News Of The World

[Strike For The South]

Bloody Jurno scum eh?

Deleting voicemails and thereby giving the family false hope is pretty funny

Granted that's just one of the many hiliraous things about this scandal

Murodoch standing by his (wo)man
Hugh Grant wearing a wire
Hacking war widows phones
Ecetera

This little island is truly a RIVITING PLACE

[Skullheadhq]

Implying nobody knew tabloid journalists did these kinds of things, and yet read it and be outraged when it it officially told that they do so. Come on, the whole world knows English tabloid journalist did these kind of things.

[Lemur]

Pretty big scandal, actually. I listen to BBC World News while driving, and it's pretty much all they're talking about.

[drone]

News Corp. is a registered US corporation. News Corp. employees bribed foreign government officials. News Corp. sets itself up for prosecution under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act when the executive branch is run by Democrats. Lulz were had by all.

[InsaneApache]

I'm gutted that the NoW has shut. What am I going to do now when I run out of bog paper?

[Tellos Athenaios]

Come on Apache: it's not like Mr Murdoch doesn't have plenty of other rags on sale.

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

I'm surprised that it took someone so long to post this.

I'm a bit dissapointed in Strike, as he doesn't seem to be ironic.

Anyway, lets move on.

The core issue here is not that the "Screws" was dirty, but the depths to which it sunk - interferring with murder investigations, bugging people who's daughters were abducted raped and murdered, stealing the medical records of Godon Brown's sick son. Even more troubling is that contagion is already spreading to the Times and the Sun. Murdoch might be able to get away with amputating one paper but if his entire rag division is shown to be in the same boat them, at the least, News International would have to be disbanded and broken up, and it might kill off News Corp.

The real issue though is that UK politicians aren't scared of Murdoch any more, if he tries to attach David Cameron, Nick Clegg or even Miliband they will come off as the victim.

The burning question is when US politicians will join the bundle, and who will be first?

[Ronin]

there are a lot of pet birds out there that are gonna be left without their favorite cage floor liner.

[gaelic cowboy]

I'm sorry I can't answer the phone right now but if you leave a message the News of the World will get back to you.

[HoreTore]

Scrapping the newspaper isn't enough - supply and demand will bring about a new one.

This is a cultural issue in Britain*, and it won't get better until the core of the problem is solved - the diseased part of english culture needs to be adressed. Until you cut off the demand, the supply will be there.




*though we who live in the rest of the world shouldn't gloat as we have the same problem, but still the brits are in a league of their own...

[HoreTore]

News Corp. is a registered US corporation. News Corp. employees bribed foreign government officials. News Corp. sets itself up for prosecution under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act when the executive branch is run by Democrats. Lulz were had by all.

This could get very interesting, but I don't see anyone with the balls to do the proper thing.

[Hosakawa Tito]

Yeah, Gitmo is still open. Send them there to sort it out.

[gaelic cowboy]

The not very nice thing about this is all the journos in the Irish News of the World got sacked too and they never hacked any phones.

Apparently they got an email in there inbox saying "guluck your all chucked", on the plus side twas a rubbish paper so they must have been useless anyway.

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

Scrapping the newspaper isn't enough - supply and demand will bring about a new one.

This is a cultural issue in Britain*, and it won't get better until the core of the problem is solved - the diseased part of english culture needs to be adressed. Until you cut off the demand, the supply will be there.




*though we who live in the rest of the world shouldn't gloat as we have the same problem, but still the brits are in a league of their own...

Demand is partly generated by Murdoch though, largely in fact, he owne(s/d) the Sun and the NotW, the only other Red Top is the Mirror.

Fact is, everyone knows the Times is going down the journalistic food chain, it hasn't had a decent scoop in years, the broadsheets (Telegraph/Guardian) are the only papers still doing serious journalism, which is why the Guardian nabbed this story and the Telegraph got the last one.

Sticking his rags behind a pay wall hasn't actually helped, either.

[Adrian II]

The real issue though is that UK politicians aren't scared of Murdoch any more [...]

Bang on, my friend. British politicians have been Strauss-Kahned for decades by Murdoch. The NotW phone hacking thingy was basically covered by Nick Davies in Flat Earth News (2008). No news there, except that it's suddenly become big news. And that of a sudden Mr Murdoch is living in interesting times. He stands to lose his BSkyB bid along with his most profitable rags. Looks like a tectonic shift is in the making. He may even be indicted in both the UK and the US.

AII

P.S. I give you Mr Murdoch's real headache

[InsaneApache]

Just watched PMQs. As usual like a chimps tea party but with everyone more or less agreeing. Quite bizarre. Talking of bizarre, that little Piers Morgan has dropped himself in it. Good.

