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NewsofTheWorld_Closed_P2


http://www.thenational.ae/business/media/news-of-the-world-closure-may-aid-rupert-murdochs-bskyb-bid

News of the World closure may aid Rupert Murdoch's BSkyB bid

The National staff

Jul 9, 2011 
Rupert Murdoch arrives at the Sun Valley Inn for the 2011 Allen and Co. Sun Valley Conference on Thursday. AP Photo

News Corp's Rupert Murdoch has spent years clashing with unions, rivals and governments. Now the scandal at one of his British newspapers is threatening to become the biggest crisis of the 80-year-old's career.

"He's been through lots of scrapes and likes to live on the edge, but this must be the most complicated, fast-moving and risky mess he's been in," said Charlie Beckett, the director of the media institute Polis at the London School of Economics.

News Corp said on Thursday it would close the 168-year-old News of the World tabloid after allegations its journalists tapped the voicemails of murder victims, the families of dead soldiers, and paid police officers for stories. Mr Murdoch acquired the paper in 1969 as he expanded into the UK from Australia.

But there was also speculation the sudden closure of the UK tabloid could lift a cloud hanging over his planned £7.8 billion ($12.5 billion Dh45.74bn) takeover of the British broadcaster BSkyB.

A week-long consultation on additional conditions imposed by the government on News Corp for the takeover was set to end at noon in London yesterday. As of Thursday, more than 135,000 messages of objection had reached the culture ministry.

"Given the volume of responses, we anticipate that this will take some time," the departure for culture, media and sport said in a statement yesterday, without specifying a timetable.

"The secretary of state has always been clear that he will take as long as is needed to reach a decision."

David Cameron, the prime minister, said yesterday it was up to regulator Ofcom to decide whether News Corp was "fit and proper" to take full control of BSkyB. He also said the takeover review would take some time.

"There are proper organisations and procedures," Mr Cameron said. "It is very important that this is done in the proper way."

In deciding on the bid, Jeremy Hunt, the culture secretary, 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", the culture department said.

"No one ever expected this deal to go through smoothly," said Alexander Wisch, an equity analyst at Standard & Poor's in London. "I was expecting the deal to go through in the second part of the year, maybe it will drag on a bit longer."

Despite the rising chorus of calls for the deal to be blocked, analysts say Mr Murdoch's move to shutter the tabloid could improve his chances.

"We see it as something to restore or remedy a tarnished reputation for the News Corp group," said Stephen Adams, a fund manager at Aegon Asset Management, and a top 10 shareholder in BskyB. "But we also critically see it as reflection of News Corp's desire to progress the BSkyB bid and have full ownership of the company."

One banker who advises European media companies said it may still not be enough to ease public anger over the scandal.

"There will still have to be some executive scalps," he said.

One executive in peril is Rebekah Brooks, a former editor of the tabloid who is now the top official at News Corp's UK publishing unit.

"I think her position is unsustainable," said Ken Doctor, a media analyst at Outsell in California. "Given the gravity of what's involved, she has to take responsibility for that."

Mr Murdoch said this week that Mrs Brooks would remain in her position.

News Corp also owns the Fox TV networks and film studios, the Wall Street Journal newspaper and book publisher HarperCollins.

Closing the News of the World is an attempt to put the scandal in the past and smooth the approval process for BSkyB, said Laura Martin, an analyst with Needham & Co in Los Angeles.

"They're trying to increase the odds that it gets done before parliament breaks [for the summer recess]," Ms Martin said.

"It helps to shut down the enterprise that is morally questionable. The only reason to do it with such haste is to make sure it doesn't derail the regulatory process."

News Group Newspapers, the unit within News International responsible for the News of the World and its sister daily The Sun, reported an operating profit of £18.2 million in the year that ended on June 27, 2010, compared with an operating loss of £15.3m a year earlier, according to accounts filed at Companies House. News Corp reported revenue of US$32.8bn (Dh120.48bn) for the year that ended last June, with net income of $2.54bn.

"Financially, you wouldn't even notice it in News Corp," said Ed Atorino, an analyst at Benchmark in New York.

Mr Murdoch may seek to replace the revenue lost in the News of the World shutdown by adding a Sunday edition of The Sun, analysts said.

With reporting by Bloomberg News and Reuters

Rapid ation in the wake of allegations of wiretapping is hoped to contain the scandal and minimise fallout for News Corp in takeover bid.


News of the World closure may aid Rupert Murdoch's BSkyB bid
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/jul/08/news-of-the-world-mail-on-sunday-most-to-gain

News of the World closure: Mail on Sunday has most to gain

Last issue of News of the World will be bumper 'souvenir' edition and Mail on Sunday eyes prospect of winning readers


News of the World
The last issue of the News of the World will be a bumper edition. Photograph: Peter Byrne/PA

The News of the World's rivals are surely rubbing their hands at the prospect of luring some of the tabloid's 2.66m readers, who between them bring in more than £2m in circulation revenue each week. But not this weekend: News International is actually planning a significant increase in the paper's print run for tomorrow's last ever edition, in anticipation of readers piling in to buy this "souvenir" edition.

While the paper remains Britain's biggest-selling Sunday, in 1951 its circulation was at a historic high of around 8.4m – up from 400,000 at the start of the 20th century. That equates to one issue of the News of the World for every six people in the UK's then 50.2m population.

By the time its closure was announced on Thursday, that ratio had fallen to one copy for every 23 people. The National Readership Survey shows the paper is still read by 15% of Britain's population, which, although down on the 27% of 1994, is still more than 7 million people looking at it each week.

Who are those people? The NRS, compiled by Ipsos Mori, shows they are mainly working class: 52% are men, most in their mid-30s, and 61% are in social classes C2, D and E. A third live in London and the south-east. Industry sources say the titles with the best demographic fit to benefit are the Mail on Sunday, the Sunday Mirror and perhaps the People. They are all planning major promotional pushes to entice NoW readers.

"I will be amazed if there isn't some sort of massive trial-inducing offer all over the front cover of rivals, they would be crazy not to," said an industry source. "The Mail on Sunday will be the big winner out of this, not the Mirror, and this week's edition will be made into a 'must-pick up'."

However, one senior management executive who has researched the impact of the closure of Sunday titles said that up to 70% of readers may stop buying papers altogether. "The News of the World is a second purchase for many people, alongside another Sunday newspaper, and quite a lot will simply stop buying a second title," he said.

In November 1995 when Rupert Murdoch closed the mid-market Today, the last British national paper to be shut, it had 582,286 readers. The Daily Mail and the Express were the only real beneficiaries, picking up 129,000 readers – meaning just 22% of people chose an alternative read. A year later, only the Mail had retained and even improved its gain.

On that basis, almost 800,000 News of the World readers may seek to switch to another Sunday paper. The executive said history shows that readers will be shared out almost exactly in proportion to the market share each newspaper holds.

This means it is once again the Mail on Sunday, which with almost two million readers is now the clear leader in the Sunday market, that has the most to gain.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/jul/07/james-murdoch-news-of-the-world-closure

James Murdoch's News of the World closure is the shrewdest of surrenders

By sacrificing the News of the World the Murdoch dynasty lives to fight another day


Media


James Murdoch announcing the closure of the News of the World
James Murdoch announcing the closure of the News of the World. Photograph: BBC News/PA

Since James Murdoch arrived as BSkyB chief executive in 2003, he has been nicknamed by News International employees "JRM", a nod to the ways in which he resembles his father Keith Rupert Murdoch. At the time he was pitted against siblings as the potential heir apparent.

His astonishing announcement of the closure of the News of the World was shot through with Murdoch DNA. For James the personal and professional stakes cannot be higher. The closure of the News of the World amid the biggest ethical crisis in journalism in living memory, is subsidiary at News Corp to preserving the family dynasty, the company and his ambitions to be at its head.

The announcement was breathtaking in its implications. It was swift and brutal, it was both brilliant and cynical and it was focused on business expedience at a moment of deep crisis. Moments like this have marked the growth of the world's most remarkable family company; from the audacious bid Rupert made for the Times and Sunday Times in 1981 to the subsequent smashing of the print unions in the move to Wapping. There was the launch of Sky television in 1989, the takeover of its rival BSB in 1990, through to the moment BSkyB blew the UK TV establishment out the water with its Premier League football bid in 1991. News International – and its parent News Corporation – has grown to both extraordinary size and unparalleled power by betting bigger and smarter than rivals, and squaring governments and regulators in any way it can.

James's Wapping moment sees him making a gesture he hopes will be grand enough to soften the focus of any phone-hacking inquiry, bold enough to allow the company to extricate itself from present trouble and, in the process, allow him to reshape News International around the digital television platforms he feels both more comfortable with and which are undoubtedly more profitable.

James has created a single moment more dramatic than any his father managed, in circumstances which could hardly be more adverse. But the success of his strategy will rely on exactly the same formula; squaring power for commercial ends and leapfrogging its competition. Whether this can be done, for once, is not in the hands of the Murdochs alone but with those in power who they so assiduously courted and captured.





NOTW:
The end of an era and the likely beginning of a very similar one
By Richard Evans | Editor's Corner

Richard Evans, Rebekah Brooks, Rupert Murdoch / PA
'Maybe she has dirt on one of the Murdochs'

Our News Editor Richard Evans argues why Rebekah Brooks is just as
slippery as a Murdoch. 'Not a lot will change'

It amused me to some extent as I watched the drip of News of the World journalists being interviewed by BBC and Sky News outside their apping office on Thursday evening. Not because, like much of the country (or certainly people commenting on our site), I was revelling in the closure of the paper, but because the irony of NOTW journalists
complaining about a media and public backlash getting out of control was too much even for me to handle. After all, the paper has been responsible for some of the most sensationalist and public-enraging journalism we've ever seen in this country.
If you take the decision made by James Murdoch (or more likely his father) at face value it seems a huge sacrifice to close a market-leading newspaper which sells 2.6 million copies every week,
but when you take a step back, not a lot is going to change. It has been widely reported that TheSunOnSunday.com and TheSunOnSunday.co.uk URLs were registered on 5 July, two days before
the NOTW closure was announced. If this is the case then all we are looking at here is a savvy rebrand. Make no mistake about it, Rupert
Murdoch doesn't care what people think about him or his organisations — he owns Fox News for Christ's sake. What Rupert Murdoch cares about is money. Talk of judicial and police investigations didn't provoke a reaction from the media mogul (they can probably be bought over anyway) but when the advertisers started walking, that's when he woke from his slumber.
It's not a new phenomenon that advertisers don't want to be associated with negative products. Just look at the Wayne Rooney and Tiger Woods
scandals. The moment the brown stuff hit the fan their endorsers hit the road, and so too with the NOTW. (I should point out that the 'brown stuff' is a metaphor — I've no idea what they actually got up to.) So what better time to close the tarnished paper and extend The Sun - an already established and popular Murdoch-owned publication — to cover the Sunday gap the NOTW leaves?
It makes perfect business sense. Not only will Murdoch win back advertisers under The Sun's brand but there's already a readership there and many hacks can just be transferred into the new edition. Yes it's the end of an era and some people will lose their jobs but dear old Rupert has never been one for nostalgia.
On the subject of jobs, it's a shame people who celebrate the closing of the paper forget that there are many hardworking, honest people that will be losing their livelihood. Not just journalists — receptionists, PAs, accountants, cleaners — you name it, gone. These people are being sacrificed so Murdoch can save his British empire, at
the hilt of which still stands Rebekah Brooks.
The fact that Brooks remains in her job proves she really is as slippery as a Murdoch and that's probably why they are standing by her. Either that or she has some dirt on one of them. If one of my reporters hacked into anyone's phone to pursue a story I wouldn't expect to keep my job whether I knew about it or not. I'd either be negligent and incompetent or so devious and corrupt I wouldn't deserve the title of Editor. Unless I was on holiday, of course - that changes everything.
On Wednesday evening I attended the launch of The Huffington Post where a debate took place on, among other things, the importance of media in today's society. The panel, chaired by Richard Bacon, consisted of Alastair Campbell, Shami Chakrabarti, Celia Walden, Arianna Huffington, Kelly Osbourne and Jon Gaunt (as a replacement for
ex-Sun editor Kelvin MacKenzie who pulled out late in the day due to work commitments'. Probably nothing to do with wanting to avoid any phone hacking questions.)
While there was a lot of obvious chat such as "I think news should be free" and "the balloon is red" from Kelly Osbourne (I'm taking the Johann Hari approach to journalism and quoting her on something she didn't actually say. That's fair game now, right?), there was some interesting commentary, specifically from Campbell and Gaunt.
While they bickered on many issues they did both agree that the influence of 'old fashioned' journalism has diminished and the fall of the NOTW highlights that perfectly. Before the online news boom, people would always complain to their friends and family about problems with the media or government but there was never a sense they could make a change. It was always very low key. Now, a frenzied community can emerge in minutes thanks to the likes of Twitter, rendering newspapers helpless to either cover what everyone is talking
about or risk looking ridiculous by omitting it.
Ridiculous is what many papers opted for in recent weeks, by the way.
When The Guardian broke the Milly Dowler hacking story no red top papers ran it on their front pages and the story only featured on a small column in the Mail. And yet, despite their efforts to stifle this story the NOTW has had to admit defeat and close down in what is a clear indication that newspapers have completely lost control of the
media industry and what information people receive. They're just another member of the herd, as Noam Chomsky would say. And is it any wonder? As Gaunt pointed out, the idea of newspapers having deadlines is utterly pointless now thanks to online publications and social media tools where news is breaking constantly.
Not only that but trust has diminished too. Bias in some media publications has always been in readers' minds, they're no fools. But what hasn't been apparent until this week is
just how low some hacks will go to find a scoop — and how much backing from their bosses they get to do it (that bit still isn't clear).
They've been put under so much pressure to sell newspapers and find exclusives that some journalists have forgotten (or been bludgeoned
into submission) what their job actually is — unearthing truths the public needs to know within the law.
In 2009 it was the turn of MPs. In 2008 it was bankers. Every year previous to that it was either the taxman or traffic wardens. Now, in 2011 it is the turn of journalism to own the title of 'Britain's most hated profession'.
The News of the World will be missed by many. If not by its owners, then by readers and fans of the paper's scoops that were gained by just means - not by those who ruined it for all with disgusting acts of privacy invasion on those already suffering enough.

Comments


2385Robin
Many comments are saying good riddance to the NOTW - fair enough.

I do wonder though, what does it say about the British people today that the biggest selling publications seem to be tabloid newspapers and gossip magazines.

If people didn't buy them, the market wouldn't be there.


1562MALCOLM
Newspaper journalism has been reduced to "get a story, any story, and if there is not one, then make it up". It is about time that those at the head of papers should face custodial sentences and be sacked. Bur how do you sack the owner of a paper. I am under no ilusion that the very top protect themselves and those they favour and do not care a
dam about those they employ.
I was a bank manager before the latest changes where profit is the buzz word. They say they (the banks) care about giving the customer a good service. Well service went out the window about 15 years ago. We are just numbers now.
We need to re-examine our industries, such as Papers, Banking, Insurance, Local services provided by our Local authorities, and put the emphasis back into caring for others and not treating the general public as another person to make the most out of . We need the top management to clean up their act and stop raking in the huge salaries that they pay themselves.
This curruption in the newspapers (and maybe there are some honest ones!) and other businesses needs thoroughly investigating and do not let the top wriggle out of their responsibilities.


1914Bozo
You have hit the nail on the head! Why indeed is Ms Brooks not on her way to the police interview room as well?
Please lets hope that the regulators see sense and deny the Rupert any deal with Sky.

Rupert and James Murdoch closing ranks to support Rebekah Brookes, in all probability she has thrown herself at both Murdochs to achieve her ultimate goal in life, in a word 'power'. She in particular has displayed utter contempt for the workers who are to lose their jobs.
As long as fatcats are protected, that's all that matters to her, and of course, her salary + bonus. Everyone with an ounce of sense knows how ruthless Rupert Murdoch is, I hope it affects Sky subcriptions and people cancel their current contracts. Hopefully the Sun will see a big fall in daily sales, these corrupt individuals need a wake up call
for the pain caused by their actions by hacking into phone messages etc. The numerous private individuals they have hurt by these actions is beyond contempt. It's a display of how they see their readership and subscribers, people are just fodder to be shot from cannons, just a means to their own greedy ends, cold hard cash is the main concern
of the Murdoch empire. Thankfully, dear old Rupi won't benefit from the billions he has amassed, being 80 unless they dig a bloody big
hole or they buy a natural crater, he can't take it with him. No doubt, his dipstick son will squander it on wine, women and song. No change there then!


1513ANNE
Rupert Murdoch is not known for being a softie so WHY is he protecting
Rebekha Brooks. Maybe I am an over suspicious person but what exactly
do we know about her and why did she have such a meteoric rise in News
International. It is very very difficult these days to keep anything
private so how come nothing is known about her apart from her school,
her university and her two marriages. Are her parents alive,brothers,,
sisters,grandparents, uncles aunts, schoolfriends or did she just waft
down to us wrapped up in an old edition of the News of The World?


2259JOHN
Excellent article, Richard! Throughout the six decades of my life, the
News of the World has been associated with the publishing of many
unpleasant, tacky stories. I have always rather sadly understood the
pressure put on journalists to unearth these tacky scoops and the
prevalence of an unfettered, unscrupulous and Darwinian capitalist
ethos, abounding in most sectors (witness the bankers!), will push
employees, desperate to keep their jobs, into acts of what they might
regard as minor illegality but which most of us would regard with
horror (again, witness the bankers). Rupert Murdoch has, through his
media empire, with the enthusiastic blessing of many industry chiefs,
promoted a culture of prurience and greed; it is of little surprise
that the come-uppance he and Rebekah Brooks so richly deserve has been
visited, instead, on the hapless employees of News of the World. The
fat cat culture triumphs once again!


1093Andlesuk
"News of the World", "The Sun", "National Enquirer". Just some terms
that should NEVER be used in the same sentence as the word "newspaper"
unless to demonstrate what a newspaper is not.


1083Lesley
Rebeka must go! Even if anyone believes she was not aware what her
staff were doing, it happened on her watch. The good honest staff at
the NOTW have lost ther livelyhood whilst that tart continues flying
high. If the sale of BSkyB goes through it will be an outrage. Hit
Murdoch where it hurts ie in his pocket and through his ginger @#$%!


822Jeffsdad
Power Corrupts - and people with that absolute power corrupt other
people and so the roundabout continues and always will do ; because
corrupt , powerful people will not allow anything to stop their lust
for power and control .


1084ZULU WARRIER GREG Bluenos ...
In the 1920 -30's newspapers actually forced the UK Gov't to restrict
the TV broadcasting hours and programmes so as not to impact sales of
their newspapers and political bias.
So, TV strikes back. Cameron; if you have an ounce of remorse for the
worldwide damage your Australian friend Murdock has caused to GB's
reputation, you would cancel the sky B deal and declare him as unfit
to hold newspaper licences in the UK.


651Bonnie Ronnie
Why has the buck stopped at Rebekah Brookes? Yes, she is culpable ...
but surely so are her 'bosses'. The 'Murdoch Clan' have much to answer
for.
Reply

1397Kevin
Boycott the Sun, stop your SKY subs? It just won't happen. People get
what they deserve, and the British are morons, obsessed by celebrity
and tawdry sex scandals....Stop buying rags, turn off the telly, and
read a good book

864DAVID 16 hours ago Report Abuse
Had to laugh at a reporter saying many good stories were in the NOTW.
When are people going to wake up to the fact that peoples private life
is there own not the newspaper's so called "in the public interest".It
is none of our business as to who's bedding who.How would you like
your private life put out in your local paper.
If you life is so dull that reading about someone's else's shinanigans
makes your day i suggest you do something about it. Thats unless you
do not want your neighbours to read about it!!!!!!!
It's about time the newspapers were brought to order about press
intrusion, be it pictures or revelations.
Replies (4)

380GEOFF
Remember, newspapers are a reflection of the people that read them.
People, like some of those posting comments on these sites, insist on
more and more dross about "celebs", like Cheryl Cole and simpletons
like her.
A country of educated, articulate people would never have produced the
sort of stuff that we have to endure in the News of the World, The
Star and the Sun!
The ignorant will tar the whole media industry with the same brush.
It's not like that. There are very many decent people called
journalists (a word despised by the not too bright) who write good,
informative stuff that keeps our society as free as it is and enables
the ignorant to criticise anything that they don't really understand.
Remember the secretaries, cartoonists, political writers, subs, (they lay out the pages), and indeed, the printers; all of them innocent of any of the rubbish being hurled at them by the media haters, who vent their hatred and then talk all day about Big Brother or pearls of wisdom from the ever present Ms. Cole.


622Queen Bee
The as ever ruthless Murdoch, having finally discovered that what goes around comes around, has shown his true colours and destroyed the News of the S.crews. So what? This story of police corruption and unscrupulous journos has rumbled on for years but no one was interested until families of "victims" were found to be having their phones hacked and then, surprise, surprise, politicians, the police and media shout their outraged indignation. Too little too late! As the title of this article intimates, the Sunday Sun will be rolled out
and nothing will change.


20215Andrew
It is a shame that the Sun cant go also, this style of publication should be eliminated from the British press. Maybe this will raise the moral tone of our country also.


814Solandre 14 hours ago Report Abuse
I agree with everyone who says boycott News International products. We get the media we deserve, so lets show Murdoch we deserve better. As a public put pressure on Sun advertisers to withdraw advertising from any 'Sun on Sunday' type paper that is sure to emerge from News International. Instead of boycotting Sky, which as I understand it is not as of now, owed in entirety, by Murdoch. Lets instead write , email etc. Ofcom and put pressure on them to withhold Murdoch’s licence to buy out BSkyB on the basis that his is unfit to hold it.
This I feel would be a preferable and more effective thing to do. After all we don’t want to follow Murdoch's example and put out of work anyone not involved with his empires corruption.
As for Brooks I am firmly convinced the only reason she is still in her job is because she could cause to much trouble with what she knows. As usual Murdoch is buying someone off.


714Paul
NOTW is not to blame it is the people who run it. Therefore they should have their licenses revoked until a suitable buyer can be found and the papers can be run by fit and proper people. The BSkyB deal should be blocked!


795DAVID
Brooks is up sombody!s arse she should be in custody as well crafty cow.


836George
Murdochs are keeping her until the carpet burns on her knees have healed:-)

http://wn.com/BBC_news_of_the_Oxford_Freedom_of_Speach_debate

Bbc News Of The Oxford Freedom Of Speach Debate
wn.com/BBC_news_of_the_Oxford_Freedom_of_Speach_debate - CachedJust listen to the utmost impartiality of this reporter. ..... Lewis, the former Telegraph supremo who is now Rebekah Brooks's general manager, ...... This has led some critics to argue that Murdoch simply supports the incumbent ...... According to the evidence introduced by Richard
J. Evans at the libel trial of ...

