News of the World rebrands.... sorry closes

Alexia · Sun 10 Jul, 2011 21.46

Sun On Sunday web address confirmed as belonging to NI.

http://researchclinic.co.uk/whois.php?I ... nday.co.uk

(With thanks to Guido Fawkes at Order-Order.com)

Inspector Sands · Mon 11 Jul, 2011 11.16

all new Phil wrote:"Worse revelations are on their way" apparently.

jsm wrote:What is the source for that?

Rebekah Brooks said it in the staff meeting on Friday

iSon · Mon 11 Jul, 2011 15.22

Looks like Gordon Brown is about to poke his head out of the parapet and cause trouble for some other papers.

Its always been suspected that these kinds of actions aren't exclusive to papers like News of the World. I think you only have to see the subdued nature that the press have been covering this. If it was the BBC or another TV broadcaster then I'm sure we can only manage their delight.

The Met are now saying that the revelation about a Royal protection officer have been leaked by News International in order to try and disrupt their investigation. I don't think any of us would be surprised to think that Rebekah Brooks and Rupert Murdoch are now carefully managing the situation - it began with the grand gesture of the closure of the News of the World.

all new Phil · Tue 12 Jul, 2011 17.25

So... how long until Richard Desmond buys the 'News of the World' name?

Inspector Sands · Tue 12 Jul, 2011 17.53

all new Phil wrote:So... how long until Richard Desmond buys the 'News of the World' name?

It would depend on if it goes up for sale or becomes available.

It seems that News International reckon the majority of ex-NOTW staff will be redeployed on other publications. 30 jobs are saved on the NOTW's 'Fabulous' supplement which they're keeping going and have so far found existing 30 vacancies.

Alexia · Sun 17 Jul, 2011 13.25

Looks like Rebekah Brooks has been arrested.

Philip · Sun 17 Jul, 2011 14.08

I would like the News of the World name to carry on in a year or so, due to its impact in popular culture (it's referenced in a song on Abbey Road, for goodness sake!) but I would wonder whether it would be a good idea for someone else to take the name - would it be as good as it was in the investigative area, or would it just feel like a PR stunt?

Alexia · Sun 17 Jul, 2011 14.24

Philip wrote:I would like the News of the World name to carry on in a year or so, due to its impact in popular culture (it's referenced in a song on Abbey Road, for goodness sake!) but I would wonder whether it would be a good idea for someone else to take the name - would it be as good as it was in the investigative area, or would it just feel like a PR stunt?

Ah, the rose-tinted specs are out already, one week on.

Investigative journalism is the domain of John Pilger, Anna Politkovskaya and Paul Foot, not a fake sheikh or some dodgy businessmen. Getting desperate celebs to agree to dodgy deals on hidden camera cannot be compared to true investigative award-winning world changing journalism of which the aforementioned are some of the best proponents. Investigative journalism should be for the relief of human misery, not to imbue it upon people. Ask Ricky Hatton, Kerry Katona, Angus Deayton, John Higgins and Sophie Wessex what they think of the NOTW's approach to "investigative" journalism and see what reaction you get. All guilty sure, all caught bang to rights, but not for any public interest, not for any great life-changing cause; merely a form of tale-telling and popularity-gaining last seen on a primary school playground. In the end, these public figures suffered humiliation not to help them clean up their act, but to line Murdoch's pockets.

And what good has it done? We now have an embattled media which is now attempting to draw battle lines (see some of the disgraceful defences from the press that have emerged), a cynical public which now distrusts EVERYTHING the media says (it doesn't help when the Guardian, supposedly one of the champions of this story, makes a monumental fuckup regarding Gordon Brown and the Sun) and politicians seizing it for political gain (though did we expect anything else?) We also have the spectre of phone hacking tainting everyone in the press creating, as we saw last week at Wapping, innocent victims (though my thoughts about "taking the Murdoch dollar" still stand).

