Apologies to the Daily Telegraph for nicking their headline but it's a good one. So yes, as you may have heard, the News of the World phone hacking scandal rolls on taking it's biggest casualty yet as the paper is shut down. It was founded in 1843, bought by Rupert Murdoch and his News Ltd company in 1969 and is scheduled to close this Sunday the 10th of July in the wake of the phone hacking scandal.
Is the closure of the News of the World honestly addressing the problem? Already shouts have gone up from some media commentators at the cynical way in which the paper has been closed as a scapegoat for other, much more troubling issues. The first of which is Rebekah Brooks (nee Wade) still holds her job as head of News International when the majority of the hacking took place leading some to joke that Murdoch has gotten rid of the wrong red top (make the connections yourself, you're not stupid). I suppose you could be wondering what is so terrible about the hacking, after all, it was only celebrities hacked right? Sienna Miller won compensation, Andy Gray was hacked as was Hugh Grant (more on him later) and OK the odd politician like John Prescott but what's the big deal. Well I'll tell you. It wasn't just celebrities, in the last week alone we have discovered that the Private Investigators seemingly hired by the NotW hacked the then missing Milly Dowler's phone, the parents of one of the victims of the Soham murders, the families of those killed in the 7/7 bombings and families of soldiers killed on duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now this may seem bad enough or it may seem absolutely acceptable depending on your point of view but where they unequivocally crossed the line to me is when they deleted messages on Milly Dowler's phone to make room for more from worried family members, leading her family to believe she was still accessing her phone and therefore still alive which by this time she had sadly met her end.
The actions have been described variously as disgusting, unacceptable and all sorts of other big words which fail to actually bring about any real outcome. It seems that an enquiry will come but how soon and how independent, especially important given that there is a suggestion of corruption in the Metropolitan Police Force. The Police are currently holding their own enquiry and according to Chris Grayling, a judicial enquiry cannot run alongside it. Not knowing the law on this I cannot comment with much authority but I cannot understand why the two can not run concurrently. the suggestion by other panellists was that because the government is 'in bed with Murdoch' as the slightly sordid sounding phrase goes, they want to leave the enquiry as long as possible in the hope that we the public will somehow forget about it. And they are right. We need to act now to get to the bottom of this, this could be one of the most important times for the media, the government and even the public at large. The Press Complaints Commission (PCC) have been criticised, seen as an ineffective way of controlling the press but as their Chairman has pointed out in various interviews and press conferences, you can't regulate a company which consistently lies to you.
In yesterday's Question Time, Hugh Grant, a victim of the hacking himself, went down very well amongst the general public with his views on the NotW, Murdoch and has become a crusader against the hacking which, if nothing else has ensured his movie career will continue for years to come. One thing however was brought to my attention after the programme that, as a training journalist bothered me. Grant at one point spoke of a change in the way in which the press are regulated, something which many would agree with but the draconian measures he seemed to suggest the like of which haven't been seen since the 1800s and although he resorted in the end to cheap digs about Grant's tabloid past, Jon Gaunt was right in saying that too much regulation on the press will mean we no longer have a free press. A free press being essential in a true democracy to hold to account politicians, businessmen and the like.
Something that worried me in all the accusations and revelations was the reaction of the other newspapers to the stories. On the day after the biggest revelations that Milly Dowler's phone was hacked and messages were deleted, the reaction was less than some expected. The Daily Mail for example had a small front page article, a page inside and a small piece in the comment section of the paper. You can be sure it was the same across the board. Take what you want from this but it suggests that the hacking practice was not limited to the News of the World. To think however as some do that this makes all journalists scum is to be more foolish and naive than you could imagine. With the closure of the News of the World we lose the biggest selling newspaper in this country and around 200 staff will lose their jobs as the paper closes. Not all of these people would have been involved in the hacking, most will be PR people and journalists who were just going about their own business doing quality journalism on what used to be a quality newspaper.
As a final thought what will happen with Rupert Murdoch's take over of BSkyB. The decision will obviously be postponed but surely recent events will stop the sale which appeared to be taking place despite laws which should prevent any one person owning such a high percentage of the media. Will Rebekah Brooks ever leave? Andy Coulson has today been arrested and how long can Murdoch protect Brooks with the comprehensive investigations and inquiries ahead of us. Her ability to stay on has lead to many speculating on what it she has (from a nuclear bomb to bikini pictures of Murdoch. Obviously a twitter source). What will it mean for journalists in the future? The phone hacking scandal has surely changed the face of journalism forever leaving common practices of journos in doubt. As always stick with this blog for any developments, as I'm writing this blog the story is no doubt already changing and I'll have missed some new revelation. Such is the nature of news in the new media age.
Until Next Time. Stay Classy Internet.
(and check your phone hasn't been hacked, the police are contacting over 4000 people so it might have been).
Some good links for you on the subject:
Daily Mail Cameron's response
Guardian NotW Closure
Fellow Student blogs. Ewan Kennerell and Daniel Mackrell