//www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=40556497527&v=wall

I bet I can find a million people who DON'T want David Cameron as our PM


Adrianne GodlessandSocialist Sebastian-Scott
Testing PasteHTML.com
pastehtml.com
News International are going to try and use Rebekah Brooks to deliberately distract people from the issues now. Its been said she is now acting as a "lightning rod" for the trouble so to divert attention away from the company and her bosses. Shes a diversion. We should ignore her and go after their


Adrianne GodlessandSocialist Sebastian-Scott In other words, she is
Clegg. A pleasant skirmish, but not the real battle.


Adrianne GodlessandSocialist Sebastian-Scott

Is the age of the Murdoch establishment nearly over?
www.independent.co.uk
Many years ago, Rupert Murdoch was not an Establishment figure.


Adrianne GodlessandSocialist Sebastian-Scott Cleggie finally weighs in.

Clegg calls for Rebekah Brooks to resign
www.independent.co.uk
Nick Clegg has called for Rebekah Brooks to resign as News
International's chief executive over the phone hacking scandal.
t

Adrianne GodlessandSocialist Sebastian-Scott ‎"In an interview with The Independent during a visit to Paris today, the Deputy Prime Minister vowed to use his influence to clean up Britain's "rotten establishment" "

ooooooo * shudder * I bet they're really scared now.


Garry Paul Keeler Liberal Democrat leader decides a compromise is not possible


Adrianne GodlessandSocialist Sebastian-Scott

Brooks braves the anger of staff to explain paper's demise
www.independent.co.uk
Rebekah Brooks last night told the News of the World's staff that she had no option but to close Britain's best-selling Sunday newspaper because it had become a


Adrianne GodlessandSocialist Sebastian-Scott Oh look! She's put on her 'sincere' face. Isn't that nice!


Rhys Stephens Isn't it amazing how the bosses never pay when they screw up, yet workers on moderate wages are hammered for the failures of the bosses and their never-ending thirst for big business profits.


Adrianne GodlessandSocialist Sebastian-Scott

London mayor insists: ‘Prosecute corrupt Met cops now’ - Crime - London 24
www.london24.com
Officers who took cash bribes from the News of The World must stand trial in court said Boris Johnson, amid fears that the explosive phone hack scandal could sap police morale.


Adrianne GodlessandSocialist Sebastian-Scott More enteretainment from Bojo... phone-hacking has moved from a 'left-wing plot' to 'gloom'.


Mark Romano QUOTE ""When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants, and murderers, and for a time they can seem invincible, but in the end they always fall. Think of it...always." - Ghandi


Damian Simpson http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/
jul/08/tony-blair-new-labour-
gordon-brow​n

Bitter much????

Tony Blair: New Labour died when I handed over to Gordon Brown |
Politics | The Guardian
www.guardian.co.uk
Former prime minister delivers harshest verdict yet on his successor and warns party to avoid 'politics of protest'


Mark Romano Blair - PISS OFF.

You are nothing but a tainted, war-mongering liability. Your days are gone. You are no longer leader of the Labour Party. Nobody takes you seriously any more. You agree with CameWRONG. Not that I think Milliband is doing a good job - but, the last thing he needs is your delusional wibblings. For [censored]'s sake, just PISS OFF...


Maria Mannix He says that like it's a bad thing. Is he starved of meglomaniacal oxygen or something. I really wish he would go underground and stay there.

Adrianne GodlessandSocialist Sebastian-Scott Blair is so far up his own arse that he runs into undigested food.

Eirlys Leftie Dafydd why is he playing air guitar?

Reforms will end state control of public services
www.telegraph.co.uk
The “state’s monopoly” over the public sector will come to an end under plans to give private companies, voluntary groups and charities the right to run schools, hospitals and council services, David Cameron will announce next week.

Adrianne GodlessandSocialist Sebastian-Scott likes this.

Adrianne GodlessandSocialist Sebastian-Scott I seriously think he might be losing his mind. It took Tony Blair several years to go insane... Cameron is headed that way worryingly quickly. I'm not just saying this as a shot against Cameron - he really is getting weird (not just because he's dangerous right-wing scum, but in addition to that).


Rhys Stephens Things haven't been going Cameron's way, Adrianne. The Tories didn't even win the last general election, the students and the working class have held protests against the government's policies, and the News International controversy has bit...
See More

Damian Simpson http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qgt7


Worth a listen tonight

BBC - BBC Radio 4 Programmes - The Now Show
www.bbc.co.uk
Comedy sketches and satirical comments from Steve Punt, Hugh Dennis and guests


Damian Simpson //www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGscoaUWW​2M

Nuff said

Who reads the papers? - Yes, Prime Minister - BBC comedy
www.youtube.com
Prime Minister, Jim Hacker explains to Sir Humphrey and Bernard the importance of the papers and who reads which one. Hilarious BBC
British comedy at its best.

Adrianne GodlessandSocialist Sebastian-Scott, Mark Romano and Eirlys
Leftie Dafydd like this.

Tracy Harman I love that. Classic stuff.


Eirlys Leftie Dafydd Bernard always got the best lines.


Neil Fraser This is horribly wrong.

Ex News of the World journalist admits 'destroying' suicide victim hewrote about & paying police www.youtube.com
Ex NOTW journalist Paul McMullan, BBC Radio 4, 2010, repeated, July 2011.



Neil Fraser ‎"Money is money." Says it all.


Adrianne GodlessandSocialist Sebastian-Scott That slimy idiot has really been doing the rounds. He shhows up everywhere... like a persistant stain.


Eirlys Leftie Dafydd Let the muck-slinging commence! This is going to get dirty.

Tory questions past behaviour of Tom Baldwin | Politics | The Guardian
www.guardian.co.uk
Lord Ashcroft alleges that Ed Miliband's director of strategy, as a journalist on the Times, paid someone to hack into Ashcroft's bank account


Eirlys Leftie Dafydd

Coogan's 'delight' at NoW closure
www.bbc.co.uk
News International has said it is shutting the News of the World (NoW) after this Sunday's edition, following a spate of fresh revelations over alleged phone-hacking.


Mark Romano The NOTW world is, as far as I'm concerned, and always has been, a mysogenistic, xenophobic, single parent hating, asylum seeker hating newspaper and it's gone to the wall and I'm delighted" Absolutely SPOT ON!!!


Rhys Stephens I laugh at the notion of a "free press" in capitalist society. The vast majority of the press is owned by a handful of super-rich big business moguls. That is anything but a "free press".


Eirlys Leftie Dafydd The title is appropriate. Stay out of the pit Susiepip

Metallica - Master Of Puppets With lyrics
www.youtube.com
*Disclaimer: I do not own any clips or music. All clips and music belong to their respectfull owners. I do not earn any money with this video. This video is ...


Adrianne GodlessandSocialist Sebastian-Scott Has Gideon listened to this?


Eirlys Leftie Dafydd ‎12 Months?!

Anti-cuts protester gets 12-month sentence for throwing sticks at police | World news | The Guardian
www.guardian.co.uk
Judge says student was 'caught up in the heat of the moment' during violence outside Fortnum and Mason in March


Damian Simpson that's diabolical. I hope he appeals it.


Rhys Stephens The law of the ruling class is coming down hard on protestors, passing draconian sentences everywhere in their attempts to scare off and intimidate future protestors. Alfie Meadows, the student who had to have brain surgery after being hit with a police truncheon, is also faces charges.

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner


http://www.inlnews.com/ABCSlamsMurdochBBCAttack.html

ABCSlamsMurdochBBCAttack
ABC Chief Scott Slams the recent vicious and wrongful attacks by the Murdochs on the BBC
Support Independent Media, create your own news, information, business, family, personal, hobby or social website and have it hosted and free web building software for dummies like Mr Wijat today all for under $10 then make moeny at home form Googel ADsense and the new google ad system soom to be introduced, make Google your everyday partner that will send you a chech each month..if you nned help or assistance there is a 24 hour hotline aor you can email
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MrWijat at mrwijat@gmail.com for Mr Wijat's personal assistance or advice...
Get your own corner of the Web! Visit International News Limited now and see for yourself how easy and affordable it is to have your own personal domain name 
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Save even more on multi-year registrations! Visit International News Limited for the best values on: domain names, domain transfers and more!
Visit International News Limited for the best values on:  domain names, domain transfers and more! Register and register your own web site yourself in minutes with free software for dummies to built it with and have 5 free web  pages all from $9.99-You will be absolutely amazed and proud to have your own web site, whether it be for business, just your  personal profile or favourite subject or to shareyour great photos and stories with the your friends and the world..the editor of  the USAWeeklyNews is always on the lookout for new interesting web sites to link to the USAWeeklyNews... there will be great prizes for those chosen withthe best web sites of the month, including free holidays in 
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No Time to Lose-register build and host your website now....all from $9.99
                                               ABC Chief Scott Slams the recent vicious and wrongful attacks by the Murdochs on the BBC


http://www.inlnews.com/MurdochBuyingUKElection_5QL.html

Murdoch Attempting to Buy the UK General Election for the Conservative Party
   
        David Cameron and Rupert Murdoch singing the the chorus of Ruperts New Hit Song... "I'm going to buy the BBC"

"I'm Rupert Murdoch just brought the Wall Street Journal, and now I'm off to London after I get David Cameron and his Tory Party into power then David will let me buy the BBC..."
The above is the chorus of Rupert Murdoch's new hit Single..."I'm going to buy the BBC".....selling very well amoundst Tory Party members
 
"he is all carvivorous, no. taste.....will eat anything in his path...who has been persoanlly respncible for the decline of quality and investigative journalism in America by turning it into cheap profitable junk news....as he now want to do with his planned take over of UK's much respected and loved  BBC if David Cameron and his Tory Party will the next 2010 UK election...
                           ......you can fight back and stop................... 
               ..............Rupert Murdoch's nextmedia take over the the BBC.. 
the last well funded and truely free speach and independent and investigative journalism organisation oin the world where it's journalists, TV and Internet presentors and editors are not told what to say, when to say it and how to say it by a private media boss who's only interest is in bigger profits, cheap and junk journalism and shaping and controlling the editorial content to support a political party that will play by his rules to further his and his powerful silent multi trillionaire backers known the Builderberger Group's business's interests...."

http://www.inlnews.com/MurdochToSueBBCForLosses.html

Every one is dancing at 72Point.com  getting ready for the 2010 New Year after a successful 2008 year as  the leading PR company in the United Kingdom

Rupert Murdoch's Favorite Lie
 Microsoft Willing to Pay News Corp. To List Exclusively with Bing
Rupert Murdoch Plans to sue the BBC £ 2 billion a year and growing loses his New Corp makes, the way thisng are going for News Corp, they either have sue the BBC and send it bankrupt through court actions or buy the BBC, so that Rupert Murdoch can start charging for online news content, because while the BBC remains in public hands and not his privatised control, the BBC will continue to provide free information, investigative, fun, interesting news, arts, music, entertainment and information...the reality for Rupert Murdoch is that the main foundation he has build up News Corp on is hard copy newspapers, with billions invested in the best pronting presses in the world, and having to destroy millions of trees everyday to continue to print is newspapers. The sad reality that Rupert Murdoch is discovering a bit to late is that hard copy newspapers do not make money, because young people do not read them, as they gey all they need and want as far as  news, arts, music, entertainment and information  from the Internet.  Even older people are reading hard copy newspapers less and less, as they become more and more familiar on how to access the extensive information on the Internet, that is there at the click of a mouse on their computer, when you start pressing surf on a Google Search page about any information in the world.

Thus, Rupert Murdoch and his powerful News Corp has to
(a) either destroy the BBC through legal action,

(b) buy the BBC out altogether, which would require  News Corps to use it's unlimited media power and influence through it's newspapers and online websites and TV channels to make sure David Cameron and his Tory Party win political power from Gordon Brown and his Labour Party at the 2010 British Election, and have David Cameron and his Tory party change the rules and have the BBC dismantle altogether.
  
(c) use News Corps unlimited media power and influence through it's newspapers and online websites and TV channels to make sure David Cameron and his Tory Party win political power from Gordon Brown and his Labour Party at the 2010 British Election, and have David Cameron and hisa Tory Party change the rules, and have the BBC dismantle altogether.

http://www.slate.com/id/2189903/

Rupert Murdoch's Favorite Lie 

As long as he insists on telling it, I'll keep calling it out. By Jack Shafer Updated Thursday, April 24, 2008, at 5:17 PM ET

Rupert Murdoch can't stop telling his favorite lie. In this week's Newsweek, he claims that he booted the BBC World Service Television from his Star satellite TV system in Asia in 1994 for financial reasons, not for its China coverage. The article also quotes from a note Murdoch sent to New York Times Publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. taking issue with a Times editorial that touched on the matter. "I don't know how many times I have to state that I didn't take off the BBC," Murdoch wrote.It's a lie, and the genocidal tyrant knows it. Here's how a cross section of the press reported the BBC's eviction from Star, which he bought in late 1993:Especially sensitive is the matter of the BBC World Service news channel carried by Star TV, which has broadcast reports embarrassing to the Chinese government. A … contract prohibits Star from dropping the BBC, but Murdoch is trying to negotiate a deal that would substitute documentary and educational programming for the British news service.—Los Angeles Times (Feb. 13, 1994)Rupert Murdoch says the British Broadcasting Corp. could lose its spot on his Star TV satellite network unless it addresses bias charges leveled by India and China.Murdoch told reporters in New Delhi that he is inclined to replace the BBC with his own Sky TV news channel to improve the overseas image of both countries as well as to seek better ties with them."That may be a solution that we may have to come to," Murdoch said. "We have a legally binding contract with the BBC. We would hope that we can resolve most of these complications with them before taking such a drastic step as that." —Media Daily (Feb. 15, 1994)Mr Murdoch has made several trips to China since and the Chinese leadership has wasted no time publicising his efforts to placate it. A month ago Guo Baoxing, of China's Ministry of [R]adio, Film and TV, said Beijing had told Star to drop the BBC world service which is carried on one of their five channels. The BBC has offended China by producing and airing a documentary on Mao Zedong, a few minutes of which mention that he enjoyed sexual encounters with young women. The Chinese also got a bit upset when the BBC aired graphic pictures of the Tiananmen Square massacre near its anniversary. This week it was confirmed that Star is doing just what the Chinese asked. —the Sun-Herald of Sydney, Australia (March 20, 1994)Last year the outspoken mogul declared that satellite television was "an unambiguous threat to totalitarian regimes everywhere." A month or so later the Chinese government clamped down on the installation of satellite dishes. Dumping the BBC … appears to have been Mr. Murdoch's penance. Seldom has he let ideology stand in the way of profits; nor is he especially fond of the BBC. Recently he told The Economist that the BBC caused him "lots of headaches" with a number of Asian governments—especially the one in Beijing—because of its critical news coverage. —the Economist (March 26, 1994)It became increasingly clear that News Corp. regarded the BBC news service as a political liability in Star's quest to develop better relationships with a number of Asian governments, notably the Communist regime in China.—Variety (March 28, 1994) Once the BBC had been dumped, a Murdoch minion categorically denied that politics had anything to do with it, as this next clip illustrates. Satellite broadcaster STAR-TV, owned by media mogul Rupert Murdoch, denied reports that it bowed to political pressure in deciding to beam Mandarin-language movies instead of a BBC news channel into China. Gary Davey, STAR-TV chief executive, told reporters commercial considerations and a lack of capacity on the northern beam of the Asiasat-1 satellite led it to scrap BBC World Service Television. —USA Today, international edition (March 23, 1994)

Rupert Murdoch

Keith Rupert Murdoch, AC (US: /'ru?p?rt 'm??d??k/; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian-born American media mogul. He is the founder, a major shareholder, chairman and managing director of News Corporation (News Corp).

Beginning with one newspaper in Adelaide, Murdoch acquired and started other publications in his native Australia before expanding News Corp into the United Kingdom, United States and Asian media markets. Although it was in Australia in the late 1950s that he first dabbled in television, he later sold these assets, and News Corp's Australian current media interests (still mainly in print) are restricted by cross-media ownership rules. Murdoch's first permanent foray into TV was in the UK, where he created Sky Television in 1989. In the 2000s he became a leading investor in satellite television, the film industry and the Internet.

According to the 2009 Forbes 400, Murdoch is the 132nd-richest person in the world, with a net worth of $4 billion.

Early life

Keith Rupert Murdoch was born in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia in 1931. At the time, his father, Sir Keith, was a regional newspaper magnate based out of Melbourne and as a result, the family was quite well off.

Rupert was groomed by his father from an early age, and went off to study at Oxford University in England[citation needed] where he apparently supported the Labour Party. At just 22, his father passed away and Rupert Murdoch returned from Oxford to take charge of the family business becoming managing director of News Limited in 1953

Start in business

He began to direct his attention to acquisition and expansion. He bought the Sunday Times in Perth, Western Australia and, using the tabloid techniques of his father's mentor Lord Northcliffe, made it a success.[citation needed]

Over the next few years, Murdoch established himself in Australia as a dynamic business operator, expanding his holdings by acquiring suburban and provincial newspapers in New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and the Northern Territory, including the Sydney afternoon tabloid, The Daily Mirror, as well as a small Sydney-based recording company, Festival Records. His acquisition of the Daily Mirror allowed him to challenge two powerful rivals in Australia's biggest city and to outmaneuver his afternoon rival in a lengthy circulation war.[citation needed]

His first foray outside Australia involved the purchase of a controlling interest in the New Zealand daily The Dominion. In January 1964, while touring New Zealand with friends in a rented Morris Minor after sailing across the Tasman, Murdoch read of a takeover bid for the sleepy Wellington paper by the British-based Canadian newspaper magnate, Lord Thomson of Fleet. On the spur of the moment, he launched a counterbid. A four-way battle for control ensued in which the 32-year-old Murdoch outwitted his rivals. He took an active interest in the paper, at least until distracted by bigger undertakings, and remained the dominant shareholder in New Zealand's Independent Newspapers Limited - the nationwide media group that ultimately developed from his takeover of The Dominion - until 2003.

Later in 1964, Murdoch launched The Australian, Australia's first national daily newspaper, which was based first in Canberra and later in Sydney. The Australian, a broadsheet, was intended to give Murdoch new respectability as a 'quality' newspaper publisher, as well as greater political influence. The paper had a rocky start that was marked by publishing difficulties and a rapid succession of editors who found it impossible to cope with Murdoch's persistent interference. Touted as a serious journal that was devoted to covering the affairs of the nation, the paper actually veered between tabloid sensationalism and intellectual mediocrity until Murdoch found a compliant editor who was able to tolerate his frequently unpredictable whims.

In 1972, Murdoch acquired the Sydney morning tabloid The Daily Telegraph from Australian media mogul Sir Frank Packer, who later admitted regretting selling it to him. In that year's election, Murdoch threw his growing power behind the Australian Labor Party under the leadership of Gough Whitlam and duly saw it elected. As the Whitlam government began to lose public support following its re-election in 1974, Murdoch turned against Whitlam and supported the Governor-General's dismissal of the Prime Minister.

During this period, Murdoch turned his attention to Britain. His business success in Australia and his fastidious policy of making prompt periodic repayments of his borrowings had placed him in good standing with the Commonwealth Bank, which provided him with finance for his biggest venture yet, the takeover of the family company that owned The News of the World, the Sunday newspaper with the biggest circulation in Britain.

Building the Empire

Acquisitions in Britain

When the daily newspaper The Sun entered the market in 1969, Murdoch acquired it and turned it into a tabloid format; by 2006 it was selling three million copies per day.[3]

Murdoch acquired The Times (and The Sunday Times), the paper Lord Northcliffe had once owned, in 1981. The distinction of owning The Times came to him through his careful cultivation of its owner, who had grown tired of losing money on it.

During the 1980s and early 1990s, Murdoch's publications were generally supportive of the UK's Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.[4] At the end of the Thatcher/Major era, Murdoch switched his support to the Labour Party and the party's leader Tony Blair. The closeness of his relationship with Blair and their secret meetings to discuss national policies was to become a political issue in Britain.[5] Though this has recently started to change, with The Sun publicly renouncing the ruling Labour government and seemingly lending its support toDavid Cameron's Conservative Party, Prime Minister Gordon Brown's official spokesman said in November 2009 that Brown and Murdoch "were in regular communication" and that "there is nothing unusual in the prime minister talking to Rupert Murdoch".[6]

In 1986, Murdoch introduced electronic production processes to his newspapers in Australia, Britain and the United States. The greater degree of automation led to significant reductions in the number of employees involved in the printing process. In England, the move roused the anger of the print unions, resulting in a long and often violent dispute that played out inWapping, one of London's docklands areas, where Murdoch had installed the very latest electronic newspaper publishing facility in an old warehouse.[7] The unions had been led to assume that Murdoch intended to launch a new London evening newspaper from those premises, but he had kept secret his intention to relocate all the News titles there.[citation needed]The bitter dispute at Fortress Wapping started with the dismissal of 6000 employees who had gone on strike and resulted in street battles, demonstrations and a great deal of bad publicity for Murdoch. Many suspected that the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher had colluded in the Wapping affair as a way of damaging the British trade union movement. Once the Wapping battle had ended, union opposition in Australia followed suit.[citation needed]

In response to print media's decline and the increasing influence of online journalism [8] Murdoch proclaimed his support of the micropayments model for obtaining online revenue,[9]although this has largely been criticised by thinkers on the subject.[10]

News Corporation has subsidiaries in the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands, the Channel Islands and the Virgin Islands. From 1986, News Corporation's annual tax bill averaged around seven per cent of its profits.[11]

Moving into the United States

Murdoch made his first acquisition in the United States in 1973, when he purchased the San Antonio Express-News. Soon afterwards, he founded Star, a supermarket tabloid, and in 1976, he purchased the New York Post. On September 4, 1985, Murdoch became a naturalized citizen in order to satisfy the legal requirement that only US citizens were permitted to own American television stations. In 1987, in Australia he bought The Herald and Weekly Times Ltd, the company that his father had once managed. By 1991, his Australian-based News Corp. had worked up huge debts, forcing Murdoch to sell many of the American magazine interests he had acquired in the mid-1980s. Much of this debt came from his British-based satellite network Sky Television, which incurred massive losses in its early years of operation. As many of his other business interests had been, Sky was heavily subsidized by the profits generated by his other holdings, but eventually he was able to convince rival satellite operator British Satellite Broadcasting to accept a merger on his terms in 1990. (The merged company, BSkyB, has dominated the British pay-TV market ever since.)

In 1995, Murdoch's Fox Network became the object of scrutiny from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), when it was alleged that News Ltd.'s Australian base made Murdoch's ownership of Fox illegal. However, the FCC ruled in Murdoch's favor, stating that his ownership of Fox was in the best interests of the public. In the same year, Murdoch announced a deal with MCI Communications to develop a major news website and magazine, The Weekly Standard. In the same year, News Corp. launched the Foxtel pay television network in Australia in partnership with Telstra.

