes;
And specially from every parties ende
Of Engelond, to Westminster they wende,
The hooly blisful Rupert for to seke
That hem hath holpen, whan that they were meeke.
Cameron to quit as PM before 31st July 2011 10/1posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 10:43 AM on July 19, 2011 [2 favorites]
Cameron to quit as PM before 31st December 2011 4/1
David Cameron to be replaced as Conservative Leader before the Next General Election 2/1
David Cameron to be Conservative Leader at Next General Election 1/3
Over the last several months, Ms. Brooks spearheaded a strategy that seemed designed to spread the blame across Fleet Street, interviews show. Several former News of the World journalists said that she asked them to dig up evidence of hacking. One said in an interview that Ms. Brooks’s target was not her own newspapers, but her rivals.
Mr. Dacre, the editor of The Daily Mail, told his senior managers that he had received several reports from businesspeople, soccer stars and public relations agencies that two News International executives, Will Lewis and Simon Greenberg, had encouraged them to investigate whether their phones had been hacked by Daily Mail newspapers.
I can't shake the feeling that everything NI are doing is trying to avert something coming out that's so appalling that all the firings and closings and shenanigans are worth itWhat is worth giving up NoTW and BSkyB for? As heinous as it is, being repentant over hacking Milly Dowler's voicemails isn't worth a few billion of anyone's money. There has to be a body somewhere in all of this.
watching Louise Mensch being interviewed by Jon Snow – she's coming out against the 1922 CommitteeBloody Hell. I'd stake my house on Mrs Mensch knowing where it's fucking buried.
Explaining how he had been called in by solicitors acting for Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation board, Lord Macdonald said that when he inspected the messages it took him between "three to five minutes" to decide that the material had to be passed to police.posted by Len at 3:19 PM on July 19, 2011
"The material I saw was so blindingly obvious that trying to argue that it should not be given to the police would have been a hard task. It was evidence of serious criminal offences."
He first showed it to the News Corp board in June this year. "There was no dissent," he recalled. "They were stunned. They were shocked. I said it was my unequivocal advice that it should be handed to the police. They accepted that."
That board meeting, the former DPP said, was chaired by Rupert Murdoch. [Emphasis mine]
Rupert Murdoch's News International has been found by a parliamentary committee to have "deliberately" tried to block a Scotland Yard criminal investigation into phone hacking at the News of the World, the Guardian has learned.posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 5:16 PM on July 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
The report by MPs from the all-party home affairs committee will be released on Wednesday and its publication has been moved forward in time for today's statement by prime minister David Cameron on the scandal.
...with BBC2 clearing the afternoon schedules to live stream the committee. And so it was that those who'd tuned in hoping to catch a repeat of A Place in the Country [sic*] found themselves serving as the test audience for the trial of two new Fox shows: Embarrassing Dads Say the Darndest Things, and Are You Smarter Than A Selectively Deaf Media Mogul?and
Yet perhaps the most telling vignette came shortly after Rupert had confused Alastair Campbell with David Cameron - possible confirmation that the change of prime ministers is to Murdoch Snr the mere shuffling of junior personnel - when he revealed insouciantly that he always went in the back door of Downing Street because Cameron and others insisted on it. As Rupert put it with a studiedly powerless smile: "I just did what I was told." And if that little detail doesn't betray the arse-about-titness of the way this country has been doing business for decades, then heaven knows what will. Truly, it was the most faux-humble day of his life.* that should be Escape to the Country /pedant
If you're of sound mind, you might quite reasonably ask what possessed me to smuggle a shaving-foam pie into Portcullis House and throw it at (though, alas, not into) the face of one of the world's richest and most powerful men. I didn't do it because I wanted more Twitter followers. Simply put, I did it for all the people who couldn't.posted by memebake at 12:00 PM on July 20, 2011 [1 favorite]
It's not difficult to find reasons to dislike Rupert Murdoch. His reach is one of the most insidious and toxic forces in global politics today. The phone-hacking scandal, despicable though it is, barely scratches the surface of the damage done by News International. It is a media empire built on deceit and bile, that trades vitriol for debate and thinks nothing of greasing the wheels of power until they turn in its favour. What's more, no matter what the grievances he wreaks on those he has never met, his power and money keep him forever safely out of their reach.
