News of the World to close

[Tommy4ever]

Despised Murdoch rag News of the World is set to issue its last paper on Sunday.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14070733

I know it doesn't mean much, but it still put a smile on my face. :)

[Tim Finnegan]

HA! :laugh:

[Leonid Brozhnev]

Oh noes, where will I get my tapped phone gossip and daily anti-immigration thinly veiled racist musings now?

Ah... the Sun.

[Cencus]

Damage limitation exercise. Loosing the News of the Screws was the cost to try stop the whole Murdoch empire going belly up. Hopefully it will fail.

[Martin Blank]

Somewhere in Scotland, Tommy Sheridan is smiling.

[piet11111]

They will just set up a new "newspaper" in a while or relocate their hackers to other rags.

[brigadista]

Somewhere in Scotland, Tommy Sheridan is smiling.

maybe this will give him an appeal....and the guardian is reporting the odious coulson faces arrest tomorrow but then with the old bill's involvement who knows??

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/jul/07/andy-coulson-arrest-phone-hacking

[Tim Finnegan]

They will just set up a new "newspaper" in a while or relocate their hackers to other rags.
That's not the point, though: even if the financial damage to News International is ultimately limited, the ideological damage not only to that company, but to the mainstream media as a whole, and to the police who collaborated in this affair, could be tremendous. It's not going to spark a revolution by itself, sure enough, but, as has been observed elsewhere, every little helps.

[brigadista]

if only the Mail was next....

[Q]

if only the News Corp was next....

Fixed.

[Nothing Human Is Alien]

That's not the point, though: even if the financial damage to News International is ultimately limited, the ideological damage not only to that company, but to the mainstream media as a whole, and to the police who collaborated in this affair, could be tremendous. It's not going to spark a revolution by itself, sure enough, but, as has been observed elsewhere, every little helps.

IDK, I think a lot of people realize the mainstream media is full of bullshit, and have for some time.

"If you don't read the newspaper you are uninformed, if you do read the newspaper you are misinformed." - Mark Twain

All the working people I know, that I grew up around, etc., knew the media promoted lies and that cops were not their friends for the most part, despite not being "leftists" in any way. My dad reads the paper nearly every day and then complains about all the lies in it.

I remember when the subway workers went on strike in New York in 2005. I was on picket lines and I saw numerous workers reading the same rightwing rag that had just called for the president of their union to be thrown under a train. Whenever I inquired about why they would read it I got various answers from "it's something to read" to "it's the cheapest" to "they have the best sports coverage." I don't think they believed the ridiculous attacks against themselves in that paper at all. And I don't think the numerous workers in other industries who supported them did either.

[Tim Finnegan]

IDK, I think a lot of people realize the mainstream media is full of bullshit, and have for some time.

"If you don't read the newspaper you are uninformed, if you do read the newspaper you are misinformed." - Mark Twain

All the working people I know, that I grew up around, etc., knew the media promoted lies and that cops were not their friends for the most part, despite not being "leftists" in any way. My dad reads the paper nearly every day and then complains about all the lies in it.

I remember when the subway workers went on strike in New York in 2005. I was on picket lines and I saw numerous workers reading the same rightwing rag that had just called for the president of their union to be thrown under a train. Whenever I inquired about why they would read it I got various answers from "it's something to read" to "it's the cheapest" to "they have the best sports coverage." I don't think they believed the ridiculous attacks against themselves in that paper at all. And I don't think the numerous workers in other industries who supported them did either.
Maybe I'm just cynical, but I think that things are different in the UK. The tabloids here aren't just supermarket rags, even the red-tops, they're very high circulation, and carry more influence than you might think. NotW isn't exactly top of that particular list, I'll grant you, but it still had a nationwide circulation of around seven million, which is something like one in eight adult Britons. Granted, no-one's going to be surprised that the media is *shock-horror* dishonest, but I think the extent of their predatory foulness this time round, especially paired with the complicity of the police in it all, is going to make a lasting impact on a lot of people.

[brigadista]

it was reported tonight that one of the old bill got a 30k payout for a story...

[Jimmy Haddow (SPS)]

http://www.socialistpartyscotland.org.uk/news-a-analysis/news/314-put-murdoch-and-news-international-on-trial-


http://www.socialistpartyscotland.org.uk/component/content/article/108-culturereviews/311-the-rise-and-fall-of-the-scottish-socialist-party-new-pamphlet


A statement from the Socialist Party Scotland on the closing of the NofW and a pamphlet written by a long time CWI member in Scotland on the political degeneration of the SSP and its leading members.