In 1996, Murdoch decided to enter the cable news market with the Fox News Channel, a 24-hour cable news station. Following its launch, the heavily-funded Fox News consistently eroded CNN's market share and eventually proclaimed itself as "the most-watched cable news channel." Ratings studies released in the fourth quarter of 2004 showed that the network was responsible for nine of the top ten programs in the "Cable News" category at that time.

In 1999, Murdoch significantly expanded his music holdings in Australia by acquiring the controlling share in a leading Australian independent label, Michael Gudinski's Mushroom Records; he merged that with Festival Records, and the result was Festival Mushroom Records (FMR). Both Festival and FMR were managed by Murdoch's son James Murdoch for several years.

Expansion in Asia

In 1993, Murdoch acquired Star TV, a Hong Kong company founded by Richard Li (son of Li Ka-shing) for $1 billion (Souchou, 2000:28), and subsequently set up offices for it throughout Asia. It is one of the biggest satellite TV networks in Asia. However, the deal did not work out as Murdoch had planned, because the Chinese government placed restrictions on it that prevented it from reaching most of China. It was around this time that Murdoch met his third wife Wendi Deng.

Recent activities

In late 2003, Murdoch acquired a 34 per cent stake in Hughes Electronics, the operator of the largest American satellite TV system, DirecTV, fromGeneral Motors for $6 billion (USD).

In 2004, Murdoch announced that he was moving News Corp.'s headquarters from Adelaide, Australia to the United States. Choosing a US domicile was designed to ensure that American fund managers could purchase shares in the company, since many were deciding not to buy shares in non-US companies. Some analysts believed that News Corp's Australian domicile was leading to the company being undervalued compared with its peers.

On July 20, 2005, News Corp. bought Intermix Media Inc., which held MySpace.com and other popular social networking-themed websites for $580 million USD.[citation needed] On September 11, 2005, News Corp. announced that it would buy IGN Entertainment for $650 million (USD).[12]

Rupert Murdoch and Ted Turner are long-standing rivals. In 1996 Murdoch launched the Fox News Channel to compete against Turner's CNN.[13]

The subject of Murdoch's alleged anti-competitive business practices resurfaced in September 2005. Australian media proprietor Kerry Stokes, owner of the Seven Network, instituted legal action against News Corporation and the PBL organization, headed by Kerry Packer. The suit stems from the 2002 collapse of Stokes' planned cable television channel C7 Sport, which would have been a direct competitor to the other major Australian cable provider, Foxtel, in which News and PBL have major stakes.

Stokes claims that News Corp. and PBL (along with several other media organizations) colluded to force C7 out of business by using undue influence to prevent C7 from gaining vital broadcast rights to major sporting events. In evidence given to the court on September 26, 2005, Stokes alleged that PBL executive James Packer came to his home in December 2000 and warned him that PBL and News Limited were "getting together" to prevent the AFL rights being granted to C7.

Recently, Murdoch has bought out the Turkish TV channel, TGRT, which had been previously confiscated by the Turkish Board of Banking Regulations, TMSF. Newspapers report that Murdoch has bought TGRT in a partnership with the Turkish recording mogul Ahmet Ertegün.

Murdoch has just won out a dispute with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Burlusconi in a media war. "A judge ruled the Italian PMs media arm was preventing News Corp's Italian unit, Sky Italia, from buying ads on its television networks."[14]

Political activities

Australia

Murdoch's disconcerting experience with Thomas Playford in South Australia and his early political activities in Australia set the pattern he would repeat around the world.[15]

Murdoch found a political ally in John McEwen, leader of the Australian Country Party, who was governing in coalition with the larger Menzies-Holt Liberal Party. From the very first issue of The Australian Murdoch began taking McEwen's side in every issue that divided the long-serving coalition partners. (The Australian, July 15, 1964, first edition, front page: “Strain in Cabinet, Liberal-CP row flares.”) It was an issue that threatened to split the coalition government and open the way for the stronger Australian Labor Party to dominate Australian politics. It was the beginning of a long campaign that served McEwen well.[16]

McEwen repaid Murdoch's support later by helping him to buy his valuable rural property Cavan, and then arranged a clever subterfuge by which Murdoch was able to transfer a large sum of money from Australia to England in order to finalize the purchase of The News of the World without obtaining the required authority from the Australian Treasury.

After McEwen and Menzies retired, Murdoch transferred his support to the newly elected Leader of the Australian Labor Party, Gough Whitlam, who was elected in 1972 on a social platform that included universal free health care, free education for all Australians to tertiary level, recognition of the People's Republic of China, and public ownership of Australia's oil, gas and mineral resources.

Rupert Murdoch's flirtation with Whitlam turned out to be brief. He had already started his short-lived National Star[16] newspaper in America, and was seeking to strengthen his political contacts there.[17]

Acquiring American Citizenship

In 1985 Murdoch became a United States citizen to satisfy legislation that only United States citizens could own American television stations. This also resulted in Murdoch losing his Australian citizenship.[18][19]

Asked about the Australian federal election, 2007 at News Corporation's annual general meeting in New York on October 19, 2007, its chairman Rupert Murdoch said, "I am not commenting on anything to do with Australian politics. I'm sorry. I always get into trouble when I do that." Pressed as to whether he believed Prime Minister John Howard should be re-elected, he said: "I have nothing further to say. I'm sorry. Read our editorials in the papers. It'll be the journalists who decide that – the editors."[20]

United States

Murdoch's publications generally have conservative leanings, in comparison with other national newspapers. During the buildup to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, all 175 Murdoch-owned newspapers worldwide editorialized in favor of the war.[21] Murdoch also served on the board of directors of the libertarian Cato Institute.

On May 8, 2006, the Financial Times reported that Murdoch would be hosting a fundraiser for Senator Hillary Clinton's (D-New York) Senate reelection campaign.[22] Murdoch's New York Post newspaper had opposed Clinton's Senate run in 2000.[citation needed]

In May 2007, Murdoch made a $5 billion offer to purchase Dow Jones, owner of the Wall Street Journal. At the time, the Bancroft family, which controlled 64% of the shares, firmly declined the offer, opposing Murdoch's much-used strategy of slashing employee numbers and "gutting" existing systems. Later, the Bancroft family confirmed a willingness to consider a sale – besides Murdoch, the Associated Press reported that supermarket magnate Ron Burkle and Internet entrepreneur Brad Greenspan were among the interested parties.[23] On August 1, 2007, the BBC's "News and World Report"[24] and NPR's Marketplace[25] radio programs reported that Murdoch had acquired Dow Jones; this news was received with mixed reactions.

In a 2008 interview with Walt Mossberg, Murdoch was asked whether he had "anything to do with the New York Post's endorsement of Barack Obama in the democratic primaries." Without hesitating, Murdoch replied, "Yeah. He is a rock star. It's fantastic. I love what he is saying about education. I don't think he will win Florida... but he will win in Ohio and the election. I am anxious to meet him. I want to see if he will walk the walk."[26][27]

United Kingdom

In Britain, Murdoch formed a close alliance with Margaret Thatcher, and The Sun credited itself with helping John Major to win an unexpected election victory in the 1992 general election.[28] However, in the general elections of 1997, 2001 and 2005, Murdoch's papers were either neutral or supported Labour under Tony Blair. This has led some critics to argue that Murdoch simply supports the incumbent parties (or those who seem most likely to win an upcoming election) in the hope of influencing government decisions that may affect his businesses. The Labour Party under Blair had moved significantly to the Right on many economic issues prior to 1997. Murdoch identifies himself as a libertarian.[29]

In a speech delivered in New York, Rupert Murdoch said that the UK Prime Minister Tony Blair described the BBC coverage of the Hurricane Katrina disaster as being full of hatred of America. Murdoch is a strong critic of the BBC, which he believes has a left-wing bias and is the major UK competitor to his satellite network Sky.[citations needed]

In 1998, Rupert Murdoch failed in his attempt to buy the football powerhouse Manchester United F.C. with an offer of £625 million. It was the largest amount anyone had yet offered for a sports club. It was blocked by the United Kingdom's Competition Commission, which stated that the acquisition would have "hurt competition in the broadcast industry and the quality of British football".

On June 28, 2006 the BBC reported that Murdoch and News Corporation were flirting with the idea of backing Conservative leader David Cameron at the next General Election.[30]However, in a later interview in July 2006, when he was asked what he thought of the Conservative leader, Murdoch replied "Not much".[31] In a 2009 blog, it was suggested that in the aftermath of the News of the World phone tapping scandal, Murdoch and News Corporation might have decided to back Cameron,[32] although there had already been a converging of interests between the two men over muting of the UK's communications regulator Ofcom.[33]

In 2006, the UK’s Independent newspaper reported that Murdoch would offer Tony Blair a senior role in his global media company News Corp. when the UK prime minister stood down from office.[34]

He is also accused by former Solidarity MSP Tommy Sheridan of having a personal vendetta against him and of conspiring with MI5 to produce a video of him confessing to having affairs – allegations over which Sheridan had previously sued News International and won.[35] On being arrested for perjury following the case, Sheridan claimed that the charges were "orchestrated and influenced by the powerful reach of the Murdoch empire".[36]

Private meetings with politicians

Murdoch has a history of hosting private meetings with influential politicians. Both parties naturally dismiss such meetings as politically insignificant; social events, informal dinners or friendly drinks. It has however been argued that such meetings are significant because of Murdoch's exceptional influence as a media oligarch, as well as his consistent interest in and involvement with politics issues.[37]

David Cameron

In August 2008 David Cameron accepted free flights to hold private talks and attend private parties with Murdoch on his yacht, the Rosehearty.[38] Cameron has declared in the Commons register of interests he accepted a private plane provided by Murdoch's son-in-law, public relations guru Matthew Freud; Cameron has not revealed his talks with Mr Murdoch. The gift of travel in Freud's Gulfstream IV private jet was valued at around £30,000. Other guests attending the "social events" included the then EU trade commissioner Lord Mandelson, the Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska and co-chairman of NBC Universal Ben Silverman. The Conservative and Unionist Party, a conservative political party in the United Kingdom, are not disclosing what was discussed.[39]

Kevin Rudd

On April 21, 2007, future Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd dined with Rupert Murdoch in New York, following a one-hour private meeting at Murdoch's News Corporation Building.[40]The two men refused to say what they had discussed. Mr Murdoch would say only that they had discussed "a lot of things". Rudd would say only: "It was just a good chat about things. Life, the world, politics."[41]

News Limited’s resources involvement and coverage, in Australia, on the 2009 OzCar affair controversy caused antagonism by Rudd. Rudd responded to a press conference question fromThe Australian journalist Matthew Franklin, questioning “what sort of journalistic checks were put in place” for publishing a story claiming he was corrupt without “having sighted any original document in terms of this email.” Although such newspapers Daily Telegraph, the Courier-Mail and the Adelaide Advertiser are owned by News Limited, it has been viewed that Murdoch’s personal involvement is unlikely and “the anti-Rudd push, if it is coordinated at all, is almost certainly locally driven.”[42]

Murdoch recently said that Rudd is "...oversensitive and too sensitive for his own good..." in relation Rudd's response to criticism made of him by News Corporation's Australian newspapers.[43] Murdoch also described Rudd as "...more ambitious to lead the world than to lead Australia..." and criticised Rudd's expansionary fiscal policies as unnecessary: "We were not about to collapse...I thought we were trying to copy the rest of the world a little unnecessarily." [44]

Barack Obama

In early summer 2008, a "tentative truce" was brokered during a once secret meeting between Barack Obama, Rupert Murdoch and Roger Ailes (President of the Fox News Channel) at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York.[45][46] Obama had initially resisted Murdoch's propositions, despite senior News Corp executives having recruited the Kennedys to act as go-betweens.[46] Obama resented Fox News's portrayal of him "as suspicious, foreign, fearsome - just short of a terrorist," while Ailes said "it might not have been this way if Obama had more willingly come on the air instead of so often giving Fox the back of his hand."[46] A "tentative truce" was agreed upon.[45]

Personal life

Murdoch has been married three times. In 1956 he married Patricia Booker, a former shop assistant and air hostess from Melbourne with whom he had his first child, a daughter Prudence Murdoch, who was born in 1958. They were divorced in 1967, the same year that he married Anna Torv, an Estonian-born cadet journalist working for his Sydney newspaper The Daily Telegraph. Torv's niece, also named Anna Torv, is now a voice actor and television actor on the Fox network show Fringe.

Torv and Murdoch had three children: Elisabeth Murdoch (born in Sydney, Australia on August 22, 1968), Lachlan Murdoch (born in London, UK on September 8, 1971), and James Murdoch, (born in Wimbledon, UK on December 13, 1972). Murdoch's companies have published two novels by his then wife: Family Business (1988) and Coming to Terms (1991); both are widely regarded as vanity publications. Anna and Rupert divorced acrimoniously in June, 1999.

Anna Murdoch received a settlement of US$1.2 billion in assets.[47] Seventeen days after the divorce, on June 25, 1999, Murdoch, then aged 68, married Chinese-born Deng Wendi (Wendi Deng in Western style). She was 30, a recent Yale School of Management graduate, and a newly appointed vice-president of STAR TV. In October 1999 Anna Murdoch also remarried, to William Mann.

Rupert Murdoch has two children with Deng: Grace (born in New York November 19, 2001) and Chloe (born in New York July 17, 2003).

Children

Murdoch's eldest son Lachlan, formerly the deputy chief operating officer at the News Corporation and the publisher of the New York Post, was Murdoch's heir apparent before resigning from his executive posts at the global media company at the end of July 2005. Lachlan's departure left James, chief executive of the satellite television service British Sky Broadcasting since November 2003, as the only Murdoch son still directly involved with the company's operations, though Lachlan has agreed to remain on the News Corporation's board.

After graduating from Vassar College and marrying classmate Elkin Kwesi Pianim (the son of Ghanaian financial and political mogul Kwame Pianim) in 1993, Murdoch's daughter Elisabeth, along with her husband, purchased a pair of NBC-affiliate television stations KSBW and KSBY in California with a $35 million loan provided by her father. By quickly re-organizing and re-selling them at a $12 million profit, in 1995 Elisabeth emerged as an unexpected rival to her brothers for the eventual leadership of the publishing dynasty's empire. But after quarrelling publicly with her assigned mentorSam Chisholm at BSkyB, she struck out on her own as a television and film producer in London, where she has enjoyed independent success in conjunction with her second husband, Matthew Freud.

It is not known whether Murdoch will remain as News Corp's CEO indefinitely. For a while the American cable television entrepreneur John Malone was the second-largest voting shareholder in News Corporation after Murdoch himself, potentially undermining the family's control. In 2007, the company announced that it would sell certain assets and give cash to Malone's company in exchange for its stock. In 2007 Murdoch issued his older children with equal voting stock, perhaps to test their individual levels of interest and ability to run the company according to the standards he has set.

Portrayal on television, film and in music

Rupert Murdoch has been portrayed by Barry Humphries in the 1991 mini-series Selling Hitler, Hugh Laurie in a parody of It's a Wonderful Life in the television show A Bit of Fry & Laurie,Ben Mendelsohn in Black and White, Paul Elder in The Late Shift and by himself on The Simpsons.

On his 1994 album Happiness?, Queen drummer Roger Taylor recorded Dear Mr Murdoch, a song critical of Murdoch and which referred to him as “The King of the Tits”

Some have speculated that Elliot Carver, the villain in the James Bond movie Tomorrow Never Dies is a parody of Rupert Murdoch. The writer of the film, Bruce Feirstein has stated that Carver was actually a portrayal of Rupert Murdoch's arch rival, British press magnate Robert Maxwell.[48]

Tax avoidance

In 1999, The Economist reported that Newscorp Investments had made £11.4 billion ($20.1 billion) in profits over the previous 11 years but had not paid net corporation tax. It also reported that after an examination of the available accounts, Newscorp could normally have been expected to pay corporate tax of approximately $350 million. The article explained that in practice the corporation's complex structure, international scope and use of offshore tax havens allowed News Corporation to pay minimal taxes.[49][50]

Compensation

While CEO of News Corp in 2008, K. Rupert Murdoch earned a total compensation of $30,053,157, which included a base salary of $8,100,000, a cash bonus of $17,500,000, stocks granted of $4,049,988, and no options.[51]

 
 
 

Murdoch hints he will sue BBC and Google

By Ben Fenton, Chief Media Correspondent

Published: November 9 2009 12:38 | Last updated: November 9 2009 12:38

 

Rupert Murdoch indicated on Monday that News Corporation would sue the BBC over breach of copyright for “stealing” material from his newspapers round the world. Mr Murdoch, interviewed on Sky News Australia, was asked how he would be able to instigate his proposal to charge for newspaper websites such as The Times in the UK or The Australian when the BBC and ABC produced free news content on their sites. “But we are better,” said Mr Murdoch, chairman of News Corp. “And anyway, if you look at them, most of their stuff is stolen from the newspapers now, and we’ll be suing them for copyright. “They will have to spend a lot more money on a lot more reporters to cover the world when they can’t steal from newspapers.” But he added that he didn’t think it would be necessary to go to court.

“They know the law. They will adapt.”

There was no immediate response from the BBC.

Mr Murdoch also indicated that he would use legal methods to prevent Google and other search engine “news aggregators” from taking his newspapers’ material. Asked how he reacted to the challenge of Google and others for newspaperssuch as his to remove their newspapers from search results, Mr Murdoch said that once they had in place the means to charge for news, “I think we will”. He also challenged the idea that Google and others could take just the headlines and opening lines from his papers’ stories, indicating that he would not tolerate even that. “[They use] a doctrine called fair use, which we believe can be challenged in the courts and will bar it altogether,” he said. But he added that News Corp papers currently benefited to some extent from the advertising around its freely available internet content so “we will take that slowly”. In a wide ranging interview, the 78-year-old media magnate also said that President Barack Obama was “going badly” at present and defended the reporting standards of his Fox News network. He also described the BBC’s conduct as “a scandal”. Asked why, Mr Murdoch said: “Everybody with a TV set [in the UK] is compelled to pay approximately £150 a year, they [the BBC] have £4.6bn revenue and will go into any commercial enterprise where they see an opening. “I think public broadcasting should be of the highest quality providing programmes and services where commercial broadcasting can’t afford to; where there is a hole. I think that’s fine. I don’t mind some taxpayer support for that.” In August, Mr Murdoch’ son James, who is chief executive of News Corp in Europe and Asia, attacked the BBC for its “chilling” overreach into the commercial sector and suggested that its huge internet organisation should be “dealt with”.
Recent Reports

Market research reports

Published: Tuesday November 10, 2009

Media mogul Rupert Murdoch threatens to sue BBC

SYDNEY: News Corp. chief executive Rupert Murdoch threatened to sue the British Broadcasting Corp. for allegedly stealing content from his company's newspapers and said News Corp. is considering pulling its stories from Google news searches.

In an interview with Australia's Sky News, of which News Corp. is a partial owner, the media mogul was asked why he expects Internet users to accept his plan to charge readers to access his newspapers' stories online when they can read the news for free on other Web sites such as the BBC's. "But we're better," he said in the interview broadcast Saturday. "And anyway, if you look at them, most of their stuff is stolen from the newspapers now, and we'll be suing them for copyright. They'll have to spend a lot more money on a lot more reporters to cover the world when they can't steal from newspapers." But he said he didn't think the matter would end up in a courtroom. "They know the law," he said. "They will adapt." There was no immediate response from the BBC. In August, Murdoch said visitors to the Web sites of newspapers owned by News Corp., which include The New York Post and The Times of London, will have to start paying fees to read the news within the next year. Murdoch told Sky News that once the company's online pay model is launched, it will probably remove its stories from Google news searches. "I think we will, but that's when we start charging," he said. Murdoch acknowledged that search engines such as Google direct traffic to his company's Web sites. But he said the benefit of that is marginal. "What's the point of having someone come occasionally who likes a headline they see on Google?" he said. "We'd rather have fewer people coming to our Web sites and paying." - AP

http://www.businesspundit.com/rupert-murdoch-indulges-in-verbal-tantrum-against-google-and-bbc/

Rupert Murdoch Indulges in Verbal Tantrum Against Google and BBC

The Financial Times reports on a recent Sky News Australia interview with News Corporation’s Rupert Murdoch. He threatened to sue the BBC and ABC for stealing content, and Google for employing Fair Use:

Rupert Murdoch indicated on Monday that News Corporation would sue the BBC over breach of copyright for “stealing” material from his newspapers round the world. Mr Murdoch…was asked how he would be able to instigate his proposal to charge for newspaper websites such as The Times in the UK or The Australian when the BBC and ABC produced free news content on their sites.

“But we are better,” said Mr Murdoch, chairman of News Corp. “And anyway, if you look at them, most of their stuff is stolen from the newspapers now, and we’ll be suing them for copyright.”

But he added that he didn’t think it would be necessary to go to court. “They know the law. They will adapt.”

He also challenged the idea that Google and others could take just the headlines and opening lines from his papers’ stories, indicating that he would not tolerate even that. “[They use] a doctrine called fair use, which we believe can be challenged in the courts and will bar it altogether,” he said. But he added that News Corp papers currently benefited to some extent from the advertising around its freely available internet content so “we will take that slowly”.

BNet’s David Weir speaks to the apparent insanity of Murdoch’s words:

…it appears there will continue to be delays in implementing the paid content strategy, which continues to strike me as a non-starter for newspaper content. Murdoch seems unwilling to concede that news is a commodity in today’s world, and placing it behind a paywall would simply help his competitors grab audience share.

Then again, Murdoch is a man used to getting what he wants, so the delays and other problems (including possible anti-trust issues) plaguing his paid content plan must be frustrating him beyond belief. Thus the angry threats, but it remains to be seen whether he actually carries any of them out in the end.

Mediabistro has more commentary:

Look, the entire publishing industry is grappling with how to craft a winning business model. It’s not easy. But “the world’s most powerful media owner,” as Sky News Australia interview David Speers calls Murdoch (video below), clearly is letting his frustration cloud his judgment. What he’s saying is nonsense. Blocking Google and other search engines is tantamount to online publishing suicide. Does he really think that subscription revenue will more than make up for the ad revenue he’ll lose when page views plunge? I don’t know what News Corp.’s traffic data says, but plenty of sites out there get half their PVs or more from Google.

Rupert, never mind all this talk of pay walls and banning Google. The solution to your problem is clear: More Page 3 girls!

Amen to that.

http://www.businesspundit.com/google-publishers-can-limit-free-articles-has-the-media-game-changed/

Google: Publishers Can Limit Free Articles. Has the Media Game Changed? Filed in archive NEWS, SELF-PRESERVATION, STRATEGY by DREA on DECEMBER 2, 2009 |

Google recently announced that online newspapers can now limit how many free articles people read. The new “First Click Free” program lets publishers restrict access to users after reading up to five free articles through Google. When Google senses that you have clicked on more than five free articles in a day, you’ll be routed to a pay or registration wall. Rupert Murdoch’s loud complaints seem to have worked.