Yes it's true that Murdoch's power is waning. But it's also true that he will never face real justice. Yesterday's select committee hearing was a farce before the foam ever left my fingers: a toothless panel confronting men too slippery to be caught between their gums.
I was filled with hope as Tom Watson questioned Murdoch Sr relentlessly with the passion and vigour we might expect to be the norm when our elected representatives face down the perpetrators of a modern Watergate. For a few bright moments I thought I might see justice done, keep the pie in my bag and spare myself a night in jail. Those moments were short lived: as committee member after committee member feebly prodded around the issues and Murdoch Jr began to dominate, I knew I was going to have to make a massive tit of myself ...
For starters, executives, editors, and reporters at News Corp.’s UK unit have: bribed the police; illegally hacked thousands of people’s phones, including a 13-year-old then-missing murder victim’s; tampered with evidence while the victim was still missing. They interfered with a second murder investigation; misled police and Parliament, repeatedly, when questioned about these activities; knowingly employed an ax-murder suspect who had been convicted and imprisoned for planting cocaine on an innocent woman in a divorce case; paid millions of dollars to victims explicitly in exchange for their silence; paid large sums to former employees after they had been convicted of crimes committed at the behest of News Corporation employees; continued to pay for convicted former employees’ high-powered lawyers.citations and much more here
It has further been revealed that a senior News International executive deleted millions of emails in an “apparent attempt to obstruct Scotland Yard’s inquiry”; hid the contents of a top journalist’s desk after he was arrested; stuffed documents into trash bags and took them away as detectives came into the office to investigate; put the scandal’s lead police investigator, whose inquiry was a bad joke, on the News Corp. payroll with a plum columnist job.
Just by way of clarification relating to Tuesday's CMS Select Committee hearing, we would like to point out that James Murdoch's recollection of what he was told when agreeing to settle the Gordon Taylor litigation was mistaken.This, of course, contradicts what James Murdoch told Parliament. He's in trouble now.
In fact, we did inform him of the "for Neville" email which had been produced to us by Gordon Taylor's lawyers.
Craig Oliver, a former BBC executive who replaced Coulson when he resigned from Number 10 in February, is undergoing "developed vetting" – a rigorous probe into his background and finances aimed at uncovering anything that could make him vulnerable to blackmail or other compromises. Coulson underwent less stringent checks.
A former senior counter-terrorism official said it was "unthinkable" and "very surprising, that someone would not be vetted to the higher 'DV' level when they are working in No 10, that close to the PM".
He said: "Developed vetting is an intrusive analysis of someone's character. It potentially could have picked up phone hacking. It would look into everything about them, including allegations made publicly, in the media, about them."
The contrast between Coulson's and Oliver's security vetting emerged after 24 hours of refusals by Downing Street to say what Oliver's security status would be. Adding to the impression Coulson was afforded special treatment, Gabby Bertin, Coulson's former assistant who is still Cameron's deputy press secretary, is also undergoing full checks.
Harbottle & Lewis has now accused News International of refusing to release it from a client confidentiality clause so it can defend itself. The firm has also contacted the home affairs select committee to investigate whether there is a possibility of countering Murdoch's claims by giving testimony under parliamentary privilege.
...The London law firm, whose clients include members of the royal family, is not the only one left nursing a battered reputation following the Murdochs' testimony.
Jon Chapman, News International's former director of legal affairs, is understood to be preparing to write a letter to John Whittingdale, the chairman of the culture select committee, to "set the record straight".
Chapman was one of a several legal advisers whose opinion on the extent of phone hacking at the newspaper group was called into question at the committee hearing. Having left News International two weeks ago, he is on gardening leave and could not be reached for comment.
Any evidence from Chapman is likely to be extremely important in offering an opposing view of that put forward by the Murdochs and other senior News International staff.