[Tommy4ever]

Somewhere in Scotland, Tommy Sheridan is smiling.


Maybe I'm just cynical, but I think that things are different in the UK. The tabloids here aren't just supermarket rags, even the red-tops, they're very high circulation, and carry more influence than you might think. NotW isn't exactly top of that particular list, I'll grant you, but it still had a nationwide circulation of around seven million, which is something like one in eight adult Britons. Granted, no-one's going to be surprised that the media is *shock-horror* dishonest, but I think the extent of their predatory foulness this time round, especially paired with the complicity of the police in it all, is going to make a lasting impact on a lot of people.


On the news today I got these stats about the NoTW:

Circulation: 2.64 million

Percentage of Sunday Paper circulation: aprox. 40%

So, that's not that large a number of readers (around 4% of the population), but papers often have a much wider influence beyond the people who actually buy them.

[Tim Finnegan]

On the news today I got these stats about the NoTW:

Circulation: 2.64 million

Percentage of Sunday Paper circulation: aprox. 40%

So, that's not that large a number of readers (around 4% of the population), but papers often have a much wider influence beyond the people who actually buy them.
My mistake; I'm confusing circulation with estimated readership. Still, regardless of the details, we can both agree that British tabloids have more of a public presence than North American ones, so this may be more significant than it initially appears to those outside of the UK, even if only because the knock-on effect it will have on public trust in News International, and perhaps on tabloid journalism in general.

[Nothing Human Is Alien]

Maybe I'm just cynical, but I think that things are different in the UK. The tabloids here aren't just supermarket rags, even the red-tops, they're very high circulation, and carry more influence than you might think. NotW isn't exactly top of that particular list, I'll grant you, but it still had a nationwide circulation of around seven million, which is something like one in eight adult Britons. Granted, no-one's going to be surprised that the media is *shock-horror* dishonest, but I think the extent of their predatory foulness this time round, especially paired with the complicity of the police in it all, is going to make a lasting impact on a lot of people.

New York is different from much of the country in that respect. Newspapers have a higher readership. The daily circulation of the two main tabloids combined cover around 1 out of every 6 adult New Yorkers.

[Tim Finnegan]

New York is different from much of the country in that respect. Newspapers have a higher readership. The daily circulation of the two main tabloids combined cover around 1 out of every 6 adult New Yorkers.
Ah, I see. Excuse my provincial ignorance, then. :blushing:

[Sam_b]

I see nodoby has mentioned the staff that will be losing their jobs, to be offered to 'reapply' on contracts with worse pay and coniditions. This is nothing to cheer about really, this is the excuse that Murdoch has been looking for to try and get rid of another section in order to amalgamate.

[IndependentCitizen]

I see nodoby has mentioned the staff that will be losing their jobs, to be offered to 'reapply' on contracts with worse pay and coniditions. This is nothing to cheer about really, this is the excuse that Murdoch has been looking for to try and get rid of another section in order to amalgamate.

Not only that, what is this going to do to his empire? It's going to do nothing. It's not like Murdoch hasn't got loads of other right-wing populist newspapers that can be used as a tool to get the Tories back into power.

[Nothing Human Is Alien]

And there's a lot of speculation that this is all a part of his upcoming bid to purchase more TV stations, from what I've seen.

[IndependentCitizen]

And there's a lot of speculation that this is all a part of his upcoming bid to purchase more TV stations, from what I've seen.

Wouldn't surprise me, or to boost the bid for BskyB. It seems to be perfect timing for Mr Murdoch..

[bricolage]

NUJ condemns Murdoch’s closure of the News of the World

In a shock announcement this afternoon James Murdoch has informed staff at the News of the World that the newspaper is being wound up, with its last edition printed on Sunday.

Michelle Stanistreet, NUJ General Secretary said: “This shows the depths to which Rupert Murdoch and his lieutenants at News International are prepared to stoop. The announcement James Murdoch should be making today is the dismissal of Rebekah Brookes as chief executive of News International. The shocking revelations this week show beyond doubt the systemic abuse and corruption at the top of the operation ran by both Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson. Yet News International has persistently lied about the extent of this scandal and tried to pass it off as a problem created by a couple of rogue reporters.

“Closing the title and sacking over 200 staff in the UK and Ireland, and putting scores more freelances and casuals out of a job, is an act of utter cynical opportunism. Murdoch is clearly banking on this drawing a line under the scandal, removing an obstacle to the BskyB deal, and letting his senior executives off the hook. That simply won’t wash. It is not ordinary working journalists who have destroyed this paper’s credibility – it is the actions of Murdoch’s most senior people.