Marketing Pilgrim’s Andy Beal observes that Google’s small concession still keeps its ad revenue intact:

The Financial Times report on how much news scraping exists on the web:

The study of 101,000 articles published by 157 newspapers found that more than 75,000 sites reused 112,000 almost exact copies without authorisation, and a further 520,000 articles in part…The study found Google accounted for 53 per cent of the advertising being run alongside unlicensed stories…

Is it pure coincidence that on the day News Corp’s Rupert Murdoch was in Washington telling the FTC about the need to reform “fair use” laws to prevent the “theft” of its content, Attributor pulls out some heavy numbers in support and Google decides to bend a little?

I think not!

Forget the fact that Bing is rumored to be courting the newspaper industry to dump Google, the search engine plans to lose a significant slice of revenue, if the publishing industry faces any kind of mass reform. Think about it, Google offers to change the “First Click Free” terms in order to save the AdSense revenue it makes from bloggers, and the more nefarious scrapers.

It’s a small sacrifice, right?

Indeed. Google’s “sacrifice” also muffles news publishers’ war cries, at least for the time being, because their sites can now have both limited access and high visibility. But Google’s move doesn’t play an integral part in the media debate, unless every mainstream outlet follows the paywall plan.

Image: Hkam

http://www.businesspundit.com/microsoft-willing-to-pay-news-corp-to-list-exclusively-with-bing/

Microsoft Willing to Pay News Corp. To List Exclusively with Bing iled in archive NEWS, STRATEGY, WHAT THE...? by DREA on NOVEMBER 23, 2009

Is Rupert Murdoch finally going to get his way? The Financial Times has the story:

Microsoft has had discussions with News Corp over a plan that would involve the media company being paid to “de-index” its news websites from Google, setting the scene for a search engine battle that could offer a ray of light to the newspaper industry.

The impetus for the discussions came from News Corp, owner of newspapers ranging from the Wall Street Journal of the US to The Sun of the UK, said a person familiar with the situation, who warned that talks were at an early stage.

However, the Financial Times has learnt that Microsoft has also approached other big online publishers to persuade them to remove their sites from Google’s search engine.

News Corp and Microsoft, which owns the rival Bing search engine, declined to comment.


Read the whole story here.
PCWorld’s Ian Paul has a good analysis of how this move could bite Microsoft and Web users:

In a Bing partnership with News Corp. world Google would just display non-News Corp. sources discussing the same stories. Who loses there? Not the user.

Microsoft could waste a lot of money and effort on buying up exclusivity deals with News Corp and The Financial Times’ other unnamed major Web publishers. Meanwhile, Google can just sit back and watch Microsoft pay big bucks to give Bing users exclusive access to news content that will only remain exclusive until a non-News Corp site summarizes the story or does their own reporting on the same subject.

…in an intensely fractured Web search world (which this deal could lead to), Google and Bing may have no choice but to cut metasearch deals with each other, which would make exclusive indexing even more pointless.

The Atlantic’s Derek Thompson claims that although the Wall Street Journal would lose 25% of its traffic by delisting from Google, that wouldn’t be a revenue-killer:

The central struggle of monetizing online news is that ad rates for web pages are significantly worse than the print ad rates that once buttressed newspapers. So for a newspaper publisher like Murdoch, big online traffic helps, but it doesn’t pay for a sprawling roster of reporters and editors. Somebody’s gotta break the tyranny of revenue-light banner ads, eventually. You can go the Daily Beast model and try to infuse online ads with a dash of glamour to drive up premiums and juice click-through rates. You can go the Financial Times/WSJ model of combining limited free content with paid registration for full access. Or you can think outside the box, turn off Google and get another search engine to pay you for exclusive rights to your content.

…remember, big traffic numbers are a fig leaf. Ryan Chittum of the Columbia Journalism Review found that this 25% Google crowd accounted for less than $12m a year in advertising. If Murdoch can get a better deal with Bing — at a time when Bing might be desperate to increase its news integrity — then we should take this threat seriously.

With so much innovation going on in journalism right now, I would hate to see outlets win the readership wars based only on deep pockets. Regardless of outcome, I have to give Rupert Murdoch credit for giving unfolding events a soap-operatic quality.

http://www.businesspundit.com/bing/

 Bing Filed in archive HUMAN NATURE, HUMOR by DREA on JULY 31, 2009 

http://www.businesspundit.com/one-reason-to-hate-bing/

One Reason to Hate Bing Filed in archive COMPANIES, INNOVATION, NEW PRODUCTS by DREA on JUNE 1, 2009







James Murdoch Faces Possible Jail over his involvement in the News of the World Phoner Hacking Scandal

Hacking Scndal is Britain's Watergate


James Murdoch may face jail for News of the World hacking scandal
Published: Friday, Jul 8, 2011, 14:37 IST
Place: London | Agency: ANI

Readers comment: Cameron is too stupid and arrogant  to say he made a mistake or say sorry.

Media scion James Murdoch may face jail for News of the World engineered phone hacking scandal.

Former editor of News of the World Andy Coulson also faces questioning by the metropolitan police on suspicion that he led the hacking of voice mail messages by the newspaper, The Age reports.

Former British home secretary Alan Johnson suggested that Murdoch's announcement of admission that could expose him to prosecution

Murdoch, News International's chairman, is quoted in a press release as admitting that he personally and wrongly approved out of court settlements to phone-hacking victims.

The constant spew of allegations about News of the World's use of phone hacking reached fever pitch this week, forcing Murdoch to announce newspaper's closure.

News of the World had confessed to and apologised for hacking the message banks of several celebrities, sports identities and politicians two months ago.

There was widespread condemnation of actions taken by the newspaper. But, this week, it was alleged that the paper had hacked the phone of a murdered British teenager and deleted some messages in order to retrieve others - in doing so gave the girl's tortured parents some cause for hope that she was still alive and hindering police investigations.

In response to the scandal engulfing his media empire, Rupert Murdoch ordered the shut down of the News of the World which is Britain's biggest-selling Sunday newspaper with a circulation of over 2.6 million.

http://www.dnaindia.com/world/report_james-murdoch-may-face-jail-for-news-of-the-world-hacking-scandal_1563629

Rebekah Brooks_LeavingNewsOfTheWorld-AfterAnnouncingClosure_8-07-2011.jpg Rebekah Brooks_Leaving News Of The World After Announcing Closure_8-07-2011
 
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The News of the World, renamed 

The End of the World:

The paper that died of shame

Murdoch’s News International admits role in phone-hacking scandal

James Murdoch may face jail for News of the World hacking scandal
 British cell phone hacking scandal escalates: U.K. companies are pulling ads from the News of the World, a British tabloid caught up in scandal after allegations were made that its employees hacked into the cell phone of murdered schoolgirls and the families of London terror victims.


Rebekah Brooks
Rebekah Brooks has been accused of arrogance during a NoW staff meeting. Photograph: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images

Rebekah Brooks was confronted by angry News of the World staff on Friday when she updated them on the decision to close the title and
said that advertisers thought it was a "toxic" brand.

Brooks, who has been removed from a new management committee set up to handle the fallout from the phone-hacking affair by the paper's owner, News International, was accused of arrogance by one employee.

The unnamed employee said: "You're calling our newspaper toxic. There is an arrogance there that you'd think we'd want to work for you
again." He was applauded as he spoke.

Brooks said: "We know there's no toxicity attached to you guys in the room." She added that everyone at the paper had been betrayed by
people they had trusted.

The former News of the World editor, who began her career as a trainee on the title, told the paper's 200 staff: "This is not exactly the
best time in my life" but claimed the paper had become toxic and said advertisers would not support it.

Brooks told staff – many of whom had not been able to use the internet or log on to their computers after arriving for work at the company's
London offices – that the title would have faced two years of upheaval had it remained open, given the forthcoming public inquiries into
press standards and the original police investigation into phone hacking.

She said staff would be found jobs elsewhere in the organisation if possible.

Brooks claimed she wanted to remain as chief executive of the company because she was acting as a "lighting conductor" for the paper's
critics in the wake of the phone-hacking affair.

She spoke of the "team spirit" displayed when she launched the controversial "Sarah's Law" campaign under her own editorship
following the murder of Sarah Payne at the hands of a convicted paedophile.

In one heated exchange, Brooks was asked directly why she hadn't resigned. She replied that staff would understand why she had not done
so in 12 months' time, but added that she understood why people where angry with her.

In an email to all News International staff, Brooks repeated some of what she had told employees in her address in the News of the World
newsroom on the second floor of News International's new offices. The email ended by saying: "The News of the World staff have the toughest
and most important job of all. I know they will produce a final issue that will make us all proud."

She also made clear in the email that News International chairman James Murdoch had instructed the management and standards committee – set up last month to handle the company's response to the hacking scandal – to report directly to two directors at News Corp, its ultimate parent company.

It also emerged that Scotland Yard had requested that no News of the World journalist be allowed back into the building after this week's
paper is produced on Saturday without being accompanied by security.

It is understood that News International resisted that request, but as staff worked on the final edition, they were also scrambling to save
contact details stored on computers in the knowledge they would be lost if they failed to do so.

After staff were told on Thursday that this Sunday's edition would be its last, the TV sets were turned off and the lights went out at the
News of the World's newsroom on the second floor of News International office block in London .

Soon after, executives began to make plans to ensure the paper appears. The Sun's news editor was ordered to cut short his holiday
and come into the office this morning to provide cover in case News of the World journalists didn't report for work.

The National Union of Journalists has been "inundated" with calls from staff at News International titles asking about membership and rights,
despite the fact the company doesn't recognise the NUJ.

A News International insider said staff could see the camera crews gathered outside the entrance to the paper's old building across the
road in Wapping. He said there had been rumours the paper might not publish for one week only, or carry no advertising, but "nothing like
this".

He said that when "[the Sun editor] Dominic [Mohan] came out of his office and addressed everyone [on Thursday afternoon], his voice was
cracking as he told us the news, he was completely shell-shocked like he couldn't believe what he'd just been told".

The insider added: "The whole building feels quite funereal really. It has been pretty quiet and after the huge news of yesterday everyone
seems to be keeping their heads down. It is a very weird atmosphere. The issue really is what happens and how it will be after Sunday when
the last News of the World is run. Everyone wants to know what is going on."

The News of the World's political editor, Ian Kirkby, told Sky News:
"We are committing to the editor, if nothing else. Colin Myler ... deserves a decent farewell."

 
Sienna Miller receives compensation for having her phone tapped by News of the World
 

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/2011/07/08/the-end-of-the-world-the-paper-that-died-of-shame-86908-23256025/

Jul 8 2011 Torcuil Crichton


RUPERT Murdoch's media empire was reeling yesterday as he was shamed into closing the News of the World.

This Sunday's edition will be the last for the 168-year-old paper rocked by revelations of phone hacking and police bribery.

Former editor Andy Coulson will be arrested today and other senior journalists will follow within days.

It follows claims in the past few days that the News of the World hacked into the mobile phones of murdered Milly Dowler and the families of 7/7 bombing victims.

But Wednesday's revelation that the paper's investigators hacked into the phones of grieving war widows and their families was the last straw.

The under-fire Press and broadcasting baron had his son James issue a statement announcing the closure.

A tearful Rebekah Brooks, who was editor of the paper during phone hacking allegations, told staff at News International's Wapping HQ in London.

But if she was looking for sympathy, she was met instead with anger from staff.

One insider said the 200 workers who are losing their jobs had a "lynch-mob mentality" towards Brooks, who stays on as NI chief executive.

Murdoch has been in America during the recent crisis and yesterday refused to discuss the scandal with US journalists.

Earlier, advertisers ditched the NoW in droves amid a tidal wave of public condemnation.

And the Government bowed to pressure to order independent inquiries into hacking and payments to police officers.

In his statement, News International chairman James Murdoch said the good things the NoW did "have been sullied by behaviour that was wrong - indeed, if recent allegations are true, it was inhuman and has no place in our company".

He added: "The News of the World is in the business of holding others to account. But it failed when it came to itself."

Under-fire Brooks told the 200 staff they can apply for other company jobs, but many said they were being sacrificed to protect her and repeated calls for her to resign.

Labour leader Ed Miliband called for Brooks - a friend of PM David Cameron - to take responsibility for the pattern of phone tapping.

Meanwhile, Cameron has admitted there is a case for inquiries into the pol ice handling of phone tapping allegations and behaviour and practices in the newspaper industry.

A Downing Street spokesman said: "What matters is that wrongdoing is exposed and those responsible for these appalling acts are brought to justice.

"As the Prime Minister has made clear, he is committed to establishing rigorous public inquiries to make sure this never happens in our country again."

The hacking scandal also forced the Government to delay the News Corp takeover of satellite broadcaster BSkyB.

And the controversy continued to hit BSkyB's share price, which slid 12p yesterday to 815p.

Miliband described the closure decision as "a big act" - but he added: "I don't think it solves the real issues at News International.

"I'm interested in those who were involved being brought to justice and taking responsibility - and that didn't happen today."

Closing the newspaper has allowed the company to streamline their operation and save cash.

A Sunday edition of The Sun will replace the NoW.

Internet domain names for Sunday Sun titles were registered in the last few days.

Labour MP Tom Watson, who campaigned doggedly on phone tapping, said: "It is decent families up and down the country who have shown outrage that have closed the newspaper. This is a victory for decent people up and down the land and I say good riddance to the News of the World."

Watson also renewed calls for Brooks to stand down.

Former deputy PM Lord Prescott, an alleged victim of phone hacking, said closing the paper would not resolve Murdoch's problems.

"Cutting off the arm doesn't mean to say you've solved it," he added. "There is still the body and the head and the same culture and that's why there has be a public inquiry into it.

"I cannot accept that Mr Murdoch - certainly Rebekah Brooks - didn't know what was going on.

"Now some poor suckers on the News of the World are going to be put on the dole because they've decided to make a cost-cutting exercise which they said they were going to do a week ago."

Rose Gentle, whose son Fusilier Gordon Gentle was killed in Iraq in 2004, had called for the News of the World to be closed down amid suspicions that her phones had been targeted.

Yesterday, she said: "The News of the World are the only journalists that we ever had bad dealings with.

"I'm glad that they're gone, but it doesn't mean we're going to give up the fight to f ind out if our families' phones were hacked."

Milly Dowler's family's solicitor Mark Lewis said the closure "won't make any difference at all to anybody's civil claims". He added: "Any crimes, any phone hacking, any other activities that were done weren't done by the News of the World, they were done by people working for it.

"It's sad that other people have been sacrificed but the people who are responsible are still there.

"There are questions about Brooks. She was editor of the NoW at the time the Milly Dowler situation was happening.

"She is still in her post. She might be crying at other people losing their jobs, but perhaps she ought to lose hers."

Publicist Max Clifford claimed the paper was closed to protect the reputation of Murdoch's wider media empire. He said: "The cancer was too deep and had spread too far to be checked so they let the patient die because it couldn't be saved.

"They were obviously aware of not only the tremendous damage done to the News of the World but also News International by recent allegations. My belief is that there is a lot more to come."

A spokesman for First Minister Alex Salmond said: "This is the right decision as the paper was irreparably tainted by these disgraceful and deplorable activities.

"Titles across the newspaper industry have been involved in breaching data protection laws, and that wider issue also needs to be addressed."

Reporting team Torcuil Crichton, Jack Mathieson, Charlie Gall, Craig McDonald and Keith McLeod 

TUESDAY  05 July 2011

NEWS OF THE WORLD TARGETS MET POLICE DETECTIVEExclusive: Channel 4 News learns that a Metropolitan Police detective was put under surveillance by News of the World journalists and his personal details targeted.

The surveillance operation came during a crucial murder investigation which implicated private investigators who had alleged links to News International.

Channel 4 News understands Rebekah Brooks, then editor of the News of the World, was informed of the allegations by Scotland Yard at the time.

It was at a time when Rebekah Brooks - now one of the most powerful figures in the media industry - ran the tabloid News of the World and it was just three months after the alleged hacking into Milly Dowler's phone.

This is a story about a claim that Brooks was confronted by the police over allegations of her journalists targetting a murder detective. An astonishing story which at one point, we've been told, had the police secretly watching the News of the World watching the police.

Channel 4 News can reveal the story for the first time tonight.

At 9pm, 25 June 2002, BBC Crimewatch was about to announce yet another investigation into a notorious, unsolved murder.

The case involved the murder of Daniel Morgan, a private investigator who was found in the car park of a south London pub 24 years ago with an axe buried in his head.

The case collapsed again recently - for the fifth time - undermined hugely by police corruption in the early years. But it's what happened after this Crimewatch broadcast to the senior detective in charge, Dave Cook, which has never been told before.

Alastair Morgan, the brother of Daniel Morgan, the murdered private investigator spoke to Detective Dave Cook often during the investigation.

He told Channel 4 News: "Dave told me about it, he told me about it then but I didn't realise who the newspaper was at that point."

Within days of the Crimewatch broadcast, it's understood that Dave Cook had been told by colleagues he was being targetted by the News of the World.

Alastair Morgan describes what is supposed to have happened next: "I learned about the surveillance and then I learned that it was the News of the World that was carrying out the surveillance.

"Dave told me that he was out walking his dog, he was taking his dog for a walk one evening when he noticed a van in an odd location. I think he said behind some trees near his house. The following morning he noticed he was being followed."

It's alleged that the police discovered one of the vans was leased to the News of the World. So concerned were the police that a witness protection unit was mobilised - as well as a police counter surveillance team.

When finally confronted, the News of the World apparently said they were interested in whether Dave Cook was having an affair with a Crimewatch presenter Jacqui Hames. They were in fact married at the time. Jacqui Hames has told Channel 4 News she has been contacted by Operation Weeting Detectives investigating the phone hacking scandal.

What is so disturbing about this allegation is the timing of the targeting of Dave Cook. Because in the murder investigation he was leading, suspects in the case were private investigators who, it's alleged, had close links to the News of the World.

Channel 4 News also understands that Rebekah Brooks - now CEO of News International - knows all about this.

Because, it's claimed, there was a meeting at Scotland Yard in December 2002, in which the police challenged her over this.

We still do not know what the outcome of that meeting was, but both the News of the World and the Metropolitan Police appear never to have spoken about it publicly.

Tonight the News of the World told Channel 4 News: "News International has not been previously aware of these claims but will investigate any allegations that are put to them."

They say they are not in a position to confirm or deny whether any meeting took place or what may have been said if indeed a meeting did take place.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/blog

  • Tuesday 5 July 2011

  • A News of the World and a Sun logo on the News International Newspapers building in Wapping

    The News International complex in Wapping, London. Photograph: Graeme Robertson for the Guardian

    Bereaved relatives of the 7 July, 2005 bombing victims say police are investigating whether their voicemails were hacked by News of the World journalists in the days after the attacks.

    News of the World phone hacking - Tuesday 5 July 2011

    Bereaved relatives of the 7 July, 2005 bombing victims say police are investigating whether their voicemails were hacked by News of the World journalists in the days after the attacks.

    6.00pm: Good evening and welcome to our live blog on the latest developments and fallout from the Guardian's revelations about how the News of the World illegally targeted the missing schoolgirl Milly Dowler and her family in March 2002, interfering with police inquiries into her disappearance.

    • The stakes have been dramatically upped in the last number of hours after the Labour leader, Ed Miliband, suggested that Rebekah Brooks, the News International chief executive, should resign.

    • Labour are also demanding an public inquiry into illegality in the newspaper industry, while John Bercow, the Commons Speaker, has approved an emergency three-hour debate on phone hacking in the Commons tomorrow. David Cameron has meanwhile criticised the News of the World - "this is a truly dreadful act", he said.

    • Brooks has told employees it is "inconceivable" she knew that the News of the World hacked into Milly Dowler's mobile phone. The News International chief executive said she was "sickened" by the events, but insisted she was "determined to lead the company" – despite calls for her to resign.

    • Press Complaints Commission chairman Baroness Buscombe has meanwhile said that she was lied to by the News of the World over phone hacking. She said she did not know the extent of the scandal when she came on board the PCC in 2009, but admitted she had been "misled by the News of the World" – after she had previously concluded just the opposite.

    • Separately from the political fallout, Cambridgeshire police have said that the parents of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, the two children murdered by Ian Huntley, were contacted by Scotland Yard detectivesinvestigating phone hacking at the News of the World.

    • Ford has pulled ads, reports the BBC, and the energy firm Npower said it is "reviewing" its advertising in the News of the World following the Milly Dowler revelations. According to Sky News, Halifax are also considering withdrawing advertising from the paper.

    6.21pm: Some companies say they will continue advertising with the News of the World pending police investigations into the voicemail hacking.

    Tesco, responding to customers on Facebook and Twitter, said: "We know that you have a lot of questions surrounding recent News of the World allegations.

    "These latest allegations will cause huge distress to a family which has suffered enough.

    "It's now a matter for the police. Like everyone, we await the outcome of their investigation."

    A Virgin Media spokeswoman said: "We're not taking any action at this point. We're just waiting for the outcome of any investigation and then we will look into what to do."

    6.28pm: Glenn Mulcaire, the private investigator at the centre of the scandal, has issued a public apology to those upset by his activity. The statement, released exclusively to the Guardian, makes no reference to hacking Milly Dowler's phone, but says he never intended to interfere with police inquiries. He said he had been operating under a "constant demand for results".

    I want to apologise to anybody who was hurt or upset by what I have done.

    Much has been published in the media about me. Up to now, I have not responded publicly in any way to all the stories but in the light of the publicity over the last 24 hours, I feel I must break my silence.

    I want to apologise to anybody who was hurt or upset by what I have done. I've been to court. I've pleaded guilty. And I've gone to prison and been punished. I still face the possibility of further criminal prosecution.

    Working for the News of the World was never easy. There was relentless pressure. There was a constant demand for results. I knew what we did pushed the limits ethically. But, at the time, I didn't understand that I had broken the law at all.

    A lot of information I obtained was simply tittle-tattle, of no great importance to anyone, but sometimes what I did was for what I thought was the greater good, to carry out investigative journalism.

    I never had any intention of interfering with any police inquiry into any crime.

    I know I have brought the vilification I am experiencing upon myself, but I do ask the media to leave my family and my children, who are all blameless, alone.

    6.52pm: Cathy Newman of Channel 4 News tweets:

    Live blog: Twitter

    Did News of the World team up with Sara Payne to campaign for Sarah's Law - and then have her phone hacked? Watch C4News at 7

    7.00pm: Simon Greenberg, News International's director of corporate affairs, is appearing on Sky News to talk about phone hacking.

    7.14pm: News International's Simon Greenberg said he is confident the company can come through the phone hacking scandal.