I think we'll find this goes beyond NI and that journos of all the dead tree press will be awaiting a 5 AM knock at the door.

[TinCow]

This could get very interesting, but I don't see anyone with the balls to do the proper thing.

Yesterday I would have agreed with you, but this changes things:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/busine...y.html?hpid=z2

July 12 (Bloomberg) -- Senator Jay Rockefeller called for U.S. agencies to investigate whether alleged phone hacking at News Corp.’s U.K. newspapers targeted American victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.


“I am concerned that the admitted phone hacking in London by the News Corp. may have extended to 9/11 victims or other Americans,” Rockefeller, a Democrat from West Virginia, said today in a statement posted on the website of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, which he chairs. “If they did, the consequences will be severe.”



Reporters at the now-defunct News of the World tabloid are alleged to have hacked into hundreds of mobile-phone voice mails, including those of murder and terror victims, and bribed police for confidential information. The scandal prompted Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Rupert Murdoch to close the 168-year-old tabloid.


According to a report in the Daily Mirror, a competitor to News of the World and other News Corp. publications, an unnamed private investigator and former New York City police officer alleged reporters at the newspaper offered to pay him to retrieve private phone records of victims of the 9/11 attacks.

If that's true, News Corp is in a huge amount of trouble. People will be absolutely enraged over here if they hacked the phones of 9/11 victims.

[Adrian II]

That's it, Murdoch's in full retreat with the US Senate and some funny little Brit in a dress and whig on his tail.

AII

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

Yesterday I would have agreed with you, but this changes things:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/busine...y.html?hpid=z2



If that's true, News Corp is in a huge amount of trouble. People will be absolutely enraged over here if they hacked the phones of 9/11 victims.

Well, you guys did for Conrad Black, Murdoch may be more powerful now - but he also looks more corrupt and therefore more vulnerable.

[aimlesswanderer]

The whole mess is quite amazing. The criminality, complete lack of morals, the long running high level cover up, bribing police... As someone who has had a very low opinion of News Corp for a long time, I only hope that this breaks the Murdoch grip on the company, leads to new tighter journalistic and privacy rules, and stops the encroachment of the company into every media market and media type in the world.

Then there's the bizarre attempt to engineer a dynastic succession in a private listed company, and the 2 classes of shares... all very strange.

[InsaneApache]

If nothing else it's given the equally corrupt politicos a great reason to control the press. I'm sure I won't be disappointed. Not to mention bringing in a huge raft of new laws that will ensure that troughing MPs will never be scrutinized again ordinary members of the public never have their 'phones hacked again.

He's an idea. Try enforcing the laws we already have.

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

He's an idea. Try enforcing the laws we already have.

Never seems to occur to those in power, does it? All those new Terrorism offences when it could all have come under "Treason", a law abolished by Gordon Brown a few years ago.

[Adrian II]

Now the leadership of the Metropolitan Police are coming under suspicion as well. No wonder they couldn't find fault with News Corp in several previous investigations.

This is getting interestinger and interestinger.

AII

[TinCow]

The FBI has begun an investigation of the 9/11 hacking claims.

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

I thought this was a good piece from Nick Robinson: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-14150583

Of necessity, politicians will have relationships with the press - its interesting to note that, at this precise moment, the Guardian is trying to twist the knife into Cameron by hammering home that they kne about Coulson and they tried to warn him, but to no avail.

I find this interesting, I can't beelieve Cameron is stupid enough to hire someone where there is actual evidence of criminality, and I rather wonder who in his office was contacted - it wasn't like the Editor called and demanded to talk to the PM himself, was it?

[InsaneApache]

I find this interesting, I can't beelieve Cameron is stupid enough to hire someone where there is actual evidence of criminality, and I rather wonder who in his office was contacted - it wasn't like the Editor called and demanded to talk to the PM himself, was it?

Look it took me a long time to wake up. Politicians are the problem. Not the solution. Look around you.

[Adrian II]

Politicians are the problem. Not the solution. Look around you.

I've looked around me for 53 years and I think the problem is power. As Machiavelli has shown so eloquently, the exercise of power is seldom a pretty sight, no matter who holds it.

AII

[InsaneApache]

Very true. POWER to the PEOPLE!

Anyroad, it seems that McRuins intervention has backfired. What a numpty.

[Adrian II]

Very true. POWER to the PEOPLE!

You know what Machiavelli had to say about that.

AII

[rory_20_uk]

What was happening in the 1950's makes this behaviour almost looke ethical.

People like celebrity dirt and it seems don't worry themselves too much about how it gets to them.

Rather like "there's no harm in a bit of porn" / "pornstars are the scum of the earth!" - people want the former but manage to be horrified about how it gets there.