“James Murdoch was absolutely right when he said in his statement today that ‘Wrongdoers turned a good newsroom bad.’ Yet those wrongdoers are still there today, at the top of the News International empire and ordinary staff at the paper are paying with their livelihoods.

“The closure of the News of the World – a newspaper that has been in print now for 168 years – is a calculated sacrifice by Rupert Murdoch to salvage his reputation and that of News International, in the hope that readers will switch allegiance to a new seven-day operation at The Sun, the government will wave through the BskyB deal and he will widen his grip on the UK’s media landscape.

“It is ironic that 25 years after the Wapping dispute it is the behaviour of Rupert Murdoch and his management that has caused the closure of the newspaper. The NUJ will offer all support to its members at the News of the World facing compulsory redundancies and will be organising an emergency meeting of all journalists at the title to offer advice and support.”
http://www.nuj.org.uk/innerPagenuj.html?docid=2152

[bricolage]

More people are going to read the Mail on Sunday

THE readership of the Mail on Sunday will increase, it is as simple as that, experts warned last night.

The closure of the News of the World will mean the planet's most disturbed thing will now be bought by thousands of tabloid readers who are not intimidated by the dreaded 'third syllable'.

Media analyst, Julian Cook, said: "The ones who just like the pictures will now point and howl at the Daily Star Sunday - oh yes, there is such a thing.

"And those who bought the News of the World as some kind of edgy, ironic statement will just go back to reading whatever dicks normally read.

"But the hard, cold, sickening fact that will become this country's epitaph is that hundreds of thousands of people will now drift within the gravitational pull of Peter Hitchens.

"So those FUCKING ARSEHOLES at the Guardian might want to think about that shit for a minute before they pop the champagne that they can't really afford because they haven't made a profit since 1642."

He added: "The News of the World did some nauseating, ghastly things, but it's not Hitchens. It's not even close.

"By default, we have increased the audience for pure, cruel, mindless hate. Well done!

"Then again, at least Peter Hitchens only hacks into to his own voicemail to find out what his multiple personalities have been telling him to do.

"Sometimes he is Bad Peter, sometimes he is Crazee Peter and sometimes he is Peter Christ, the Angry Jesus. From a spectator's point of view, it's best when he's being all three.

"But for British culture, I'm afraid it is a case of 'out of the frying pan, into the mental hospital'."http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/society/more-people-are-going-to-read-the-mail-on-sunday--201107084050/

[bricolage]

Wouldn't surprise me, or to boost the bid for BskyB. It seems to be perfect timing for Mr Murdoch..
BskyB shares have fallen massively.
Maybe I should get some...

[bricolage]

interesting...

2.14pm: (http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/blog/2011/jul/08/news-of-the-world-phone-hacking-scandal#block-44) The National Union of Journalists has been inundated with calls from members of staff from all three News International titles over the last 24 hours inquiring about membership and their rights, a spokesman claimed. An official said:
The phone has been off the hook. People have been hesitant because there is a culture of fear which dates back to the Wapping dispute. But they are coming forward now.
NUJ officials will be distributing leaflets outside the building in Wapping today. The union is planning an emergency meeting for members and non members to discuss the closure of the News of the World and what it means for the staff there and the rest of the titles.

Up to 35 of the Sun's subs walked out of their newspaper on Thursday night in support of their News of the World colleagues - an unusually militant move by a group of experienced hands who are often credited with defining the Sun's style with punchy puns and headlines.http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/blog/2011/jul/08/news-of-the-world-phone-hacking-scandal

[LegendZ]

Just to clarify for us Americans... Is this your version Fox News?

[Shropshire Socialist]

Just to clarify for us Americans... Is this your version Fox News?

There is no "official" British version of Fox News, because by law tv news reporting has to be impartial (so if they interview a Tory MP they also have to interview a Labour MP).
But Sky News, owned by Murdoch and News Corp., goes as far as it can in pushing the boundaries with its objectivity.

BSkyB is a multiplatform satellite broadcaster, 39% owned by Murdoch (he is trying to buy the other 61% but the latest scandals seem to have slowed that down, if not scuppered it). BSkyB offers a variety of tv channels a place to broadcast their stations, from the traditional BBC to religious stations. Sky TV has many channels on the platform, and is heavily into subscription, especially for sport.

This law does not cover the printed media, so we have very right wing papers. The right wing press are: The Daily Mail, Daily Express, Daily Telegraph, The Times, Daily Star, and The Sun. Left wing press are: The Guardian, The Daily Mirror, The Independent and of course, The Morning Star (which is excellent and a co-operative).