    Speaking on Sky News he said: "We've found some new information that helps us get closer to the facts of the case about who is involved."

    He added: "I'm not going to be naming individuals. We're liaising with the police. We met with the police this morning... It was a routine meeting... It is going to get us closer to establishing the facts."

    Greenberg said he was not aware of any claims of phone hacking in the case of Sarah Payne.

    "We've not shied away from the fact that when the allegations were made, Rebekah (Brooks) was editor of the NoW... and she's going to lead us through this investigation."

    He said: "There are things in the past that are highly regretful," and described the Milly Dowler incident as an "appalling shocking case".

    He said during his time at the News of the World he had no idea where the phone-hacked stories were coming from.

    7.44pm: Channel 4 News has made claims about how the News of the World placed senior Metropolitan police detective under surveillance at a time he was investigating the murder of a private eye with links to individuals who worked for the paper.

    Here's an outline of its report:

    It said a Detective Chief Superintendent Dave Cook, a senior police officer who appeared on Crimewatch, claimed he was told by colleagues that he was under surveillance by News of the World when he was investigating the 1987 murder of Daniel Morgan, a private investigator.

    The C4 report said police discovered that vans leased to News of the World had been witnessed tailing Cook. It said NoW was investigating whether Cook was having an affair with Jacqui Hames, a Crimewatch presenter who was in fact his wife.

    C4 says the timing of the NoW surveillance was disturbing because suspects in a case being investigated by Cook were private investigators with close links to NoW.

    C4 added that Brooks was challenged by police over this at a meeting in 2002. News International was quoted saying it was not aware of the claims but would investigate. It said it could not confirm or deny Brooks' meeting with police.

    It said Cook and Hames were informed two months ago about documentation of surveillance found among notes seized from Glenn Mulcaire. It said they were both considering legal action.

    8.04pm: Back to the Milly Dowler Case. Press Association reports Labour MP Keith Vaz, chairman of the Commons Home Affairs Select Committee, has written to Brooks and Scotland Yard acting commissioner John Yates asking what prior knowledge there had been of hacking in the Milly Dowler case. This is what Vaz says on the matter:

    These allegations are extremely shocking. It is now essential that any parties involved criminally are prosecuted and that we uncover who knew what at which point in time at both the Metropolitan Police and at the News of the World.

    The committee will be raising this issue with police officers involved in the current and previous investigations. We will also seek to clarify why a significant variance of action was taken by mobile phone companies in the aftermath of the phone hacking revelations.

    8.15pm: More details from the Channel 4 News website on claims that Met detective Dave Cook was placed under surveillance by News of the World.

    The report quotes Alistair Morgan, brother of Daniel Morgan, whose murder Cook had been investigating at the time of the alleged surveillance.

    "Dave told me about it, he told me about it then but I didn't realise who the newspaper was at that point.
    ...
    "Dave told me that he was out walking his dog, he was taking his dog for a walk one evening when he noticed a van in an odd location. I think he said behind some trees near his house. The following morning he noticed he was being followed."

    8.37pm: More on advertisers reviewing their links to the News of the World. My colleagues Sam Jones and Mark Sweney report that mobile phone firms Orange and T-Mobile are joining Ford, nPower and Halifax in considering their position.

    A spokesman for T-Mobile said: "We're currently reviewing our advertising position with News of the World, following the recent allegations, and await the outcome of the ongoing police investigation."

    Orange put out a similar statement, saying: "We're currently reviewing our advertising position with News of the World, following the recent allegations, and await the outcome of the ongoing police investigation."

    The latest advertising boycotts came as companies including Co-operative, WH Smith, EasyJet, Butlins and Renault came under heavy pressure from internet campaigners to sever their links with the Sunday tabloid. A one-stop page has been set up to allow people to automatically tweet their concerns.

    9.09pm: A quick look at how some US news outlets are reporting the phone hacking story.

    Several news organisations run with the Associated Press version of events. In its latest update, AP leads its story on the affair with thegloomy assessment: "Britain's voracious tabloids may have hit a new low."

    The New York Times focuses on how "political pressure" is bearing down on Brooks. (paywall alert).

    The Washington Post also leads with David Cameron's condemnation of the hacks on Milly Dowler's voicemail.

    There's nothing on the website of Fox News, Murdoch's US outlet, although - to be fair - Fox usually focuses its reporting to matters of a direct concern to domestic American audiences.

    MSNBC leads with the statement of apology from Glenn Mulcaire first reported by the Guardian. It also highlights how the "escalation of the scandal comes at a key moment in parent company News Corp's planned multi-billion-dollar takeover of BSkyB, due to be approved by the government after a final consultation this week".

    9.20pm: Nick Sutton at the BBC has tweeted an image of the front page of the Independent's Wednesday paper.

    Indy front pageIndependent front page Weds 6 July 2011.

    The headline reads: "Brooks contacted Dowler private detective herself."

    It's hard to make out the text of the story from this, but another headline suggests it has evidence which challenges Brooks' version of events.

    10.12pm: In response to the Independent's front page, The Guardian's Dan Sabbagh says the story concerns details already reported by the Guardian about Brooks having commissioned investigator Steve Whittamore. However, the work she commissioned was unrelated to the Dowler case. He says News International has acknowledged this and there is nothing to suggest there is anything illegal in this.

    11.01pm: In one indication of the wider impact the phone hacking scandal is having on News International beyond the News of the World, the Mumsnet website says it has pulled an advertising campaign from Sky because of the latest revelations.

    11.11pm: Former News of the World journalist Paul McMullan has appeared on BBC Newsnight saying his former boss Rebekah Brooks was aware of the phone hacking.

    Asked if his former editor knew of the activities, he said: "Of course she did."

    McMullen, who made similar claims in a conversation that was secretly by taped by actor Hugh Grant earlier this year, described the hacking of Dowler's phone as "not such a big deal".

    He said: "The journalists might have helped. The mistake that was made was that [private investigator Glenn Mulcaire] was so keen to get new messages he deleted the old ones."

    McMullan also spokes of the pressure NoW journalists were under -- a reference to a statement made earlier by Mulcaire in which he said their was a "constant demand for results".

    He said: "You're only as good as your next story, they used to do a byline count at the end of the year and if you didn't have enough it was goodbye."

    Clarence Mitchell, the spokesman of Madeleine McCann's parents, has been cropping up in numerous interviews to confirm he has been spoken to by police investigating phone hacking.

    Mitchell, a former BBC journalist, said he had discovered "suspicious" activity on his mobile phone account from February and July 2008 - at a time when Madeleine's parents were being investigated by Portuguese police.

    It appears that a person or persons unknown attempted to seek information about my number in relation to the McCann case.

    In one instance they claimed that I had been phoning them regularly and that they were something to do with 'the McCann CID trial'.

    This is clearly untrue as no such thing exists, nor did I ever make such calls to any number every night.

    11.40pm: Here's an interesting piece by the Guardian's James Robinsonexploring how it would probably take the retirement of Rupert Murdoch to trigger the exit of Rebekah Brooks.

    Senior executives at News International have been saying privately that any number of senior journalists or executives could pay the price for the hacking scandal, but that Brooks won't be one of them. "Anyone but Rebekah," has become their mantra.

    Brooks was at another social event last Thursday, a summer party thrown by BSkyB at the Foreign Office in Whitehall, flanked by Rupert's son and heir apparent, James Murdoch. The two are said to be close and their professional relationship is bolstered by social ties. Brooks and her husband, the former racehorse trainer Charlie Brooks, dine with the younger Murdoch frequently.

    But there is speculation that Brooks may not survive if Rupert Murdoch retires or steps back from the company and James take the reins.

    News Corp directors in the US are alarmed about how the hacking affair has been handled and view Brooks with suspicion.

    11.52pm: The Daily Telegraph is reporting claims that relatives of people killed in the 7 July, 2005 London bombings had their phones hacked by News of the World journalists.

    It said quoted unnamed sources saying police are contacting a "handful" of the 52 bereaved families. The Metropolitan police have refused to comment, the paper said.

    Clifford Tibber, solicitor for some of the families, tells the Telegraph the revelation will cause additional distress as bereaved relatives prepare to mark the anniversary of the attacks.

    "This will cause heartache for all the families involved," he said. "The anniversary is such an emotional moment for everybody who was caught up in the bombings and many of them still struggle at this time of year."

    12.14am: More on the claims that relatives of 7/7 bombing victims had their phones hacked.

    Graham Folkes, whose 22-year-old son David was killed in the attacks, told the BBC he was contacted on by police on Tuesday and told that his phone number had been found in a private investigator's files.

    He said the police contacted him to give him "advance notice" ahead of the bombing anniversary.

    12.30am: Graham Folkes has been talking again to the BBC, to discuss his reaction to the possibility that his phone was hacked in the days after his son David was killed in the 7/7 bombings.

    He said police had found his home address, his ex-directory home number and his mobile phone number in a private investigator's files. He was asked if he believed any news stories could have been sourced to his voicemail.

    I think my memory of 2005 is clearly distorted because we were clearly emotionally upset. All I can tell you that in 2005 the press did descend on us en masse. Some of the press including the Times and the BBC have been very supportive and responsible, but at the other end of the spectrum that wasn't the case.

    Bizarrely my wife and I had looked at the Milly Dowler story yesterday and said just how low can they go... So when a senior police officer phoned me and said 'you too may have been involved in this in 2005' I felt upset, sad and sickened that people would go such extremes.

    Folkes said that because of data protection laws, the police officer was unable to give him details about other relatives who may also have been targeted, but he indicated it was a "handful" of people.

    12.57am: Over on the Guardian Data Blog, Nick Davies has compiled anextensive list of the people believed to have been targeted by phone hacking. Well worth a look, the list identifies three categories of victim: people who have been contacted by police; those who have come forward and made complaints under their own steam; and those identified by phone companies.

    Live blog: recap

    1.26am: We're wrapping things up for the night, but before we go, here's a summary of this evening's main developments:

    Bereaved relatives of victims the 7 July 2005 bombings say police are investigating whether their phones were hacked in the days after the attacks. Graham Folkes, whose son David was killed, said police told him his details were found in files seized from Glenn Mulcaire, a private investigator working for the News of the World.

    Police are reviewing every high profile case involving the murder, abduction or attack on a any child since 2001 for possible signs of phone hacking. Cambridgeshire police earlier said the parents of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, the two children murdered by Ian Huntley, have been contacted.

    There are claims the News of the World placed a senior Metropolitan police officer under surveillance in 2002. Reports say Detective Chief Superintendent Dave Cook was watched at a time he was investigating suspects with links to the News of the World. There are further claims News International executive Rebekah Brooks was challenged by police over the case.

    Glenn Mulcaire has issued an apology to those who have been hurt or upset by his actions. In a statement released to the Guardian, he made no reference to the Milly Dowler case but said he had never intended to interfere with any police inquiry. He said he had worked under "constant demand for results" at the News of the World.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/blog/2011/jul/07/news-of-the-world-phone-hacking-live-coverage

News of the World closed down: live

Live coverage of News of the World phone-hacking scandal after James Murdoch makes shock announcement that Sunday's issue will be last edition of the top-selling tabloid.

Rebekah Brooks will not resign but no longer heads clean-up
• Brooks warns NOTW staff of worse criminal revelations to come
• Andy Coulson arrested over phone hacking and corruption
• Jailed former NOTW royal reporter Clive Goodman also arrested
• Police investigate alleged mass deletion of emails by NI exec


Andy Coulson has been bailed after being questioned by police over phone hacking and allegations of corruption at the News of the World Photo: GETTY IMAGES



Police officers arrive at the home of Andy Coulson to search his house following his arrest on phone hacking and corruption allegations Photo: NATIONAL



David Cameron: "Murdoch should have accepted Rebekah Brooks's resignation" 



News International chairman James Murdoch arrives at NI offices in Wapping Photo: AFP/GETTY IMAGES


A newspaper delivery man delivers newspapers to the home of Andy Coulson Photo: AFP/GETTY IMAGES



A selection of today's front pages 

News of the World closed down: live

Live coverage of News of the World phone-hacking scandal after James Murdoch makes shock announcement that Sunday's issue will be last edition of the top-selling tabloid.

20.42 @ExNOTWJourno has tweeted

TwitterHere's the situation.x-Notw journalists +friends going to release Blog on Sat night.Inside story of NOTW.Stories we weren't able to tell

20.32 The phone hacking scandal is clearly one of the biggest stories of our time but will it be as big as Watergate which engulfed the presidency of Richard Nixon and led to his resignation? The Independent thinks it might be. Here's the paper's front page tomorrow.

Saturday's front page of The Independent newspaper

20.14 Tony Blair, the former prime minister, has spoken on the phone hacking scandal. Watch the video here: Tony Blair: 'I was vilified for criticising the media'

19.55 Scotland Yard have just released this statement after relasing Coulson and Goodman on bail. It reads:

QuoteTwo men arrested by officers from Operation Weeting together with officers from Operation Elveden this morning have been bailed.

A 43-year old man arrested on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications and corruption allegations has been bailed to return to a London police station in October.

A 53-year-old man arrested in connection with corruption allegations has been bailed to return to a London police station in October.

19.52 So, Andy Coulson has been bailed, but what about Clive Goodman? Well, we've just heard that a 53-year-old man, understood to be former News of the World royal editor Goodman, was also released on bail until October after being arrested on suspicion of corruption.

19.51 The former Downing Street communications chief Andy Coulsonleft Lewisham police station after being arrested on suspicion of bribing corrupt police officers. Mr Coulson said he had attended the station voluntarily. He added:

QuoteThere is an awful lot I would like to say, but I can't at this time.

19.50 Andy Coulson has been released on bail. He is due to return in October.

Andy Coulson is photographed leaving Lewisham police station

19.32 Listen here to that Secret recording of Rebekah Brooks's address to staff made at Wapping today.

19.22 We have more on Rebekah Brooks' speech to journalists at the News of the World earlier today, which was secretly recorded by one hack and passed to Sky News. The News International chief executive told reporters that she would try to find jobs for them elsewhere in the company. This exchange then took place:

One employee told her: "Can you see that by your actions yesterday, your calling our newspaper toxic, we have all been contaminated by that toxicity by the way we've been treated.

"But can't you see the bigger picture? You're making the whole of News International toxic, and there's an arrogance there that you think we'd want to work for you again."

Mrs Brooks replied that there was "no arrogance coming from this standpoint".

She added: "I don't see there's anyone of you in this room here looking at me now that we wouldn't want to work (with) because we know there's no toxicity attached to you guys in the room.

"I mean that's the sadness. It wouldn't be sad, we wouldn't all be feeling like this if you guys were up to the neck in it like previous colleagues."

She admitted that the company was in "a very bad moment" but declared it would continue to invest in journalism.

18.53 Subscribers to the News of the World website were today sent a message saying the online paywall will be taken down for the final edition of the newspaper, the Press Association reported. Users were each sent a message confirming that the website will be freely accessible to the public on Sunday. The site was put behind a paywall in October last year, meaning that only paying subscribers could view content. The message said:

QuoteIt is with great regret that we write to inform you that after 168 years we will publish the final edition of the News of the World this Sunday.

You will know that the paper has a proud history of fighting crime, exposing wrong-doing and regularly setting the news agenda for the nation.

However, in recent times the good things that the News of the World have done have been sullied by behaviour that was wrong and inexcusable.

As a result, the very difficult decision to close down the paper and notw.co.uk has been made.

Advertising space in this last edition of the paper will be donated to good causes and charities, and all revenues will go to organisations that improve life in Britain and are devoted to treating others with dignity.

As a result of this decision, notw.co.uk will be open to the public for free for our final edition on Sunday 10th July.

If you have already paid for access to the sites for this weekend and have outstanding credit on your account, we will contact you shortly and arrange a refund within the next 28 days.

18.52 More than £1bn was wiped off the value of British Sky Broadcasting on Friday as Ofcom signalled it would monitor News Corp's proposed bid very closely and Prime Minister David Cameron said there would be delays on any deal. Read The Telegraph's extensive report here.

18.45 James Delingpole has blogged for The Telegraph on his annoyance at the liberal-left's "self-righteousness" towards the phone-hacking scandal. The Right-wing commentator writes:

QuotePerhaps the least edifying aspect of the News of the World saga has been the sanctimonious fervour of the liberal-left wallowing in a stew of its own self-righteousness

18.27 Michael Crick, Newsnight's political editor, reports the Downing Street response to the questions at this morning's Cameron press conference about whether he or his staff received specific warnings about Andy Coulson prior to hiring him. Crick says Downing Street say Rusbridger discussed hacking "in general" at breakfast with Steve Hilton on November 12 2009 and Ian Katz called on February 25 2010 regarding revelations in the following day's Guardian.

18.21 Rebekah Brooks: "This is not exactly the best time in my life but I'm determined to get vindication for this paper and for all of you."

18.18 Hats off to whichever News of the World journalist has covertly recorded Rebekah Brooks' Q&A session with staff. One gets applause when he accuses her of arrogance for her offer of trying to find NOTW journalists new jobs in the company - because of her assumption that they would ever want to work for her again.

18.10 So to recap, the key points from Rebekah Brooks' address:
• She warns staff she has "visibility" of worse revelations relating to criminal activity to come, said of the decision to close the News of the World: "In a year you will understand why we made this decision".
• She will not resign, but James Murdoch has stripped her of her role leading News International's internal investigation into phone hacking. This passes to Joel Klein, newly appointed News Corp independent director, in New York.
• She promises staff a "quick" decision over the introduction of a seven-day Sun newspaper but says there will not be a new distinct Sunday title - they are "not going to print the News of the World under a different masthead".

18.07 One of our sources in Wapping says the News of the World office will be sealed like a crime scene.

QuoteThe office is going to be sealed after tomorrow night. No one will be allowed in without supervision. Journalists have to leave all hard copy behind. People saying they're being treated like criminals.

18.02 News of the World sources say Brooks emphasised there will not be a new Sunday tabloid title - it's a seven-day Sun or nothing.

17.54 Rebekah Brooks told staff she was "not going to print the News of the World under a different masthead", sources say.

17.48 Rebekah Brooks promises "quick decision" on the possible introduction of a seven-day Sun newspaper, NOTW sources say. She told staff she had "visibility" about worse revelations relating to criminal activity and said: "In a year you will understand why we made this decision".

17.29 Rebekah Brooks tells News International staff that oversight of attempts to clean up the company has been passed on to Joel Klein, the former US Assistant Attorney General who has been appointed as an independent director of News Corporation. That information in full from The Times liveblog:

QuoteFor the avoidance of any doubt, however, the News Corporation independent directors agree with James Murdoch’s recommendation that the Management and Standards Committee, comprised of Will Lewis, Simon Greenberg and Jeff Palker, report directly to Joel Klein in New York. Joel is leading and directing the Company’s overall handling of this matter. Many of you will know that Joel is a respected former Assistant Attorney General of the United States. Joel and Viet Dinh, an independent director, are giving oversight and keeping our parent Company’s Board advised as well.

17.26 This from the Guardian's media editor Dan Sabbagh on changes to the News International clean-up operation:

Brooks no longer in charge of NI internal clean up committee on recommendation of J Murdoch and *News Corp ind directors*. Serious change.less than a minute ago via web  Favorite  Retweet  ReplyDan Sabbagh
dansabbagh

17.13 Breaking: statement from Rebekah Brooks to News International staff, excerpts as reported by David Rose at The Times on Twitter:

Twitter@DRoseTimes: The Company will focus over the coming months on finding as many jobs as possible for News of the World staff... As a company we welcome the Prime Minister’s calls for broad public inquiries into media standards and police practices... We are working hard to put our own house in order and do the right thing... Change and accountability will come through cooperating with criminal & civil inquiries & respecting due process during tough times ahead...

In response to media coverage, I would like to address several additional points relating to the ongoing police inquiries and my role... News International is not leading an investigation into itself because that could interfere with the work of the Metropolitan Police... What we are doing is assisting the police, who are entirely independent, with their work... We are all clear about one thing: the police will follow the evidence no matter where it takes them. The strongest action will be taken whenever wrongdoing is proven.

People have asked if it is right for me, as CEO of News International and as the Editor of the NOTW until Jan 03, to oversee..our efforts to assess allegations, address serious issues & prevent them from happening again. I’m determined that News Int does this.

16.53 John McTernan blogs: Why did Number 10 let Andy Coulson through the front door? The former political secretary to Tony Blair says:

OpinionBefore you start at No 10 you need to be security cleared or DV-ed (Developed Vetting which allows routine and unrestricted access to material marked “top secret”)...

Which makes me wonder, what were they doing when they interviewed Andy Coulson? I was not a public figure when I joined the No 10 Policy Unit. My press cuttings were my own articles. Coulson, however, had a record – and an audit trail – that the sleepiest cop in the world would have come across. Did they really not ask about it?

16.48 The BBC's Robert Peston on how the Ofcom statement has affected the markets:

BSkyB shares have now fallen more than 8%. Market agrees that Ofcom has put a pretty big obstacle in way of News Corp takeover of BSkyBless than a minute ago via web  Favorite  Retweet  ReplyRobert Peston
Peston

16.45 More from Rebekah Brooks' NOTW address, via Sky's Sophy Ridge:

Twitter@sophyridge: Rebekah says: you may be angry with me, I understand. But I'm angry at the people who did this and feel bitterly betrayed

16.44 Scottish police to examine dossier of 1,000 News of the World 'victims'

16.34 Sophy Ridge reports comments apparently made by Rebekah Brooks to News of the World staff. Brooks says she is staying on, pays tribute to "talented and untainted" staff.

Rebekah Brooks says the decision to close the NotW was taken because there was another two years plus ahead of troubleless than a minute ago via Twitter for iPhone  Favorite  Retweet Replysophyridge
sophyridge

16.22 STV report a statement from the Crown Office over Scottish phone hacking allegations. This follows a press conference from Tommy Sheridan's lawyer last night, relating to his perjury conviction involving the News of the World. Crown Office statement:

QuoteIn light of further emerging developments regarding the News of the World the Crown has asked Strathclyde Police to consider and assess specific claims of phone hacking and breaches of data protection in Scotland.

Strathclyde Police will review available information and will liaise with the Metropolitan Police in relation to any Scottish dimension to their current investigations and will thereafter report their findings to the Area Procurator Fiscal at Glasgow.

16.19 Breaking: Strathclyde Police are to investigate phone hacking claims in Scotland following the News of the World scandal.

16.16 Breaking: Rebekah Brooks told staff that advertisers had told News International the News of the World brand was now 'toxic', Sky News reports

16.15 Renault has become the first advertiser to extend its boycott to all News International titles i.e. The Times, the Sunday Times and the Sun. In a statement the company said: "As a result of the seriousness of the continued allegations of phone hacking by News of the World, Renault is reviewing its media advertising plans, pending the formal investigations. We currently have no advertising planned in any News International press titles in the immediate future."

