News International and Phone Hacking

[Si Hunt]

One of the News Of The World journalists who lost their jobs yesterday vows never to work again for News International.

Facing an uncertain future, the senior journalist has spoken to Sky News about the moment James Murdoch told staff the paper was closing.

"Today is a very sad day for journalists.

The first we knew about it was when Rebekah Brooks and James Murdoch came to address staff flanked by two security guards.

There was an audible gasp and some people burst into tears.

Rebekah Brooks looked emotional - but so she should be. If she had done the honourable thing and quit we would all still have our jobs.

For the sake of one person, 500 people at the News Of The World have been sacrificed. Everyone is seething with anger.

Then Colin Myler told her to leave the News Of The World.

He spoke to us - he was shaking and watery-eyed. Apparently he had only found out 20 minutes earlier.

Loads of News of the World staff - male and female - were in tears.

People were just standing around and didn't know what to do. They were wandering round like zombies.

A while later, Colin did a Q&A with staff.

He told us there will be a 90-day consultation period and he will try to secure the best pay-offs for us.

He said we'll walk out the door as great journalists, we've done nothing wrong.

During Colin's meeting with staff, one person said that they've dropped a dress to save a stitch. Everyone thinks Rebekah Brooks is a ****.

I ended up going home and crying for 20 minutes. This is completely unlike me.

Afterwards we went out and got drunk. The staff at Fabulous magazine said they felt guilty to be there - they felt guilty to have jobs and some of them went home. But we're all in the same boat.

The atmosphere was world-weary and resigned. There was a lot of gallows humour too.

I was trying to have a laugh, but at the end of the day this is about my life.

There's a lot of very good journalists going begging today.

And, this is the saddest thing, there are 2.5 million people who aren't going to read a newspaper on a Sunday anymore.

They're not going to read the Mirror, they're not going to read the Mail on Sunday. That's sad for newspapers.

Who knows whether there will be a seven-day Sun operation. It wasn't really talked about - they just said there might be some integration.

The bosses don't even know what's going on. They've done this totally on the hoof.

It's stupid. Why don't they think about it and do it next week, with a contingency plan in place? It's ridiculous.

And even if the seven-day paper does happen, it's not going to involve many of us because they told us we're going to get paid off.

Some people will get eaten up by the Sunday Sun, but I don't want to be a part of it.

I certainly don't want to work for News International ever again.

I would like to speak out openly and in person, but I would like to get employed somewhere in the future so I can't be seen to be criticising the chief executive of my old company."

You'd think he was the only person in the world that had ever been made redundant. But how many people has he urged to resign/ushered out of a job in the wake of a million other scandals which the paper has delighted in uncovering/reporting on? Now finally perhaps he knows how it feels.

Si.

[Si Hunt]

Some possible good news?

I have learned that Ofcom is deeply concerned by recent revelations about the years of mismanagement at the News of the World and is monitoring developments at News Corporation extremely closely.

It is likely to make a statement later today, I am told, which will make it clear that it regards evidence that the News of the World's newsroom was out of control for many years as relevant to a judgement on whether News Corporation would be a fit-and-proper owner of British Sky Broadcasting.

Ofcom has a statutory and continuous duty to ensure that any holder of a broadcasting licence is fit and proper. It can launch an investigation into this question at any time of its choosing.

When it comes to the question of whether News Corporation is an appropriate owner of its 39% of BSkyB and of the 100% it wants to own, Ofcom will want to know how it was that the News of the World was able to engage in unacceptable journalistic practices for many years, who in theory had management responsibility for what went on there, and who knew what and when about all of this.

I would expect Ofcom to liaise with the police on securing information that would allow it to make this judgement.

[SiHart]

Fingers crossed Si!

[Si Hunt]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1AJjnl2y8U

[Dino]

Some possible good news?

Well this is a really tense time for Rupert Murdoch. The last thing he needs is fuel being poured on the fire...
http://www.avaaz.org/en/murdoc​h_mes...2/?rc=fb&pv=50
Whoops!

[Si Hunt]

That link doesn't work. What was it?

Si.

[Anthony Williams]

I'm guessing that it was this:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/murdoch_messages_2/?fp

[Dino]

That link doesn't work. What was it?

Si.

I'm guessing that it was this:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/murdoch_messages_2/?fp

That was it. Will teach me to copy and paste stuff from my Facebook page!

[Alex]

Gay MP Chris Bryant claims NI boss Rebekah Brooks sneered at his sexuality
by Jessica Geen for PinkNews.co.uk

Gay Labour MP Chris Bryant, who has been one of the most vocal critics of the News of The World, claims that News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks sneered at him for being gay the last time they met.

Speaking to the Evening Standard, he said: “She came up to me and said, ‘Oh, Mr Bryant, it’s after dark – shouldn’t you be on Clapham Common?”

“At which point Ross Kemp [the ex-EastEnders actor and her then husband] said, ‘Shut up, you homophobic cow’.”

Mr Bryant said the incident took place at the Labour Party conference several years ago.

My respect for Mr Kemp has just gone up massively!

[WhiteCrowNZ]

Some news sites are now also saying the NoTW hacked the phone accounts of some September 11th victims. The odd thing is I don't know now if this one's true or not, but the mud really seems to stick now.

It's ironic Rupert Murdoch seemed invincible with his media and able to use it to swerve public opinion and almost choose who runs the world ... or so he thinks. But he's very much squirming in the spotlight at the moment, and all the media and spin doesn't seem to be helping him ...

[Dino]

Some news sites are now also saying the NoTW hacked the phone accounts of some September 11th victims. The odd thing is I don't know now if this one's true or not, but the mud really seems to stick now.

