News of the World rebrands.... sorry closes

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WillPS
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Did anybody catch Brooks' solicitors statement? Seems incredibly misjudged given the circumstances.
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cdd
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I must say I really am surprised and amazed at how dramatically this story has exploded with the latest news that David Cameron is coming back to deal with "the biggest crisis of his premiership". It's obviously going to run and run.

Surprised, because I just don't see how this is big news. Surely a few journalists trying "creative" means of getting information is par for the course, and listening to a few bloody voicemails is hardly up there with breaking into people's houses or whatever. You expect it from the tabloids.

You could have asked me two years ago and I would have laid good money on newspapers hacking all sorts of people's phones. In fact stories like it have been around for ages - I recall Sarah Palin's emails were hacked recently - not (perhaps?) by newspapers but the press had no qualms about reporting on the content in detail. Given the way news organisations are made up you'd have to be naive to think this didn't go on across the board. You just have to see all the papers (broadsheets included) who write stories saying "A source close to...". And let's not forget that the stories revealed by Wikileaks are often the product of unauthorised access in some shape or form - and many (INCLUDING the Guardian) have been happy to republish that and hail Wikleaks as a Good Thing. If you want to prevent this sort of thing then journalists' sources have to be accountable.

I think the NOTW were just unlucky to get caught and much as I generally like the Guardian as a newspaper, people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. I also don't objectively see anything worse about "hacking" the voicemails of a 9/11 victim or a starving orphan, vs those of celebrities and the rich and famous. It's the same crime but the latter type was well known about for a good year or so and nobody gave a toot about it then.
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iSon
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The turning point was the revelation that Milly Dowler's phone had been hacked - this is when the story had changed from finger pointing at tutting to a full outrage at the News of the World. When you stop and think that the actions of a journalist listening and deleting voicemails from the phone could have impacted the police enquiry then that's when the line was over stepped.

I don't want to see journalists restricted in what they can do because if everything was done by the book then we wouldn't have known so many stories which otherwise would have stayed buried. However, I believe, there is a line that you shouldn't cross and sadly the News of the World had done this on many occasions.

I don't believe what they consider as landmark stories such as "NAMED, SHAMED" really did us any favours or the numerous celebrities which were shown to have been naughty.

By biggest problem with the publication was the "Fake Sheikh". If a police officer obtained evidence by entrapment then there's a fairly good chance it wouldn't stand up in order to prosecute someone. So why should a paper be allowed to present similar "facts" in the same way? But that more comes down to the fact that we have had extremely poor press regulation and that even if a publication is taken to court, it can afford to lose as the money has already been made in sales and publicity.

There's no doubt it happens at other papers but the issue is now that the likes of Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson have previously claimed they knew nothing of the dodgy practises and assigned it to one rogue reporter. Clearly that has been proved not to be the case.
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Alexia
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Fox News' latest take on the scandal:

Those of you with better things to do might not know that the media mogul Murdoch is being questioned about the tactics some of his reporting staff undertook, including wire taps, paying for news tips and generally beating the competition to shreds with scoops. In response, politicians are clamoring for a chance to say – on camera – how horrified they are about the entire ordeal. Simply horrified.
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Ronnie Rowlands
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cdd wrote:
Surprised, because I just don't see how this is big news.
It's news because there is now solid evidence to beat the tabloids with, and they can finally be taken to task. Before then it was "Well? Where's your proof, dick?"
cdd wrote:And let's not forget that the stories revealed by Wikileaks are often the product of unauthorised access in some shape or form - and many (INCLUDING the Guardian) have been happy to republish that and hail Wikleaks as a Good Thing.
Because more often than not, Wikileaks has produced material worthy of a news story. The reactions of Milly Dowler's family and Gordon Brown's son's illness are not news stories.
Ronnie is victorious, vivacious in victory like a venomous dog. Vile Republicans cease living while the religious retort with rueful rhetoric. These rank thugs resort to violence and swear revenge.

But Ronnie can punch through steel so they lose anyway.
all new Phil
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One thing I'm getting particularly fed up of is bellend Ed Milliband popping up at every opportunity and saying how "people are outraged" etc etc and trying to take the moral high ground. I think he is seriously overplaying the amount of "anger" out there because, to be honest, I don't think that many people give a shit.
Alexia
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all new Phil wrote:One thing I'm getting particularly fed up of is bellend Ed Milliband popping up at every opportunity and saying how "people are outraged" etc etc and trying to take the moral high ground. I think he is seriously overplaying the amount of "anger" out there because, to be honest, I don't think that many people give a shit.
He's gone overboard it's true, even by my blinkered left-wing standards. He's in danger of losing the public mood, especially by continuing to hark on about the BSB deal even though it's dead and potentially buried. Part of it can be put down to inexperience, part of it can be put down to the Guardian and the Indy also shrieking too much over the continuing developments.

I say the revelations, the details speak for themselves. Let the truth of the matter do the talking. If Cameron's comeuppance is due, then it will come in its own time, whether or not Ed, Rusbridger or the Indescribablyboring want it now.

Incidentally, anyone get Private Eye this week? I thoroughly recommend it, because it tells you all you DO need to know about NI and the hacking scandal, but which no-one in the mainstream media will dare publish.
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Ronnie Rowlands
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all new Phil wrote:I don't think that many people give a shit.
It's important that they do. Because the whole thing really is very important, and shouldn't just whittle away.
Ronnie is victorious, vivacious in victory like a venomous dog. Vile Republicans cease living while the religious retort with rueful rhetoric. These rank thugs resort to violence and swear revenge.

But Ronnie can punch through steel so they lose anyway.
all new Phil
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I'm sorry... when did you become a scriptwriter for Newsround?
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Ronnie Rowlands
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all new Phil wrote:I'm sorry... when did you become a scriptwriter for Newsround?
When the people who work at the television company read a piece of paper that had a list of things that I am good at and a paragraph about why I'm good and decided I would be good.
Ronnie is victorious, vivacious in victory like a venomous dog. Vile Republicans cease living while the religious retort with rueful rhetoric. These rank thugs resort to violence and swear revenge.

But Ronnie can punch through steel so they lose anyway.
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Sput
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all new Phil wrote:One thing I'm getting particularly fed up of is bellend Ed Milliband popping up at every opportunity and saying how "people are outraged" etc etc and trying to take the moral high ground. I think he is seriously overplaying the amount of "anger" out there because, to be honest, I don't think that many people give a shit.
He's the opposition leader. It's what they DO. Had the shoe been on the other foot Cameron would have been doing the exact same thing. I don't like it and I had no idea the roles reversed so readily but my eyes were opened last year!
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