16.12 Breaking: Rebekah Brooks apologises for 'operational issues' and tells staff that News International is trying to find them jobs elsewhere in the company

16.07 The Daily Star Sunday has issued a statement on today's police search of its office, insisting it related to Clive Goodman, the former NOTW royal reporter, and there was no suggestion he had behaved improperly during his freelance work for the Daily Star Sunday. Detectives were invited to attend its offices in central London and spent two hours there, taking away a disc containing a record of all Mr Goodman's computer activity, it said.

QuoteScotland Yard today sought the help of the Daily Star Sunday as they investigated allegations of police corruption involving the News of the World and its former royal editor Clive Goodman.

They confirmed they were similarly carrying out these routine checks at all places where Mr Goodman has worked as a freelance since he left the News of the World.

Officers formally requested any and all computer material that Goodman had been involved with during his occasional shifts as a freelance reporter at the paper over the last year to cross-check it with his activities in his News of the World role. They were particularly interested to check Mr Goodman's current email contacts to cross-match them with those from his time at the News of the World.

There was no suggestion whatsoever that Mr Goodman had acted improperly during his occasional shifts at the Daily Star Sunday, and we can confirm that no payments of any kind were ever made by the newspaper to Clive Goodman contacts.

16.05 Rebekah Brooks is due to be addressing staff at the News of the World right now. We'll update as soon as anything filters out.

15.55 Brian Paddick, the former deputy assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan police has told the Guardian: "If Andy Coulson has been arrested, it is inevitable that Rebekah Brooks will get an invitation from the police that she can not refuse."

15.50 Someone claiming to be a former News of the World journalist has been tweeting rumours about Rebekah Brooks' briefing. We cannot substantiate whether they are indeed a former NOTW employee. But here's their latest tweet:

Vibe I'm getting is she'll resign. More as I get it.less than a minute ago via web  Favorite  Retweet  ReplyExNOTWJournalist
ExNOTWJourno

15.29 Daily Star execs to address staff this afternoon on police hacking inquiry following police raid of the newspaper's office, Krishnan Guru-Murthy reports.

15.27 Ofcom has announced that it write to the police asking for "timescales of their investigations" - an indication that the regulator may be considering a probe into News Corporation but is unwilling to prejudice the ongoing police investigation

Their statement is in the form of a letter to John Whittingdale MP, chair of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee.

15.20 Clive Goodman's desk has been searched by police at the Daily Star Sunday offices, Sky reports.

15.11 News of the World staff have been told to attend 13th floor for the briefing. Security staff on the newsroom floor. Journalists found themselves locked out of their company email accounts, leading to an exodus to the pub, Sky News reports.

15.08 The Guardian's Dan Sabbagh says Rebekah Brooks is not expected to resign in her 4pm address to staff:

Brooks statement at 4pm is an update. "No, she's not going".less than a minute ago via web  Favorite  Retweet  ReplyDan Sabbagh
dansabbagh

14.22 Our business reporter Josie Ensor gives an update on BSKyB and News Corp shares:

Shares in BSkyB have recovered slightly in the past two hours, after falling significantly this morning during Cameron's press conference and as DCMS announced a decision on BSkyB would not be imminent.

The shares are back at 782.5p, from a 11am low of 764.5p - the lowest they've been since February, while News Corp shares were down 3 per cent to $16.90 after five minutes trade in New York.

14.54 More on these newest allegations, from the Guardian's Nick Davies and Amelia Hill:

OpinionPolice are investigating evidence that a News International executive may have deleted millions of emails from an internal archive, in an apparent attempt to obstruct Scotland Yard's inquiry into the phone-hacking scandal.

The archive is believed to have reached back to January 2005 revealing daily contact between News of the World editors, reporters and outsiders, including private investigators. The messages are potentially highly valuable both for the police and for the numerous public figures who are suing News International.

According to legal sources close to the police inquiry, a senior executive is believed to have deleted 'massive quantities' of the archive on two separate occasions, leaving only a small fraction to be disclosed. One of the alleged deletions is said to have been made at the end of January this year, just as Scotland Yard was launching Operation Weeting, its new inquiry into the affair.

The allegation directly contradicts repeated claims from News International that it is co-operating fully with police in order to expose its history of illegal news-gathering. It is likely to be seen as evidence that the company could not pass a 'fit and proper person' test for its proposed purchase of BSkyB.

14.41 John Prescott reacts to the Guardian's allegations about mass email deletion at the News of the World:

If a News International executive did delete millions of emails in January THIS YEAR there's no way Murdoch can takeover BSkyB now#NOTWless than a minute ago via Twitter for iPhone  Favorite  Retweet ReplyJohn Prescott
johnprescott

14.39 Met Police confirm that Daily Star offices are being searched.

14.35 Raf Sanchez has written a profile charting Coulson's career from Wapping to Downing Street:

Andy Coulson was once seen as David Cameron's link to the ordinary people of Britain. Today the former News of the World editor is the face of a phone hacking scandal that has made him an ongoing political liability for the Prime Minister.

14.31 Numerous charities have apparently rejected the News of the World's offer of free advertisements in this Sunday's final edition of the newspaper, Celina Ribeiro at Civil Society blogs:

OpinionI discovered that RNLI, RSPCA, The Brooke, Care International, Thames Reach, Action Aid, WaterAid, Salvation Army, VSO, RSPCA, Oxfam and Barnardo’s have all rejected the offer... I personally have yet to find a single charity that is planning to take up the offer.

14.28 Breaking: The Guardian reports police are investigating allegations that a News International executive may have deleted millions of emails from an internal archive, apparently in an attempt to obstruct the police's inquiry into the phone hacking scandal.

14.25 Rebekah Brooks to meet staff at the News of the World at 4pm today, Sky News reporting.

News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks leaves the offices of The News of The World in Wapping, London. GETTY

14.19 Breaking: Unconfirmed reports that the Daily Star offices have been raided by police. Clive Goodman, who was arrested this morning, currently works for the Daily Star Sunday.

14.10 Sky News' Sophy Ridge, until recently herself a News of the World reporter, says that News of the World staff are expecting to receive letters detailing a redundancy settlement later today - suggesting that any ntroduction of a 'Sun on Sunday', as has been rumoured, wouldn't necessarily help the News of the World's 200 staff.

14.05 Tom Baldwin, Ed Miliband's press chief is now trending on Twitter after Adam Boulton quizzed the Labour leader about what checks he took before appointing him. One question in particular attracting attention:

Adam Boulton on @skynewboulton : "Did you ask Tom Baldwin if he took cocaine and do you mind?"less than a minute ago via web  Favorite  Retweet  Replydavidhiggerson
davidhiggerson

14.00

PICTURESThe News of the World phone hacking scandal in pictures

13.52 More information on Andy Coulson's current whereabouts, via the Guardian's Shiv Malik:

Confirmed from various sources, Andy #Coulsonis being held at Lewisham Police station, Europe's largest with 96 custody cells #notw#NoWless than a minute ago via TweetDeck  Favorite  Retweet  Replyshiv malik
shivmalik1

13.41 The BBC's Robert Peston reports that Ofcom will rule on News Corp's 'fitness' to own BSkyB:

OpinionIt 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.

13.22 Clive Goodman wasn't given the luxury of a mid-morning arrest by appointment like Coulson. A police spokesperson says that the 53-year-old former royal editor, who currently works for the Daily Star Sunday, was held after a dawn swoop by officers at his home in Surrey. "At 6.11am officers from the MPS' Operation Weeting together with officers from Operation Elveden arrested a man on suspicion of corruption allegations in contravention of Section 1 of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1906. The man, aged 53, was arrested at a residential address in Surrey. A search is ongoing at this address." Goodman is not being held at the same police station as Coulson.

13.20 Police arriving to search Couson's home earlier today:

Police officers arrive at the home of Andy Coulson to search his house following his arrest on phone hacking and corruption allegations. NATIONAL

13.12 The Guardian are reporting their sources suggest that Coulson is being held at Lewisham police station. A Twitter user reckons they saw him en route there a couple of hours ago.

#NOTW just seen Coulson walking towards Lewisham police stationless than a minute ago via Twitter for BlackBerry®  Favorite Retweet  ReplyRosetta 
rosettastone57

13.04 Two arrests so far today. Sources last night suggested five journalists and executives could be arrested.

Andy Coulson and former jailed News of the World royal reporter, Clive Goodman. PA/GETTY

12.58 Tony Blair has weighed in for the first time, saying the phone-hacking scandal is "beyond disgusting" and urging a widespread debate on the media.

"Anyone who has been a political leader in the last four decades knows really that there is this huge debate that should take place about the interaction between the media and politics and the media and public life." He also had warm words for Ed Miliband, saying he showed "real leadership" during the scandal.

The former PM couldn't resist the opportunity to remind listeners at the Progress campaign group that he described the media as "feral beasts" as far back as 2007. And he apparently found time for a joke, The Times'Michael Savage reports:

Blair - in light of what happened it was gooood I got my first mobile the day I left office #notwless than a minute ago via Twitter for BlackBerry®  Favorite Retweet  ReplyMichael Savage
michaelsavage

12.55 The Times' Sean O'Neill says that Clive Goodman's home is now being searched too.

Twitter@TimesCrime: Clive Goodman is being held in connection with allegations of illegal payments to police officers; his home in Surrey is being searched

12.51 As our crime correspondent Mark Hughes points out, the Goodman arrest is over allegations of corruption - rather than phone hacking, which is what he was jailed for in 2007.

Clive Goodman was arrested early this morning. His arrest was in relation to illegal payments to police, NOT phone hacking.less than a minute ago via web  Favorite  Retweet  ReplyMark Hughes
Hughes_Mark

12.46 The Hacked Off campaign, which is being coordinated by the well-respected Media Standards Trust, has cautiously welcomed the PM's announcements this morning. But in one of several criticisms, they say that there is no need for the judge-led inquiry to wait until the police investigation has been completed.

Dr Evan Harris, a former Lib Dem MP and a member of the campaign, said: "We see no legal requirement for this to wait until after police enquiries and that to do so could damage its ability to get to the truth."

12.43 BREAKING: Former News of the World royal editor Clive Goodman, who was jailed in 2007 for phone hacking, has been arrested over allegations of corruption.

12.41 More on officers searching Coulson's house. Plain-clothed officers carrying evidence bags arrived at Coulson's detached home. One shouted "no comment" to reporters before informing them "nobody crosses this line" as he walked across the driveway. The officers entered the property on the leafy residential street after a woman wearing a dark suit answered the door.

12.37 Lining up to say 'I told you so' to Cameron, alongside Alastair Campbell (see 11.27), is John Prescott, who directs us to a letter he wrote two years ago:

This is the letter I sent to Cameron two years ago tomorrow warning him about Coulson. Never had a reply http://t.co/s6hbpNYless than a minute ago via web  Favorite  Retweet  ReplyJohn Prescott
johnprescott

12.34 "Has Rebekah Brooks been sacked yet?" asks a dedicated new website. In a word, no.

12.30 Ed Miliband's response to Cameron's press conference thismorning and called on him to delay the decision on BSkyB:

QuoteWe need the Prime Minister not to plough on regardless with the BSkyB decision which could allow Rupert Murdoch to take over even more of the media. What we saw from the Prime Minister this morning was someone trying to get to grips with the issue but I still don't think he understands the public anger out there.

We need people at News International, like Rebekah Brooks who was was editor of News of the World at the time of the allegations, to start taking responsibility.

12.25 Yvette Cooper on BBC News just now has been calling for Cameron to admit that it was a mistake to bring Coulson into Downing Street:

QuoteMy fear is that David Cameron is still talking about giving a second chance to somebody as if Andy Coulson is a 19-year-old who was late for work a few times.

12.22 Our crime reporter, Mark Hughes, is hearing that plain clothes officers have entered Coulson's house:

Being told that a load of "suits" have just gone into Coulson's house. Suggestion is that it is plain clothes detectives.less than a minute ago via web  Favorite  Retweet  ReplyMark Hughes
Hughes_Mark

12.13 Our chief sports reporter, Paul Kelso, says that Coulson has been arrested under the same law that was used to arrest Pakistani cricketers as a result of one of the News of the World's biggest recent scoops:

Coulson arrested under Corruption Act (1906), same ancient legislation used to charge Pakistan cricketers. Do lawyers do irony?less than a minute ago via Twitter for BlackBerry®  Favorite Retweet  ReplyPaul Kelso
pkelso

12.00 Midday update: the political focus has shifted very much this morning away from the wrongdoings at the News of the World, to the judgement of David Cameron in appointing Andy Coulson, who has now been arrested in connection with both phone hacking and corruption. Coulson edited the News of the World from 2003 to 2007 and was appointed as Cameron's communications director in May 2007. He resigned in January 2011.

Cameron faced repeated questioning on the subject at his press conference earlier and defended his decision. A sample of how the lobby journalists piled on the pressure:

Chris Ship, of ITV, asked Cameron to apologise for the appointment. Cameron did not apologise. The BBC's Nick Robinson challenged Cameron over his judgement, asking: "Why did you believe a man who had resigned over hacking at News of the World and why did you ignore those who warned you it was much more widespread?". The Times'Roland Watson challenged Cameron over what specific questions he asked of Coulson before hiring him.

Patrick Wintour of the Guardian then asked Cameron if he was saying he had had no warning and, when Cameron said he had not, asked him to verify whether his staff had been warned. This follows both Alan Rusbridger of the Guardian and Peter Oborne in the Telegraph saying that Cameron was warned specifically. Michael Crick of Newsnight then asked Cameron whether he had quizzed Coulson again in 2009 when the Guardian broke the story. Cameron was also asked about his recent contact with Coulson.

11.48 Sean O'Neill, The Times' crime editor, says the recent changes to bail conditions mean the Met Police must be very confident of their evidence on Coulson:

The Met has to be v confident in arresting Coulson - operating under changed "Hookway" bail conditions; 96 hours to charge or releaseless than a minute ago via web  Favorite  Retweet  ReplySean O'Neill
TimesCrime

11.30 James Murdoch was pictured arriving at News International's offices in Wapping this morning, with a copy of the Sun - open at the page showing David Cameron attending the Sun's Police Bravery Awards last night:

James Murdoch arrives at Wapping today AFP/GETTY

11.27 Alastair Campbell has blogged, claiming he tried to offer Cameron advice about the press and told him that "he would find himself enormously strengthened as Prime Minister if he went in there without worrying about press support". He claims:

QuoteIf he had listened to what I have been saying about the press for some time now, he would not be in this mess now, in which his judgement is being so loudly questioned.

11.24 Scotland Yard do not name Coulson but confirm the arrest of a 43-year-old man, by appointment at a south London police station this morning, in connection with allegations of corruption and phone hacking. He was held at 10.30am by detectives investigating Operation Elveden - the inquiry into payments to police by the News of the World - and Operation Weeting, the long-running hacking investigation.

He was held on suspicion of "conspiring to intercept communications" and "corruption allegations contrary to Section 1 of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1906".

11.22 What did Andy Coulson read this morning? Here's a newspaper delivery man outside his home earlier today:

A newspaper delivery man delivers newspapers to the home of Andy Coulson AFP/GETTY

11.13 Our crime correspondent, Mark Hughes, confirms that Coulson has been arrested over two separate matters: phone hacking, and illegal payments to police, which are being covered by two separate police operations, named Weeting and Elveden:

Coulson's arrest is by officers from Weeting and Elveden, meaning he will be questioned about phone hacking AND illegal payments to police.less than a minute ago via web  Favorite  Retweet  ReplyMark Hughes
Hughes_Mark

11.11 The full text of David Cameron's opening statement is now online.

11.09 Former Downing Street communications chief Andy Coulson has been arrested on suspicion of corruption and phone hacking.

11.07 BSkyB shares now down almost 6pc, meaning the markets believe there is less than a 30pc chance of Murdoch pulling off this deal, says the Telegraph's City Editor Richard Fletcher:

With BSkyB shares now down 5pc - at 770p - market appears to think there is less than a 30pc chance of Murdoch pulling off this dealless than a minute ago via web  Favorite  Retweet  ReplyRichard Fletcher
fletcherr


11.05 BREAKING: Andy Coulson has now been arrested, Sky News reports

10.49 The markets did not react well to Cameron's press conference, or to the announcement, at the same time, from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, that the go-ahead for the News Corp/BSkyB deal will take "some time". Shares in BSkyB fell sharply, from 805p at 9.30am down to 767p soon after Cameron finished speaking.

10.43 Channel 4's Krishnan Guru-Murthy points out that while Cameron faced intense grilling over Coulson, his early comments suggesting Rebekah Brooks should have gone helped him avoid more questioning about his links to her:

Have to say very skillful of Cameron to dump on Rebekah Brooks at the start - result is he hasn't been grilled about his contacts with herless than a minute ago via web  Favorite  Retweet  ReplyKrishnan Guru-Murthy
krishgm

10.36 A round-up of key points from the Cameron press conference:

• Cameron says Rebekah Brooks should go: "It has been reported that she offered her resignation over this and in this situation I would have taken it."
• Promises full judge-led inquiry into phone hacking and a second inquiry into press ethics.
• Faces intense scrutiny over appointment of Andy Coulson, insists he was not given specific warnings about appointing him but that he takes full responsibility for the appointment. Says Coulson is a "friend".

10.21 Cameron is challenged by a journalist about whether the Coulson appointment is his equivalent of Tony Blair's Iraq judgment moment. His response sounds rather Blairite to Paul Waugh:

Cameron sounds *very* much like Blair on his Iraq decision: "People will decide..."less than a minute ago via web  Favorite  Retweet  ReplyPaul Waugh
paulwaugh

10.19 Cameron says that Andy Coulson "became a friend and is a friend".

10.18 The three key pledges that Cameron made in his speech:

QuoteOne: action will be taken to get to the bottom of these specific revelations and allegations about phone hacking, about police investigations and all the rest of it.

Two: action will be taken to learn wider lessons for the future of the press in this country.

And three: that there will be clarity – real clarity – about how all this has come to pass, and the responsibilities we all have for the future

10.15 Cameron said Coulson was "doing a very good job" working for him but was finding it impossible because of all the rumours. Says at the time of Coulson's resignation he did not challenge him over whether there were more revelations to come.

10.09 Cameron challenged by the Guardian's Patrick Wintour over his denial that he was given any specific warnings about Coulson, following Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger's claims last night to have passed a specific warning to Cameron's aides. Cameron responds:


QuoteI wasn't given any specific actual information about Andy Coulson. The decision I took was that very bad things had happened at the News of the World, he had resigned, I had given him a second chance.

10.08 The Prime Minister says he is "champing at the bit" to get the inquiries set up. "This is black cloud that is hovering over the press, parliament, police."

10.06 Cameron repeating his defence of his appointment of Coulson: "I asked for assurances, he gave me assurances."

09.59 This from political journalist Paul Waugh:

Cameron reveals he commissioned a company to do a "basic background check" on Coulson. Basic indeed.less than a minute ago via web  Favorite  Retweet  ReplyPaul Waugh
paulwaugh

09.58 Cameron looks very troubled as faces intense questioning over hiring Coulson. Insists he thought it was right to give Coulson a second chance and that Coulson did nothing wrong in the time that he worked for Cameron.

09.50 Cameron takes full responsibility for hiring Andy Coulson, says Rebekah Brooks should go:

QuoteI decided to give him a second chance. The second chance didn't work out. The decision to hire him was mine and mine alone and I take full responsibility for it.

On the case of Rebekah Brooks... it has been reported that she offered her resignation over this and in this situation I would have taken it.

09.49 "We turned a blind eye to the need to sort this issue," says Cameron. Compares extent of scandal to MPs expenses. "You can downplay it and deny that the problem is deep, or you can accept seriousness of situation and deal with it"

09.47 Cameron says governments must follow proper legal procedures on BSkyB. Acknowledges he and other politicians have failed to "grip" this issue.

09.46 "The Press Complaints Commission has failed," Cameron says. Describes it as "ineffective and lacking in rigour" and may be institutionally conflicted. Inquiry will recommend what system looks like, but he assumes new regulatory body should be truly independent of the press and also of government.

09.45 Cameron says there will be a second inquiry, led by a panel of respected figures, to look at the culture, practices and ethics of the British press, how newspapers are regulated, and make recommendations for the future.

09.44 Cameron says a judge needs to be in charge of the inquiry into the phone hacking scandal. "The witnesses will be questioned by a judge, under oath, and no stone will be left unturned".

09.43 "It is clear that there have been some illegal and utterly unacceptable practices taking place at the News of the World and possibly elsewhere," says Cameron. Calls earlier police investigation "inadequate". Separate, specific allegation of officers taking payments has "full independent oversight".

09.40 Here comes Cameron. "The whole country has been shocked by the revelations about the phone hacking scandal," he says. Describes hacking Milly Dowler's phone as "truly despicable".

09.37 Telegraph sources confirm Andy Coulson not yet in police custody, contrary to earlier reports, but he is expected there later today.

09.30 David Cameron due to face the press to tackle tough questions over Coulson and his handling of the phone hacking scandal any minute now. The BBC's Nick Robinson says this will be "one of the defining moments of the Cameron premiership".

09.23 Update from The Times newsdesk who first said Coulson was at a police station this morning. Now saying he is not yet there:

UPDATE: Coulson is not yet in custody. Due to be questioned at West End Central Police Station this morning. #notwless than a minute ago via TweetDeck  Favorite  Retweet  ReplyDavid Rose
DRoseTimes

09.22 Aamer Anwar, Tommy Sheridan's solicitor, tells the BBC he has handed a dossier to police. He adds that if Coulson is found to have known about phone hacking then the jury in Sheridan's perjury trial would have been "blind sided".

09.18 Shares in rival newspaper groups on the rise. Trinity Mirror saw shares climb 10 per cent after News International yesterday announced the end of the News of the World, while the Daily Mail & General Trust (DMGT) was up 3 per cent.

09.15 The popular News of the World politics editor, David Wooding,says that just three people of the 200 News of the World staff who have lost their jobs were even employed by the newspaper when hacking took place. He told BBC Breakfast:

QuoteWe walked out with our heads held high last night because we have done nothing wrong

There are 200 people there, I think there are three who were there during the hacking time.

09.12 A round-up from Roy Greenslade over at the Guardian of what the papers say this morning.

09.10 Rumours abound that the News of the World could relaunch as the Sun on Sunday. Ed Miliband picked up on this earlier, when he said: "Closing the News of the World, possibly to reopen as the Sunday Sun, is not the answer. Instead those who were in charge must take responsibility for what happened. And politicians cannot be silent about it."

09.07 It emerged last night that Scotland Yard is considering the allegation that emails were also hacked. It was understood that officers had not yet been decided whether the matter would fall under Operation Weeting. Tom Watson MP told Channel 4 News that he believed that journalists had hacked computers, as well as phones.