The [U.S.] Justice Department is looking into allegations that News Corp's advertising unit hacked into computers of a competitor, NBC News reported on Thursday, citing the competitor's lawyer.posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 8:17 PM on July 21, 2011 [3 favorites]
The legal firm that Rupert Murdoch accused of making a "major mistake" in its part in the internal investigation into phone hacking is to be called before a parliamentary select committee to defend itself against allegations that they helped cover up the scandal.This tweet explains the significance of Tom Crone's statement:
The culture, media, and sports committee, which on Tuesday grilled Murdoch and his son James, is planning to write to Harbottle & Lewis asking its representatives to appear when it resumes in October.
Crone statement is significant b/c: he is libel expert + stmt is potentially libellous + no privilege defence available = he is confidentposted by catchingsignals at 8:21 PM on July 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
It emerged yesterday that Lord Leveson, while chairman of the Sentencing Council that advises the Government on punishing criminals, met Mr Freud at a dinner in February last year in an Oxford University college.You could say them meeting each other in such a public manner was a (pauses, puts sunglasses on).....
The pair discussed how to promote public confidence in the criminal justice system.
such was their apparent determination to rid the country of child sex offenders, it wouldn't have seemed too weird if a senior NOTW figure sympathetically handed over a mobile phone at no expense to the victim - so that they could all keep in touch. And then, of course, there would be no problem monitoring those phones, would there?And Brooks is once again using that curious double-insulated grammatical form, 'the idea that we knew [X] is unthinkable', which is once again not a denial.
"Despite a fast-spreading, false rumor that CNN had suspended Piers Morgan today, Mr. Morgan's talk show actually looks safe so far, as attempts to tie him to News Corp.'s phone-hacking scandal are failing to register with marketers."posted by ericb at 12:05 PM on July 28, 2011
For those keeping score in this fast-paced Twitterverse, CNN host Piers Morgan was fake- suspended Thursday.posted by ericb at 12:07 PM on July 28, 2011
British news anchor Jon Snow tweeted that Morgan, who has been accused of complicity in phone hacking, had been suspended. That sent various media people on Twitter into a tizzy as the news spread instantaneously.
Almost as quickly, others responded to quell the allegations, ending the rumor in less than 20 minutes.
Morgan, known for his instaiable Twitter appetite, was one of the first responders: "Sorry to disappoint you all, but I'm afraid poor old @jonsnowC4 got duped by a fake Twitter account. I've not been suspended by CNN."
Snow soon admitted as much, tweeting: "Retraction ahoy..rumour mill produced info on Piers Morgan..was issued on a fake NOW accouint.no truth that Piers Morgan suspended by CNN."
Snow also deleted his previous tweet alleging the suspension.
1. While working in Downing Street, did Andy Coulson at any time have unsupervised access to information designated Top Secret or above?The most salient point of the last communication between the Guardian and Downing Street:
2. Did Andy Coulson ever attend National Security Council, Cobra or cabinet meetings?
3. Did Andy Coulson ever attend a meeting relating to Afghanistan, UK military matters or counter-terrorism at which intelligence was discussed?
4. Did Andy Coulson attend meetings relating to the strategic defence and security review?
5. Did Andy Coulson see documents or attend briefings about the terror incident at East Midlands airport in October 2010 for which he did not have appropriate security clearance?
6. Did Andy Coulson take part in any briefings related to US warnings of Mumbai-style commando attacks in September, when intelligence sources said they had uncovered the early stages of an al-Qaida plot to carry out co-ordinated attacks in the UK, France and Germany?
7. Did Andy Coulson ever attend intelligence briefings while accompanying the prime minister on foreign trips?
8. Were White House or State Department officials informed that Andy Coulson was not DV ["developed vetting"] vetted when he accompanied David Cameron on his visit to Washington in July 2010? Did he attend any part of Cameron's meeting with President Obama?
9. Did Andy Coulson attend the prime minister's meeting with General Petraeus in Downing Street in October or receive briefings based on it?
10. Did Andy Coulson attend any meeting between the prime minister and Asif Ali Zardari, the Pakistani president, at Chequers in August, when intelligence or military matters were discussed, for which he did not have security clearance?
11. Did Andy Coulson attend any meetings between the prime minister and other Nato leaders in Lisbon in November when intelligence or military matters were discussed for which he did not have security clearance?