The Fourth Estate is shaken. In the middle of their circulation declines and their struggles to keep up to date in this 21stC iPad world, they've been hit not for six, but for six million. Which makes your suggestion that other titles would want to pick up the NOTW name even less likely. It's tainted, permanently. Would you launch a new ship called the Titanic? Would you start a career as a Gary Glitter tribute act? Would you market a new drug as Thalidomide - the Next Generation? No matter what good/pleasure something brought, people always remember the negative.

The NOTW is dead. The Sun on Sunday is coming, as is Sunday Lite (the Mail's new mass-market tabloid offering). Vive la difference eh.

Inspector Sands · Sun 17 Jul, 2011 15.58

Alexia wrote:The Fourth Estate is shaken. In the middle of their circulation declines and their struggles to keep up to date in this 21stC iPad world, they've been hit not for six, but for six million. Which makes your suggestion that other titles would want to pick up the NOTW name even less likely. It's tainted, permanently. Would you launch a new ship called the Titanic? Would you start a career as a Gary Glitter tribute act? Would you market a new drug as Thalidomide - the Next Generation? No matter what good/pleasure something brought, people always remember the negative.

'News of The World' is this decade's 'Ratners'

Alexia · Mon 18 Jul, 2011 19.48

We've had the first "unexplained" death (altho he did like his DnD)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14194623

Plus: Brooks try throwing evidence away in a bin!!
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/ju ... kah-brooks

Philip · Mon 18 Jul, 2011 21.05

There's also an article on The Times website about Rebekah Brooks' at her arrest, but I don't think many of you here have Times subscriptions as I do:

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/uk/a ... 097869.ece

Sadie Gray
Last updated July 18 2011 3:50PM
Scotland Yard must “give an account of their actions” after failing to put any criminal allegations to Rebekah Brooks, the former Editor of the News of the World, after her arrest over the phone hacking scandal, her solicitor said today.
Ms Brooks was arrested yesterday after attending a London police station, apparently having believed that she was going to be interviewed only as a witness.
But despite nine hours of questioning between being taken into custody at noon and her release on bail at midnight, she was shown no documents linking her to any crime, said Stephen Parkinson, of the London law firm Kingsley Napley.
Her arrest had caused her “enormous reputational damage”, he added.
Ms Brooks, 43, resigned on Friday as News International’s chief executive, saying that despite her desire to “remain on the bridge” during the crisis, her continued presence was “detracting attention from all our honest endeavours to fix the problems of the past”.
Mr Parkinson said: “The position of Rebekah Brooks can be simply stated: she is not guilty of any criminal offence. The position of the Metropolitan Police is less easy to understand.
“Despite arresting her yesterday and conducting an interview process lasting nine hours, they put no allegations to her, and showed her no documents connecting her with any crime.
“They will in due course have to give an account of their actions, and in particular their decision to arrest her, with the enormous reputational damage that this has involved.”
Ms Brooks’ arrest left her appointment before tomorrow’s Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee hanging in the balance, although it has since been confirmed that she will appear.
Mr Parkinson said: “She remains willing to attend and to answer questions. It is a matter for Parliament to decide what issues to put to her and whether her appointment should take place at a later date.”
Critics said that the timing of the arrest was “convenient”, giving Ms Brooks an excuse to avoid answering MPs’ questions. Ivan Lewis, the Shadow Culture Secretary, admitted that it had “made life incredibly difficult for the select committee”.
Also appearing before the committee are Rupert Murdoch, head of News Corp, and his son James. They are due to appear at 2.30pm, and will be questioned separately from Ms Brooks, whose evidence is due to begin at 3.30pm.
She was questioned yesterday by detectives from both of Scotland Yard’s inquiries into the scandal, Operation Weeting, which is examining allegations of phone-hacking by the News of the World, and Operation Elveden, the investigation into allegations that journalists made illegal payments to police officers in return for information.
David Wilson, Ms Brooks’ spokesman from Bell Pottinger PR Group, said that the Metropolitan Police had notified her on Friday, shortly after her resignation at News International had been agreed, of the appointment with its officers.
Mr Wilson said that Ms Brooks had offered to speak to police a week ago and had been told that it was not necessary.