09.00 At David Cameron's press conference at 09.30 he will face tough questions over the appointment of Andy Coulson, who is reportedly at a London police station now, and over the government's handling of the phone hacking scandal. Ed Miliband has called on him to apologise for his "appalling error of judgment" in appointing Coulson.

The Guardian's editor, Alan Rusbridger, disclosed on BBC Newsnight last night how he had warned Cameron to 'beware' over the appointment of Coulson.

OpinionWe knew that there was this big murder trial coming which involved one of the investigators that Coulson had used, who had been in jail for seven years.

It seemed reasonable to try and warn Cameron, before he took Coulson into 10 Downing Street, he should just ask some inquiries about this. I know I am not the only figure Fleet Street who got this warning through to Cameron to say 'beware'.

Nothing came back from Cameron. But I just wonder what sort of vetting had gone on because a lot of this stuff had been published in The Guardian in 2002.

Cameron was either very naive to accept Coulson's word or he didn't go through the proper vetting processes.

08.46 An update from the impact of the News of the World closure on News Corp share prices from Kamal Ahmed, the Sunday Telegraph business editor:

Twitter@kamalahmed1: BSkyB share price climbs a little this morning. Market thinks shutting News of the World makes News Corp/BSkyB deal more likely #notw

08.43 Andy Coulson is at a London police station, being interviewed this morning, The Times' assistant news editor David Rose tweets:

Andy Coulson is now at West End Central Police Station, on Saville Row, to answer questions over#hacking & paying police. #notwless than a minute ago via TweetDeck  Favorite  Retweet  ReplyDavid Rose
DRoseTimes

08.40 Key quotes from Ed Miliband's speech:

QuoteFor too long, political leaders have been too concerned about what people in the press would think and too fearful of speaking out about these issues. If one section of the media is allowed to grow so powerful that it becomes insulated from political criticism a nd scrutiny of its behaviour, the proper system of checks and balances breaks down and abuses of power are likely to follow. We must all bear responsibility for that. My party has not been immune from it. Nor has the current government and Prime Minister. All of this is difficult because of his personal relationships and the powerful forces here.

Putting it right for the prime minister means starting by the appalling error of judgement he made in hiring Andy Coulson. Apologising for bringing him in to the centre of the government machine. Coming clean about what conversations he had with Andy Coulson before and after his appointment about phone-hacking.

08.37 Here's James Murdoch explaining the decision to close the News of the World last night:

08.14 BBC political editor Nick Robinson says on the Today programme that Ed Miliband has "found his voice" over the phone hacking scandal.

OpinionHe found a cause and united a party that for a long time has been hugely frustrated at being seen to pay homage to the Murdoch empire.

08.07 The Telegraph's Kate Day is tweeting from Ed Miliband's press conference.

Twitter@kate_day . @Ed_Miliband "We must deal with immediate issues but use crisis of trust as catalyst"

08.05 James Kirkup, our Political Correspondent, writes this morning onhow Prince's knee led to fall of a giant:

Under Brooks and then Coulson, the News of the World was a paper at the peak of its powers, trampling over its competition with a string of classic tabloid exclusives: from David Beckham's alleged affair with his nanny to Prince Harry's drug-taking, it consistently landed the stories that shocked, titillated and scandalised.

Yet for all the agenda-setting front pages, it was two tiny, innocuous stories tucked away on an inside page that began the chain of events that destroyed the newspaper.

In November 2005, Clive Goodman, the paper's royal editor, wrote a brief story revealing that Prince William had strained a tendon in his knee and sought medical advice.

08.00 Ed Miliband is just about to begin a speech where he will call for the Press Complaints Commission to be scrapped. Most of his comments have been released ahead of time so here's what he's expected to say:

QuoteThe Press Complaints Commission has totally failed. It failed to get to the bottom of the allegations about what happened at News International in 2009.

Its chair admits she was lied to but could do nothing about it. It was established to be a watchdog. But it has been exposed as a toothless poodle. It is time to put it out of its misery. The PCC has not worked. We need a new watchdog.

A new body would need far greater independence of its board members from those it regulates, proper investigative powers, and an ability to enforce corrections.

07.57 Robert Winnett, the Telegraph's Deputy Political Editor has our lead story on the closure of the News of the World.

Britain's biggest-selling newspaper was shut down last night by the Murdoch family in a surprise move designed to bring an end to the phone hacking scandal engulfing the News of the World.

James Murdoch, the chairman of News International, which owns the newspaper, announced that the final edition would be published this weekend, citing the “inhuman” alleged behaviour of some staff as prompting the decision.

07.50 David Cameron is to hold a press conference on the News of the World phone hacking scandal at 09.30 this morning, Sky News reports.

07.40 Chris Bryant MP tells the BBC that News International executives "are not fit and proper people to be running a media organisation in this country".

07.37 Here's how America has been reacting to the news of the demise of the News of the World. The New York Times, which is locked in a readership battle with News Corp's Wall St Journal, ran the story on its front page:

OpinionThe scandal exposes a web of relationships between the Murdochs’ empire on the one hand and the police and politicians on the other. And it poses new challenges for Mr. Murdoch, a media tycoon who has at times seemed to hold much of Britain’s political establishment in thrall, cultivating connections to both Labour and Conservative governments and using the prospect of his support — or its withdrawal — to help drive his political agenda.

The Washington Post seems to be taking some satisfaction in Rupert Murdoch's distress:

OpinionMurdoch, 80, has weathered criticism and crises before, most notably the near-bankruptcy of News Corp, in 1990. But the phone-hacking scandal is easily the most dire public-relations debacle of the Australian-turned-American’s storied business career.

07.28 Louise Mensch, the Conservative MP and novelist, formerly known as Louise Bagshawe, tweets:

This also reminds me of early days of the MPs expenses scandal. Suggest rest of press don't get too pious on News Int. Think more to comeless than a minute ago via web  Favorite  Retweet  ReplyLouise Mensch
LouiseMensch

07.24 Over at Telegraph blogs, Daniel Hannan argues that the News of the World has been closed by market forces.

In the end, the News of the World was brought down by consumer pressure: a combination of the withdrawal of advertising and the likelihood of a popular boycott. Where lawsuits, libel actions, PCC rulings, government regulations and commercial rivals had failed, Adam Smith’s invisible hand succeeded.

07.19 Here's a brief history of the News of the World by our very own Conrad Quilty-Harper.

07.13 No comment from David Cameron yet, but the Sun - the News of the World's sister paper - has a picture of the Prime Minister attending their annual Police Bravery Awards at the Savoy last night.

07.01 Key developments in the past 24 hours:

• The News of the World is to close, with Sunday's edition the last in the newspaper's 168-year history, James Murdoch, chairman of News International, announced yesterday afternoon. James Murdoch said: “The good things the News of the World does have been sullied by behaviour that was wrong. Indeed, if recent allegations are true, it was inhuman and has no place in our company.”

• Andy Coulson, the News of the World's former editor and David Cameron's former Director of Communications, is expected to be arrested today. Coulson, who edited the paper from 2003 to 2007, is thought to have been contacted by Operation Weeting detectives and asked to present himself at a central London police station.

• The announcement followed the disclosure that Milly Dowler's phone was hacked and allegations that the relatives of British soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, victims of the July 7 terror attacks and other murder victims may have been hacked. The list of alleged victims continues to grow. Ministry of Defence sources said at least six families of dead soldiers had been contacted by the Metropolitan Police and Anthony Philipson, the father of the first soldier to die in Helmand, said he believed his son's email had been hacked. Detectives said there could be more than 4,000 victims.

• The News of the World's 200 staff will be laid off, in a move condemned by the National Union of Journalists.

• Rebekah Brooks, NI's chief executive, is keeping her job, despite reportedly having offered her resignation and widespread calls for her to go including from Ed Miliband, the Labour leader.

• Rupert Murdoch's News Corp's bid to take full control of British Sky Broadcasting is expected to be delayed until September. Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt is expected to make the call in the wake of a deluge of submissions as a result of the phone hacking scandal.

• News Corp has lost 2.6 per cent of its value, around £250m, since the phone hacking scandal roared back to life this week. Shares in British Sky Broadcasting are down around 5 per cent, or £666m.

• And here's how the Telegraph and other newspapers reported the developments on this morning's front pages, courtesy of Nick Sutton:

   

07.00 Good morning and welcome back to our live coverage of the News of the World phone hacking scandal. We will to bring you all the breaking news on the story, as it happens.

News of the World phone hacking: July 7, as it happened

News of the World phone hacking: July 6, as it happened

Milly Dowler News of the World phone hacking: July 5, as it happened
There is far more to this phone hacking caper than simply accessing voice-mail with passwords.  

Cell phones can be activated remotely, loaded with software that; takes control of the phone, records text messages, records calls, uses the inbuilt microphones as a listening device/bug, takes all GPS location data, address-book data, call logs, web-history, everything - current and historic - and transmit all, as and when required, to the hijacker and can receive new instructions.  

The cellular network transmitter/station local to a target phone can be replaced with a decoy transmitter that relays the signal on to the real network.  The phone must give the transmitter a code to prove who it is to the network but the network does not have to give the phone any code to prove it is the real network.  The phone can be told to transmit without encryption and the false cell transmitter can gain control of the phone in such a way, to download hijack software to take permanent covert control of the phone.  

A 'virus' can be sent to the phone to similarly take control of it or the phone can be infected if it is in the possession of the hacker for a very short time.  It is possible to hack a phone via it's wireless connection, blue-tooth or even via a text message. 

 This is the reason why the 'authorities' do not want phone intercept intelligence used in court.  Because they do not want to admit plainly what can be done and what is being done.  Perhaps this is why the police have been reluctant to further investigations into this matter.
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http://www.mobilespytool.com/

kiml
I was watching Sky News and an editor at the NOTW said that Yummy Mummy's drinking their fair trade coffee and their twitter campaign had as much to do with the closing of the NOTW than "events".

What a load of ludicrous and sanctimonious deluded and utterly evil rubbish.  In a sentence, this man summed up the arrogance of power and the problems at News Corp. They go deeper than the skin, this is DNA deep and needs to be completely rooted out.

People, citizens & readers, have the ability to communicate and care about their community, country and planet and peoples rights. How dare he slam them, slam us. They deserve to go.

Newspapers are dying, new media and convergence is changing everything and soon TV and papers will no longer be that relevant.
Football teams can stream their own matches, news comes from many sources and some even better and more trustworthy!

Politicians have been kissing their arses for far to long and have to stand up and clean out the muck.

But you were "watching Sky News" . If Murdoch is to be completely "rooted out" that needs a massive boycott of Murdoch media .
EnglishMadness

And so it begins.Endless enquires after enquires.It is going to be like a soap opera.Total coverage by the TV media.In the meantime, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.The fate of Gaddafi's invisible army in Libya.The financial destruction of the western world.The rise of Iran as the main protagonist and source of all anti western and pro Islamic extremism.The up and coming vote on a Palestinian state.The Israeli shenanigans with regard to an aid flotilla.And of course linking it all, the true dimension of the so called Arab spring.All of this will be gone from view.Whilst our media pontificate on unheard of individuals, what they did to obtain mostly stories of utter celebrity tripe.Their will be meetings , meetings about the meetings and all in all it will be the biggest pile of guff yet.To distract people and hide the truth.The truth that things are not good to say the least.

Have just read that Coulson was appointed the Tory party's Head of Communications  in 2007 on a salary of £475,000- have they got money to burn or what?
First of all, Rebekah (can't her parents' spell) Brooks obviously knows too much to be sacked, or have her purported resignation accepted, by News International.

Secondly, if Millie Dowler's phone was hacked into when she was missing and potential evidence destroyed, victims and families of the 7th July bombings and soldiers' families were all hacked; all of which id despicable, then what 'worse' revelations are to come?
Simple_Simon_says holmemoss
Could this all be a war between the Zionist and none Zionist, well banks are fighting, we are being starved of cash as the Zionist threaten to do once.

Has our whole world been bought down by a fight between Zionist and none Zionist Jews?

 
Can I suggest you don't waste your time posting on here as the hospital knows you have escaped and are looking for you.
wehappyfew
A word of friendly advice.

Take a leaf out of the Zionists' (that you are so obsessed with) playbook and learn to keep your cards close to your chest.

sweeney999

Can anyone enlighten me as to Cameron's history in giving non-Murdoch people a 'second chance' in life?

'Rebekah Brooks has "visibility" of worse criminal activity and says: "In a year you will understand why we made decision"'

In a year, Ms Brooks, you will be behind bars. Section 79 Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000.
taxfodder

Rebekah looks like one hard nosed bitch.
You would have to be,  to work for scunners like the Murdochs and have any hope of surviving.
Simple_Simon_says
What could be worst, not taking out contracts, if she says worst then it maybe she means worst for the government and not her so much, could it be brown paper bags to MP's again.

Who wants Murdoch taken down, is this part of the Rothschild/Rockefeller war over Israel.
Simple_Simon_says
that to.
I got a gut feeling that we may finally get to the truth about Dr David Kelly's
  "SUICIDE"

fourth5
Can you expand on that, El
Think about it.
Simple_Simon_says
yes, contract killing, if the US were behind it then she is an endangered species
Be good to hack into some NI voicemails now - find out what's really going on. Anyone know Mulcaire's number??
Simple_Simon_says
Is this what you mean Rebekah by "worse revelations to come" ? -http://www.veteranstoday.com/2... .

What proof is there that he is Israeli, if that is true then he is part on the Zionist movement, and that group is worse than Hitler.
No proof . I thought he was a Scottish Methodist . He does have a Jewish ancestor apparently . However what does Rebekah ( old Hebrew spelling ? ) mean ?
Artistic_expression
Previoust
That's interesting!

Social Media Reactions

Smartsengland
07/06/2011 09:55 AM
 From twitter
After News Of The World's lack of professionalism, is it time for a public inquiry into phone hacking allegations? http://t.co/5WN5jAj #notw
Math_Delahousse
07/06/2011 09:29 AM
 From twitter
Totalement effrayant : http://t.co/z8eJ6XZ #presse #GB #police
fernahnah
07/06/2011 08:54 AM
 From twitter
RT @Rob_Hull: RT @SimonNRicketts RT@TomChivers relatives of 7/7 victims 'had phones hacked' by News of the World, police believe http://t.co/BNY7tto
ISFProject
07/06/2011 08:25 AM
 From twitter
Milly Dowler News of the World phone hacking: live - Telegraph http://t.co/flqlyXd via @Telegraph
Ooopsydaisy
07/06/2011 08:06 AM
 From twitter
RT @SimonNRicketts: RT @TomChivers Bereaved relatives of 7/7 victims 'had phones hacked' by News of the World, police believe http://t.co/BNY7tto
Jbroks86
07/06/2011 03:19 AM
 From twitter
RT @Amy_Willis BREAKING reports that Rebekah Brooks will resign in the morning (via @TomChivers) http://t.co/zBwcJMP
jsdhenderson
07/06/2011 01:33 AM
 From twitter
RT @DavidCloke: Can they sink any lower? “Bereaved relatives of 7/7 victims 'had phones hacked' by News of the World, police believe http://t.co/4T5jTHz”
bjmiller4262
07/06/2011 12:25 AM
 From twitter
RT @bettycan_: So interesting!! http://tgr.ph/lsY8rr #saynotoNOTW
bettycan_
07/06/2011 12:23 AM
 From twitter
So interesting!! http://tgr.ph/lsY8rr #saynotoNOTW


Users' Comments (24)
User Image
Solidstone wrote:
I don't know why the big debate. Put them in jail, the lot of them who are involved! If it was the ordinary man on the street there would be no debate!

On the other side of the coin, surely a chance for Trinity Mirror to move in on the territory here now the NOW is going and the backlash The Sun may feel over all this!
8/7/2011 7:49 AM BST on dailyrecord.co.uk
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snowy2001 wrote:
As usual it's the ordinary workers that will suffer, while those at the top protect their own positions.
8/7/2011 8:08 AM BST on dailyrecord.co.uk
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Cedric wrote:
In the last few days the name 'The Sun' has been registered as a name for a sunday newspaper. The end of the News of the World could be nothing more than an exercise on paper.

8/7/2011 8:15 AM BST on dailyrecord.co.uk
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Good riddance to bad rubbish, the tabloids have been doing their best to dumb down Scotland for years... wait a minute sounds like the DR... if you think The Mirror newspapers aren't going to be implicated then welcome to Cloud Cukoo land (mid wipe your feet!)
8/7/2011 8:20 AM BST on dailyrecord.co.uk
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AndyA wrote:
I don't think anybody is buying this. They were going to shut the News of the World anyway. This means he cuts out all the double jobs in both papers, like HR and admin. He saves a fortune, his prodigy Wade keeps here job and the unions can't complain because it is done on the back of a scandal. This could not have worked out better for News International. Wade needs to be fired then arrested, the BSB deal has to be killed and Murdoch needs to be fined to billions to teach him a lesson. Will any of that happen, not a chance!
8/7/2011 8:25 AM BST on dailyrecord.co.uk
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Rebus1 wrote:
Has anybody noticed the uncanny resemblance with Rebekah Brooks and Carries mum in the movie.

Aside from that she should have walked a long time ago, she didnae know aye right she sanctioned it.
She has something on Cameron her buddy, right back to the fitba.
8/7/2011 8:27 AM BST on dailyrecord.co.uk
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There are disturbing suggestions that the closure of the NOTW will allow Murdoch's people to destroy documents and other evidence.
8/7/2011 8:34 AM BST on dailyrecord.co.uk
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User Image
Sorry Daily Record - you are ALL guilty by association.

You are meant to bring us news and facts - you will have been well aware of Murdochs and Brooks illegal regime and yet you hoisted Sheridan by his own petard.

Poor show Daily Record - no more will we believe what you print - yesterday was the last day I bought a copy of your comic.

It is a black day for Scottish meeja since Scottish meeja did nothing to oust Murdoch and Brooks.
8/7/2011 8:49 AM BST on dailyrecord.co.uk
Permalink

British cell phone hacking scandal escalates: U.K. companies are pulling ads from the News of the World, a British tabloid caught up in scandal after allegations were made that its employees hacked into the cell phone of murdered schoolgirls and the families of London terror victims.


James Murdoch may face jail for News of the World hacking scandal
Published: Friday, Jul 8, 2011, 14:37 IST
Place: London | Agency: ANI

Readers comment: Cameron is too stupid and arrogant  to say he made a mistake or say sorry.

Media scion James Murdoch may face jail for News of the World engineered phone hacking scandal.

Former editor of News of the World Andy Coulson also faces questioning by the metropolitan police on suspicion that he led the hacking of voice mail messages by the newspaper, The Age reports.

Former British home secretary Alan Johnson suggested that Murdoch's announcement of admission that could expose him to prosecution

Murdoch, News International's chairman, is quoted in a press release as admitting that he personally and wrongly approved out of court settlements to phone-hacking victims.

The constant spew of allegations about News of the World's use of phone hacking reached fever pitch this week, forcing Murdoch to announce newspaper's closure.

News of the World had confessed to and apologised for hacking the message banks of several celebrities, sports identities and politicians two months ago.

There was widespread condemnation of actions taken by the newspaper. But, this week, it was alleged that the paper had hacked the phone of a murdered British teenager and deleted some messages in order to retrieve others - in doing so gave the girl's tortured parents some cause for hope that she was still alive and hindering police investigations.

In response to the scandal engulfing his media empire, Rupert Murdoch ordered the shut down of the News of the World which is Britain's biggest-selling Sunday newspaper with a circulation of over 2.6 million.

http://www.dnaindia.com/world/report_james-murdoch-may-face-jail-for-news-of-the-world-hacking-scandal_1563629

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/tabloid-tricks-as-news-of-the-world-burns-the-rest-of-britains-media-feel-the-heat/2011/07/08/gIQAVMw23H_story.html

Tabloid tricks: As News of the World burns, the rest of Britain’s media feel the heat

LONDON — As Britain’s most powerful Sunday newspaper crashes and burns, newsrooms across London are feeling the heat.

Media watchers and former journalists say the practices that felled the News of the World were common across the industry in Britain. With 200 tabloid journalists out of work, two people sentenced to jail, and a former editor-in-chief under arrest, those behind the headlines are wondering whether they’ll soon be in them.
“It’s a warning for Fleet Street,” public relations guru Max Clifford said Friday, using the nickname for the national newspaper industry. “A lot of journalists were up to similar things for many, many years.”

Clifford should know. Besides being one of the nation’s best-connected media operators, he was also among the tabloid phone hacking scandal’s most prominent victims.

It was his hefty settlement with the News of the World — a reported $1.6 million (1 million pounds) — that whet other lawyers’ appetites for suing the paper over the practice. That litigation turned up revelations so damaging they proved fatal.

Newsrooms across the country are waiting to see if their publication could be next. Prime Minister David Cameron hinted more heads would roll, saying at a hastily called news conference that there had been “some illegal and utterly unacceptable practices at the News of the World and possibly elsewhere.”

Within hours, Scotland Yard was at the central London offices of the Daily Star Sunday — a downmarket tabloid with a circulation of about 300,000. They walked away with a disc full of computer material relating to Clive Goodman, the former News of the World journalist who served a jail term in 2007 for hacking into the phones of royal aides, setting the scandal in motion.

Goodman was arrested again Friday, this time over allegations he bribed police for scoops. Former News of the World Editor and Downing Street insider Andy Coulson was also taken into custody. Both were released on bail.

The Daily Star Sunday said in a statement that it had never carried “any story that might have stemmed from phone hacking.”

But the cloud of suspicion hangs heavily over many tabloids.

Fleet Street reporters have long been known for stopping at almost nothing to score a scoop, whether it be rooting through trash cans, fast-talking their way past police or handing out checks for hard-to-get interviews.

In one celebrated case, the Daily Mirror — once edited by CNN star Piers Morgan — sent a reporter undercover to work at Buckingham Palace.

In another, News of the World reporter Mazhar Mahmood, posing as a Middle Eastern potentate dubbed the “Fake Sheik,” tricked scores of prominent figures, including sports stars and royalty, into embarrassing indiscretions.

These included getting Princess Michael of Kent to vent some sensational opinions, including an assertion in 2005 that Princess Diana was “bitter” and “nasty.” In 2001, the Fake Sheik drew indiscreet comments from Sophie, Duchess of Wessex, the wife of Prince Edward, that ended her public relations career.
( Oli Scarff, Pool, file / Associated Press ) - FILE - In this April 13, 2010 file photo, Andy Coulson, formerly editor of the tabloid News of the World, and later David Cameron’s director of communications, speaks on a mobile phone in London. London police on Friday, July 8, 2011, arrested Andy Coulson, the former News of the World

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/jul/08/rebekah-brooks-confronted-news-of-the-world-staff

Rebekah Brooks confronted by furious News of the World staff
Former editor, accused of arrogance by one employee, said staff would know in 12 months time why she had not resigned
James Robinson and Mark Sweney
guardian.co.uk,     Friday 8 July 2011 20.34 BST
Article history


Rebekah Brooks has been accused of arrogance during a NoW staff meeting. Photograph: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images
Rebekah Brooks was confronted by angry News of the World staff on Friday when she updated them on the decision to close the title and said that advertisers thought it was a "toxic" brand.