Yeah, I've seen that on the front of the Mirror. Now, they've not got an excellent track record on truth have they? There was the time they put on the front page what they claimed were images of the army mistreating prisoners only to find... it was faked!
I'm sure that's a great comfort to those who got blown up on Helmand Province/ recruited to al-qaeda because of it though.

[Rob McCow]

I found myself agreeing with Harriet Harman on Saturday - Argh! She said that News of The World had blatantly been broken up to disperse all the staff and get rid of all of the computers, making it incredibly hard for any judge to find evidence should an enquiry go ahead.

[SiHart]

Looks like the allegations against News International are growing:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14112097

[WhiteCrowNZ]

I found myself agreeing with Harriet Harman on Saturday - Argh! She said that News of The World had blatantly been broken up to disperse all the staff and get rid of all of the computers, making it incredibly hard for any judge to find evidence should an enquiry go ahead.

It does sound quite likely combined with the whole using it as a scapegoat - how can you really punish a paper that's "shut down" and been replaced by a Sunday version of the same paper in the franchise.

[Rob McCow]

From George Michael to Gordon Brown, it seems everyone has an axe to grind against News International!

[Perry Vale]

Unfortunately Sky provide an excellent service, with a diverse range of programming. If there were a decent rival, then we would probably switch. But I'm not changing to Virgin no matter how much junk mail they send me.

Some people are cancelling though, and have had some interesting exchanges with the Sky cancellation team. You can follow on Twitter with #SkyTVcancellation

or read about it here...

http://storify.com/iamtheuncle/sky-tv-cancellation

"So you're happy for your family to miss out on great TV because of your principles?"

or

"Good luck trying to watch quality TV without lining Murdoch's pockets."

Priceless.

[Zbigniev Hamson]

Yes they will! Because PEOPLE ARE STUPID!

That's why they sit on the train reading Heat and going "Aw, poor Cheryl" without once considering or caring that their pound has paid for a man to go and sit outside her house and make her life miserable.

Si.

Or, more to the point, that she's got millions upon millions of pounds and her worst trauma recently has been not getting to be a megastar in America, but getting paid for the privelige anyway.

[Larry]

As editor of the NOW and previously The Sun Rebekah Brooks, must of known what was going on and given the ok for the hacking to take place so surely she must face crimminal charges and court.

Unfortunately Sky provide an excellent service, with a diverse range of programming. If there were a decent rival, then we would probably switch. But I'm not changing to Virgin no matter how much junk mail they send me.

Some people are cancelling though, and have had some interesting exchanges with the Sky cancellation team.

.

I certainly agree with Steve, that Sky provide an excellent range of programms and most of what I watch on telly these days is on Sky 1 and Sky Atlantic. But the truth is Sky, remain so dominant simply because they have the rights to show live Premiership and Football League games and because of that those people cancelling their subscriptions will just be a drop in the ocean. Yes I think what Murdoch's organizations have done is discusting but at the end of the day cancelling my subscription will see me lose out on watching the football and many other programms that I thoroughly enjoy watching.


I'm not sure what or if there is any legal way of blocking Murdoch's complete take over but all three political parties are apparantly uniting in a bid to top him.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-14131555

[Perry Vale]

But the truth is Sky, remain so dominant simply because they have the rights to show live Premiership and Football League games and because of that those people cancelling their subscriptions will just be a drop in the ocean.

Quite probably, but Freeview & Freesat would be wise to capitalise on the current situation and get some more advertsing out there quick! I know many people who have cancelled $ky in recent years, and a few more who have been considering it.

Yes I think what Murdoch's organizations have done is discusting but at the end of the day cancelling my subscription will see me lose out on watching the football and many other programms that I thoroughly enjoy watching.

I cancelled mine a couple of years ago, for financial and moral reasons, and haven't missed it one bit.

Please don't forget, either, there are other ways to watch live Premier League football without paying $ky, that are completely legal.

Edited to add: I'm reminded of the 'Life Of Brian' scene..."what have the Romans ever done for us?"

[Anthony Williams]

According to the Telegraph, News Corp have withdrawn their bid for BSkyB. Hurrah!

[SiHart]

Quite right too!

[Awesome Wells]

This isn't the end of it. In six months time, when News Corp. have ditched the loss-making newspaper division, they'll be back in for BSkyB.

[Dino]

This isn't the end of it. In six months time, when News Corp. have ditched the loss-making newspaper division, they'll be back in for BSkyB.

And buy it at rock bottom share prices no doubt...

[Rob McCow]

The OMG factor is steadily increasing:

News Corporation's Rupert and James Murdoch have been summonsed to appear before MPs to answer questions on the phone-hacking scandal on Tuesday.

But as US citizens, Rupert Murdoch, who has declined a request to attend the Commons media committee, and his son James, who has offered to go on another day, cannot be forced to appear.

News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks has agreed to attend.

Rupert Murdoch has said he will appear before the judge-led public inquiry.

Meanwhile, a 60-year-old man arrested on Thursday morning is understood by the BBC to be Neil Wallis, the former executive editor of the News of the World.

If he does turn up, it'll be the first time this century that Rupert Murdoch has met an MP without having a servant cook dinner for them.

This is a real test of authority. Although I think we're getting the stage where people like Rupert Murdoch should be recognised as 'international citizens' rather than as belonging to one country. He certainly has enough business interests over here.

[Perry Vale]

Of course lots of people are saying that Brooks must know "where the bodies are buried" with regards to Digger & Jr., but she may also know where they're buried with regards to CallMeDave...