12. Which officials or ministers were informed of Jeremy Heywood's decision in May 2010 not to subject Andy Coulson to developed vetting?
13. One of the reasons given for not subjecting Andy Coulson to developed vetting was cost. Is it correct that the cost of developed vetting to No 10 is £500?
14. We understand that the company that screened Andy Coulson on behalf of the Conservative party in 2007 was Control Risks Screening. Was Andy Coulson subjected to the firm's "standard" check (at a cost of £150.40) or the "express" check (£145.70)?
I think our readers will be bemused, at best, by your refusal to address the issue of whether Andy Coulson attended any meetings at which highly classified information was discussed. More sceptical readers may conclude that you are reluctant to disclose information that could prove inconvenient in some way. In particular, readers will wonder why you are not willing directly to address the issue of whether Andy Coulson ever attended a meeting of the national security council.posted by Len at 12:52 PM on July 28, 2011 [3 favorites]
I also note that you decline to deny that, as per our first question, Andy Coulson at any time had unsupervised access to information designated Top Secret or above. In place of your previous statement that "there is no suggestion he was sent papers incorrectly", you now state that "there is no suggestion that Andy Coulson, or anyone else, had access to the most secret papers". For the sake of clarity, could I ask again if you would confirm or deny whether Andy Coulson at any time had unsupervised access to information designated Top Secret or above?
On two occasions, James Murdoch and former News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks were given confidential defence briefings on Afghanistan and Britain's strategic defence review by the Defence Secretary, Liam Fox. A further briefing was held with Ms Brooks, Rupert Murdoch and the Sunday Times editor John Witherow.posted by Len at 1:26 PM on July 28, 2011 [2 favorites]
A spokesman for Mr Fox said that the defence briefings given to the Murdochs covered a range of issues and were given because of the "interest in defence matters" shown by News International papers. He did not say who initiated the meetings.
[London Mayor] Boris Johnson would have been "attempting to pervert the course of justice" if he knew police were actively investigating phone hacking when he described fresh allegations as "codswallop", a member of the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) has claimed.posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 3:40 PM on July 28, 2011 [1 favorite]
I used the names of many real people I knew for minor characters such as journalists, chauffeurs, bankers and so forth. Roger Lewis was probably amongst them, as were (off the top of my head) Therese Coffey MP, now my colleague on the Select Committee, Jeremy Quin, Damian Hinds MP, Maurice Oberstein, Rod Clayton, James Robertson and many more. None of them have ever complained about my using their names in this way.Regardless of whether Career Girls was part roman à clef (something that was definitely suggested when it came out) it's a marker of a social circle that, like that of many Oxbridge hacks, now includes quite a few movers and shakers.
The Letter contain'd anodyne Allegations that are easily refut'd: it is not the Stuff of BLACK MAIL.posted by Len at 12:14 AM on July 30, 2011
By refuting them, Mrs MENSCH hath, after a Fortnight of bad Press, regain'd a moral HIGH GROUND: indeed, she does appear a CHAMPION in the eyes of the Publick.
The real transgressions of the Murdoch empire are not its outré partisanship, its tabloid sleaze, its Washington lobbying, or even what liberals most love to hate, the bogus “fair and balanced” propaganda masquerading as journalism at Fox News. In fact, these misdemeanors are red herrings—distractions from the real News Corp. corruption that now threatens to bring down its management and radically reconfigure and reduce its international corporate footprint. The bigger story is this: An otherwise archetypal media colossus, with apolitical TV shows (American Idol), movies (Avatar), and cable channels (FX) like any other, is controlled by a family (and its tight coterie of made men and women, exemplified by the recently departed Rebekah Brooks) that countenances the intimidation and silencing of politicians, regulators, competitors, journalists, and even ordinary citizens to maximize its profits and power and to punish perceived corporate, political, and personal enemies. And, as we now know conclusively, some of this behavior has broken the law.
When I was first elected, I was a completely naive and gauche politician. You look at the pillars of the state: politics, the media, police, lawyers – they've all got their formal role, and then nestling above that is that power elite who are networked in through soft, social links, that are actually running the show.posted by holgate at 8:18 AM on August 3, 2011 [2 favorites]
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