Brooks, who has been removed from a new management committee set up to handle the fallout from the phone-hacking affair by the paper's owner, News International, was accused of arrogance by one employee.

The former News of the World editor, who began her career as a trainee on the title, told the paper's 200 staff: "This is not exactly the best time in my life" but claimed the paper had become toxic and said advertisers would not support it.

The unnamed employee said: "You're calling our newspaper toxic. There is an arrogance there that you'd think we'd want to work for you again." He was applauded as he spoke.

Brooks said: "We know there's no toxicity attached to you guys in the room." She added that everyone at the paper had been betrayed by people they had trusted.

Brooks told staff – many of whom had not been able to use the internet or log on to their computers after arriving for work at the company's London offices – that the title would have faced two years of upheaval had it remained open, given the forthcoming public inquiries into press standards and the original police investigation into phone hacking.

She said staff would be found jobs elsewhere in the organisation if possible.

Brooks claimed she wanted to remain as chief executive of the company because she was acting as a "lighting conductor" for the paper's critics in the wake of the phone-hacking affair.

She spoke of the "team spirit" displayed when she launched the controversial "Sarah's Law" campaign under her own editorship following the murder of Sarah Payne at the hands of a convicted paedophile.

In one heated exchange, Brooks was asked directly why she hadn't resigned. She replied that staff would understand why she had not done so in 12 months' time, but added that she understood why people where angry with her.

In an email to all News International staff, Brooks repeated some of what she had told employees in her address in the News of the World newsroom on the second floor of News International's new offices. The email ended by saying: "The News of the World staff have the toughest and most important job of all. I know they will produce a final issue that will make us all proud."

She also made clear in the email that News International chairman James Murdoch had instructed the management and standards committee – set up last month to handle the company's response to the hacking scandal – to report directly to two directors at News Corp, its ultimate parent company.

It also emerged that Scotland Yard had requested that no News of the World journalist be allowed back into the building after this week's paper is produced on Saturday without being accompanied by security.

It is understood that News International resisted that request, but as staff worked on the final edition, they were also scrambling to save contact details stored on computers in the knowledge they would be lost if they failed to do so.

After staff were told on Thursday that this Sunday's edition would be its last, the TV sets were turned off and the lights went out at the News of the World's newsroom on the second floor of News International office block in London .

Soon after, executives began to make plans to ensure the paper appears. The Sun's news editor was ordered to cut short his holiday and come into the office this morning to provide cover in case News of the World journalists didn't report for work.

The National Union of Journalists has been "inundated" with calls from staff at News International titles asking about membership and rights, despite the fact the company doesn't recognise the NUJ.

A News International insider said staff could see the camera crews gathered outside the entrance to the paper's old building across the road in Wapping. He said there had been rumours the paper might not publish for one week only, or carry no advertising, but "nothing like this".

He said that when "[the Sun editor] Dominic [Mohan] came out of his office and addressed everyone [on Thursday afternoon], his voice was cracking as he told us the news, he was completely shell-shocked like he couldn't believe what he'd just been told".

The insider added: "The whole building feels quite funereal really. It has been pretty quiet and after the huge news of yesterday everyone seems to be keeping their heads down. It is a very weird atmosphere. The issue really is what happens and how it will be after Sunday when the last News of the World is run. Everyone wants to know what is going on."

The News of the World's political editor, Ian Kirkby, told Sky News: "We are committing to the editor, if nothing else. Colin Myler ... deserves a decent farewell."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/jul/08/rebekah-brooks-confronted-news-of-the-world-staff
Media
Rebekah Brooks ·     Phone hacking ·     News of the World ·     Newspapers & magazines ·     National newspapers · Newspapers

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/phone-hacking/8627000/News-of-the-World-phone-hacking-scandal-hits-No.-10.html

News of the World phone hacking scandal hits No. 10
David Cameron struggled to distance himself from the News of the World hacking scandal after he faced questions over his decision to hire Andy Coulson as his director of communications.


Mr Cameron’s intervention came 24 hours after the announcement that the News of the World would close, and on the day detectives arrested both Mr Coulson and a former reporter at the News of the World over allegations of phone hacking and illegal payments to police


In a press conference minutes before Mr Coulson, the paper’s former editor, was arrested by police, the Prime Minister repeatedly stressed that the appointment was “his responsibility” but declined to apologise or acknowledge a mistake had been made.
He admitted that the relationship between politicians and the media had become too close.
He said the current system of press regulation needed to be overhauled and ann-ounced two inquiries, one into phone hacking and one into the conduct of the media.
Mr Cameron’s intervention came 24 hours after the announcement that the News of the World would close, and on the day detectives arrested both Mr Coulson and a former reporter at the News of the World over allegations of phone hacking and illegal payments to police.
Mr Coulson was editor when most of the alleged hacking is said to have taken place but was given a “second chance” with the job for Mr Cameron.
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In other developments:
:: The Prime Minister said that James Murdoch, the chairman of News International and the son of Rupert Murdoch, had “questions to answer” after he admitted making mistakes in his handling of the scandal. He also indicated that Rebekah Brooks, the chief executive of News International and also a friend, should have resigned.
:: Media regulators suggested they may intervene to stop BSkyB being run by News Corp, the Murdoch family’s main company, on the grounds that the directors are not “fit and proper”.
:: Mrs Brooks told staff at the paper that it had to be shut down because worse revelations about its activities were imminent. She was stripped of her role investigating the scandal.
:: Ed Miliband, the Labour leader, faced growing questions over his hiring of a former News International employee accused of wrongdoing, which he denies.
Mr Cameron sought to seize control of the scandal which has dominated the news agenda for a week. The Prime Minister indicated that the alleged criminality at the newspaper would lead to major changes in the entire media industry.
“Because party leaders were so keen to win the support of newspapers we turned a blind eye to the need to sort this issue, get on top of the bad practices, to change the way our newspapers are regulated,” he said.
The Prime Minister described the News of the World scandal as a “wake-up call”, adding: “Over the decades, on the watch of both Labour leaders and Conservative leaders, politicians and the press have spent time courting support, not confronting the problems.
“Well, it’s on my watch that the music has stopped and I’m saying, loud and clear — things have got to change.”
Mr Cameron’s pledge to intervene in the crisis has been criticised by opposition politicians because of his decision to bring Mr Coulson into Downing Street.
He repeatedly refused to apologise for that decision, saying he had received “assurances” from Mr Coulson that he had no knowledge of phone hacking at the newspaper.
Asked at a press conference if he had “screwed up” by employing Mr Coulson in the wake of his resignation from journalism, Mr Cameron said: “People will decide.” He added: “I decided to give him a second chance but the second chance didn’t work. The decision to hire him was mine and mine alone.”
He said a company had run a “basic background check” on Mr Coulson before he was employed while the Tories were in opposition. He had received no “actionable” information about the former editor and was unaware of “specific” warnings.
Mr Coulson resigned from Downing Street in January after News International passed new evidence to the police on alleged phone hacking. Mr Cameron said he had spoken to and met Mr Coulson since then. He said: “I think he did his job for me in a very effective way. He became a friend and he is a friend.”
Downing Street sources said that the Prime Minister was currently giving Mr Coulson the “benefit of the doubt” until any evidence emerged proving that the assurances he gave were misleading.
Mr Miliband demanded that Mr Cameron apologise for the decision. The Labour leader said: “His wholly unconvincing answers of what he knew and when he knew it about Mr Coulson’s activities undermine his ability to lead the change that Britain needs.”
Mr Cameron said that a reported resignation offer from Mrs Brooks, also a good friend, should have been accepted.
Comments
What Cameron has done is too little too late. He has reacted after events forced him to react rather than pro-actively dealing with the problem.

He is fatally flawed and I have not the slightest confidence in yet more useless "inquiries" given what we saw on WMD and cliamtegate.

There is more to to this phone-hacking caper than just accessing voice-mail-boxes with passwords. 

To say the truth you cant trust anybody inouer Country Cameron, Police and some of the the Papers we live in the Europien Country was has the most coraptien and lies. I dont trust nobody, in this Country Money talks and Cameron has got a lot to ancer for what a shumble.

Tabloid journalists are the scum of the earth.  Bottom feeders, always seeking to stir up muck.  Their editors try to influence public opinion, usually for the worse - such as the papers attacks on the royal family.  The NOWT should have been closed years ago.

Cameron and other politicians need to be very careful about dealing with such deplorable people, if they must do so.

DC's looking like a right fool. Lucky for him that Labour has a socket puppet in charge. Anyone with a brain could take our Dave to the cleaners.


My Google Voice number has been awfully quiet lately!  Those mysterious unknown Satellite phone numbers and overseas hucksters just seemed to get awfully quiet in the past week. 

Coincidence?

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/22376/end-of-the-world-for-news-of-the-world

End of the world for News of the World
12:43 am | Saturday, July 9th, 2011

LONDON—The Murdoch media empire has unexpectedly jettisoned the News of the World after a public backlash over the illegal guerrilla tactics it used to expose the rich, the famous and the royal and remain Britain’s best-selling Sunday newspaper.
The abrupt decision on Thursday stunned the paper’s staff of 200, shocked the world’s most competitive news town and ignited speculation that Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. plans to rebrand the tabloid under a new name in a bid to prevent a phone-hacking scandal from wrecking its bid for a far more lucrative television deal.
“This Sunday will be the last issue of the News of the World,” James Murdoch, son of the media magnate, announced in a memo to staff.
Mushrooming allegations of immoral and criminal behavior at the paper—including bribing police officers for information, hacking into the voice mail of murdered schoolgirls’ families and targeting the phones of the relatives of soldiers killed in Afghanistan and the victims of the London transit attacks—cast a dark cloud over News Corp.’s multibillion-dollar plan to take full ownership of British Sky Broadcasting, an operation far more valuable than all of Murdoch’s British newspapers.
Public outrage
Faced with growing public outrage, political condemnation and fleeing advertisers, Murdoch stopped the presses on the 168-year-old newspaper, whose lurid scoops have ranged from Sarah Ferguson’s claims she could provide access to ex-husband Prince Andrew to motor racing chief Max Mosley’s penchant for sadomasochism.
James Murdoch said all revenue from the final issue, which will carry no ads, would go to “good causes.” The paper has been hemorrhaging advertisers since the phone-hacking scandal escalated this week, with companies including automakers Ford and Vauxhall, grocery chain J. Sainsbury and pharmacy chain Boots pulling ads from the paper.
Police say they are examining 4,000 names of people who may have been targeted by the tabloid, which sells about 2.7 million copies a week.
Hacking admitted
The paper has acknowledged hacking into the messages of politicians, celebrities and royal aides but maintained for years the transgressions were confined to a few rogue staff. A reporter and a private investigator working for the paper were jailed for hacking in 2007.
But in recent days the allegations have expanded to take in the phone messages of 13-year-old Milly Dowler, who disappeared in 2002 and was later found murdered, as well as the families of two other missing schoolgirls.
James Murdoch said if the allegations were true, “it was inhuman and has no place in our company.”
“Wrongdoers turned a good newsroom bad,” he said, “and this was not fully understood or adequately pursued.”
“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 organizations—many of whom are long-term friends and partners—that improve life in Britain and are devoted to treating others with dignity,” he said.
Shock waves
The announcement sent shock waves across the British media establishment, and among News of the World staff. Features editor Jules Stenson said the news was met with gasps and some tears.
“No one had any inkling,” he told reporters outside the company’s London headquarters. “There was no lynch mob mentality, there was just a very shocked acceptance of the decision.”
Some suspected shutting the paper was a ploy to salvage Murdoch’s British media empire as well as the job of Rebekah Brooks, the trusted chief executive of his British news operation.
“News Corp. has taken a bold decision to stop printing the News of the World and close the title. Mr. Murdoch was clearly not willing to jeopardize his bid for BSkyB,” said markets analyst Louise Cooper of BGC Partners in London. “Murdoch has shown what a brilliant operator he really is.”
‘Cynical decision’
Graham Foulkes, whose 22-year-old son David was one of the 52 people killed in the 2005 London transit bombings—and who suspects his phone may have been hacked—said the paper’s closure was “a cynical decision” by Murdoch.
“The only language (Rupert) Murdoch speaks is the dollar and this must have hit him hard,” Foulkes said.
The 43-year-old Brooks, editor of News of the World at the time of the eavesdropping allegations, has maintained she did not know about it. James Murdoch said he was “satisfied she neither had knowledge of nor directed” the phone hacking.
News International spokesperson Daisy Dunlop denied rumors that The Sun, the News of The World’s sister paper that publishes Monday through Saturday, would now become a seven-day operation. Still, she seemed to leave room for further developments.
“It’s not true at the moment,” she said.
Same culture
According to online records, an unnamed UK individual on Tuesday bought up the rights to the domain name “sunonsunday.co.uk.”
Former Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, one of the tabloid’s alleged hacking victims, said closing the paper would not resolve the problems at News International.
“Cutting off the arm doesn’t mean to say you’ve solved it,” he said. “There is still the body and the head and the same culture and that’s why there has to be a public inquiry into it. I cannot accept for a moment that at the top of the company, Mr. Murdoch—and certainly Rebekah Brooks—didn’t know what was going on.”
But Charlie Beckett, director of the POLIS media institute at the London School of Economics, said it was a bold move aimed at resolving a situation that had gotten out of control.
The long-running hacking saga exploded on  Monday with the revelation that the News of the World had hacked into Milly Dowler’s voice mail soon after her 2002 disappearance and deleted some messages, giving her parents and police false hope the girl was still alive and hampering their investigation. Her body was discovered months later. AP

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/former-tabloid-editor-arrested-pm-cameron-promises-full-investigation/2011/07/08/gIQAlujP3H_story.html

Cameron vows inquiry into tabloid scandal

By Karla Adam and William Booth, Published: July 8 | Updated: Saturday, July 9, 5:22 AM
LONDON — The government of Prime Minister David Cameron was engulfed in a rapidly spreading scandal that saw his former spokesman arrested on allegations that when he served as top editor of Britain’s most popular tabloid newspaper his staff hacked into cellphone accounts and bribed police for confidential information.

Just a year into office, Cameron fought to assure angry Britons that he was as appalled as they were by allegations that one of Rupert Murdoch’s flagship newspapers had snooped on ordinary citizens -- including victims of the London transit bombings in 2005 -- using the tabloid “dark arts.”
The Conservative Party leader announced two separate inquiries into the revelations, saying “no stone will be left unturned” and “the investigation will go where it goes.”

At a press conference, reporters asked Cameron how he could have hired a former tabloid editor as the public face of his administration, who resigned in January after persistent revelations that his former newspaper had engaged in widespread phone hacking.

The Friday arrest of Andy Coulson, former spokesman for 10 Downing Street, was a stunning development in a fast-moving story that has rocked the British media and political world. It follows the announcement Thursday that the salacious News of the World will publish its final edition on Sunday, after 168 years in print.

Leaving a south London police station late Friday night, Coulson, 43, told a scrum of jostling reporters that there was a lot he wanted to say “but I can’t.”

Coulson was editor of the News of the World when the newspaper allegedly engaged in illegal hacking of the cellphones and voice mails of aides to the royal family, celebrities, politicians and relatives grieving from the loss of loved ones from the London transit bombing in 2005.

In his remarks, the prime minister said he remained a loyal friend of Coulson but promised to support both the police investigation and others that seek to learn how widespread was the illegal eavesdropping. Police sources say as many as 4,000 mobile phone accounts could have been hacked.

Cameron also faced questions about his ties to James Murdoch, and his father, Rupert, whose newspapers loom large in British politics. The Murdoch’s News Corp is also trying to purchase the remaining 60 percent of the United Kingdom’s most popular pay-TV satellite channel, a move which requires government approval.

Coulson has denied any knowledge of the hacking. Top executives at Murdoch’s News Corp have described the illegal snooping as the work of a rogue reporter and a private investigator.

That reporter is Clive Goodman, 53, the former News of the World royal reporter, who was arrested again on Friday over “allegations of corruption.” Goodman was jailed in 2007 after he pleaded guilty to hacking into private phone messages in connection with pursuing stories about the British monarchy.

The scandal emerged after Goodman wrote stories in 2005 about Prince William that contained details about the young royal arranging a meeting with his knee surgeon – something known to very few people. The articles raised alarm bells in the royal household.
Prime Minister David Cameron's former communications chief was arrested Friday, the latest to be swept up by Britain's rapidly evolving media scandal over phone hacking and bribing police. (July 8)
Phone hacking scandal closes News of the World
British phone hacking scandal widens
UK journalist arrested in widening phone hacking scandal
Murdoch's News International admits role in phone-hacking scandal

http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/murdochs-news-international-admits-role-in-phone-hacking-scandal/2011/04/08/AFpNkh4C_story.html

Murdoch’s News International admits role in phone-hacking scandal

Rupert Murdoch’s powerful U.K. news arm reversed course and admitted its role Friday in a long-running phone-hacking scandal that has thrown into question the prime minister’s judgment and threatened Murdoch’s biggest-ever deal.

News International, parent company of Britain’s top-selling News of the World tabloid, had vigorously denied that it knew journalists were hacking the phones of politicians, celebrities and members of the royal family, blaming a handful of “rogue reporters” for the scandal.
But in a major turnaround for the company, News International — part of Murdoch’s global media empire News Corp. — said Friday it would admit liability and pay compensation in eight cases — although many more people believe they were targeted.

Those who will receive an “unreserved apology” from the group include actress Sienna Miller and politician Tessa Jowell.

The scandal brought into question the judgment of Prime Minister David Cameron, who appointed former News of the World editor Andy Coulson as his head of communications. Coulson ran the paper at the time of the hacking scandal.

Although Coulson has denied knowledge of the hacking scandal, he was forced to resign as Cameron’s media manager this year, saying the focus on the controversy was too great a distraction.

Analysts said the move was an attempt to limit potential financial costs as News Corp. tries to complete its planned $14 billion purchase of pay-TV operator BSkyB — a deal that has angered other British news operators who fear the group’s growing influence over Britain’s media.

“Following an extensive internal investigation and disclosures through civil legal cases, News International has decided to approach some civil litigants with an unreserved apology and an admission of liability,” it said in a statement.

“We have also asked our lawyers to establish a compensation scheme with a view to dealing with justifiable claims fairly and efficiently. . . . We will, however, continue to contest cases that we believe are without merit or where we are not responsible.”

Lawyer Mark Lewis of Taylor Hampton Solicitors, which represents four individuals suing the News of the World — including horse jockey Kieren Fallon — said that he had yet to receive any settlement offers but welcomed the development.

“This is a good stab in the right direction, but it is a long way from being over,” he said. “There are people who don’t even know at this stage that they are victims.”

“This is being driven by business considerations because clearly the reputational damage is just mounting,” media consultant Steve Hewlett said. “The price that they will pay for admitting liability is way lower than the consequences of fighting on all fronts.”

A spokesman for Britain’s Department of Media said the admission would not affect News Corp.’s planned takeover of BSkyB, which is set to be given the green light in the next few weeks by Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/uk-journalist-arrested-in-widening-phone-hacking-scandal-turned-herself-in-at-police-station/2011/06/27/AGBRYgnH_s

UK journalist arrested in widening phone hacking scandal; turned herself in at police station

By Associated Press, Published: June 28
LONDON — Britain’s Press Association news agency said Monday one of its reporters was arrested by detectives investigating a widening phone hacking scandal.

Scotland Yard said that detectives questioned the 34-year-old on suspicion of intercepting private communications, after she turned herself in at a central London police station. She was released on bail hours later.
Press Association identified the journalist as royal reporter Laura Elston, but did not provide any more details.

Dozens of celebrities and public figures in Britain have claimed their phones were hacked by reporters, but so far the scandal has only involved the Rupert Murdoch-owned The News of the World tabloid newspaper.

In 2007, the tabloid’s former royal reporter Clive Goodman and private detective Glenn Mulcaire were jailed for intercepting messages from members of the royal household.

Three of the paper’s journalists have been arrested and questioned since police reopened a probe into its practices, but no new charges have been brought.

The paper’s owners have apologized, admitted wrongdoing and reached cash settlements with some of the victims, including actress Sienna Miller.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/more-alleged-victims-in-phone-hacking-by-uk-tabloid-pm-cameron-urges-new-investigation/2011/07/06/

Report: tabloid’s phone hacker targeted relatives of dead soldiers

By Associated Press, Published: July 6 | Updated: Thursday, July 7, 5:18 PM
LONDON — A published report says that the telephone numbers of relatives of dead military personnel have been found in files amassed by a detective employed by a Sunday tabloid newspaper.

The Daily Telegraph’s report in Thursday’s edition could not be independently verified, and the newspaper did not identify the source of its information. There was no indication whether any of those telephones had been hacked.
The BBC reported that relatives of some soldiers say they have not been contacted by police, but that a newspaper had asked them about possible hacking.

The News of the World, the newspaper which is the focus of a criminal investigation, issued a statement saying it would be “absolutely appalled and horrified” if there was any truth in the allegation.

British Prime Minister David Cameron said Tuesday he was deeply shocked by charges that a tabloid newspaper hacked into the phone mail of an abducted teenage girl and may have hampered the investigation into her disappearance. (July 5)

Posted at 12:26 PM ET, 06/07/2011
Sienna Miller receives compensation in phone hacking case
By Jen Chaney


Sienna Miller now has that phone hacking case behind her.

Sienna Miller has settled her claim against the tabloid News of the World in a phone hacking case and will receive 100,000 pounds in compensation.

Reuters reports that Miller — star of “Factory Girl,” “Alfie” and a lengthy, rocky relationship with Jude Law — also was granted an injunction that will prevent further illegal access to her voicemails and publication of personal information.

Miller is one of several high-profile individuals who have pursued lawsuits — including Law, who filed a test case — against News Group Newspapers, the News International subsidiary that owns News of the World, for hacking into their phones and using information obtained from personal voice mails in published articles.

According to the Financial Times, Miller changed her cell phone number three times in three months when she became concerned that someone was tapping into her phone. Articles containing private information about Miller that was allegedly obtained via hacking were published in the News of the World back in 2005 and 2006.

Scotland Yard is currently investigating the phone hacking case, which has grown wide in scope and will likely involve compensation being paid to additional people, including Miller’s stepmother, interior designer Kelly Hoppen.

As the Guardian notes, Rupert Murdoch’s News International recently issued a public apology that acknowledged phone hacking is a rampant problem at the News of the World, as opposed to bad behavior committed by one reporter as the company originally claimed.

“Past behaviour at the News of the World in relation to voicemail interception is a matter of genuine regret,” the statement said. “It is now apparent that our previous inquiries failed to uncover important evidence and we acknowledge our actions then were not sufficiently robust.”



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