In terms of the closure of the NoW, Murdoch has done it in the vain hope that it will shut everyone up. It won't.

The press will keep pushing until Brooks, the editor at the time of these scandals and now Murdoch's Chief Exec., goes too.

As for a replacement, a few days ago they registered the name "The Sun on Sunday", and rumours are that News International have been planning on shutting the NoW anyway.

[bricolage]

and of course, The Morning Star (which is excellent and a co-operative).
and of course, a business.
From last year...

As staff at socialist daily newspaper, the Morning Star, prepare to go on strike this Sunday over pay and conditions, Ed Goddard from libcom.org caught up with one worker and found out about low pay and union busting in the name of "peace and socialism."http://libcom.org/library/morning-star-strike-interview-worker

[Sam_b]

Not to be a sect hawk, but how is the Morning Star 'excellent'?

[Tommy4ever]

Big embarassment for the Tories as they get involved in the scandal. (For those who don't know, David Cameron, the PM, used to have a person employed in his entourage who has now been arrested as part of the phone hacking scandal). :lol:

Anything that is bad for this government is good for us. :)

[ReVoLuTiOnArYbUtGaNgStEr]

Despised Murdoch rag News of the World is set to issue its last paper on Sunday.


I know it doesn't mean much, but it still put a smile on my face. :)

why does people getting laid off put a smile on your face?

[Tommy4ever]

why does people getting laid off put a smile on your face?

Humiliation for the right, the closure of one of Britain's worst populist-right media outlets and a general discrediting of the Murdoch Empire puts a smile on my face.

[SacRedMan]

I always brought 'News of the World' with me too the toilet...






in case there's no toiletpaper left.

http://www.longanimalsgames.com/SitesContent/Games/Images/trollface.jpg

[Feodor Augustus]

One 'red top' (the NotW) gets sacrificed to save another 'red top' (Rebekah Brooks)...

It will be interesting to see whether this leads to the NUJ regaining a foothold in News Int. While at the same time, it will be interesting to see whether some of the newly terminated NotW staff repay the solidarity shown by The Sun's subs by scabbing on them - its not beyond the realms of possibility.


As staff at socialist daily newspaper, the Morning Star, prepare to go on strike this Sunday over pay and conditions, Ed Goddard from libcom.org caught up with one worker and found out about low pay and union busting in the name of "peace and socialism."

A similar situation to this occurred with some assistants to Tommy Sheridan and Rosemary Byrne a few years back (http://libcom.org/forums/news/iwwand-nuj-dispute-with-tommy-sheridan-other-msp). Still, he doesn't deserve to be rotting in jail for perjury, particularly in light of recent revelations about the NotW's practices - but the way in which some people on the left have tried to make Sheridan's conviction the biggest thing with regards this scandal is quite bizarre. Although given the acrimony of the whole affair, they have good reason to call McCombes and the SSP to account on this.


Then again, at least Peter Hitchens only hacks into to his own voicemail to find out what his multiple personalities have been telling him to do.

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Still, I think this is a quite big moment in British public life - see my blog entry (http://www.revleft.com/vb/blog.php?b=1697).

[Sam_b]

Humiliation for the right, the closure of one of Britain's worst populist-right media outlets and a general discrediting of the Murdoch Empire puts a smile on my face

You didn't answer the question.

[MarxSchmarx]

IDK, I think a lot of people realize the mainstream media is full of bullshit, and have for some time.

"If you don't read the newspaper you are uninformed, if you do read the newspaper you are misinformed." - Mark Twain

All the working people I know, that I grew up around, etc., knew the media promoted lies and that cops were not their friends for the most part, despite not being "leftists" in any way. My dad reads the paper nearly every day and then complains about all the lies in it.

I remember when the subway workers went on strike in New York in 2005. I was on picket lines and I saw numerous workers reading the same rightwing rag that had just called for the president of their union to be thrown under a train. Whenever I inquired about why they would read it I got various answers from "it's something to read" to "it's the cheapest" to "they have the best sports coverage." I don't think they believed the ridiculous attacks against themselves in that paper at all. And I don't think the numerous workers in other industries who supported them did either.

I think you have to see the "mainstream media" as more than just the straight-up journalists covering centers of power. For example Oprah and movies and iTunes and MTV are all part of "mainstream media". These venues, including the sports pages, notoriously, promote ruling class ideology perhaps more nefariously than the boring news shows or the dying newspapers.

[Tim Finnegan]

why does people getting laid off put a smile on your face?
I don't see why he should be expected to respond to that when you can't even give us a straight answer about whether or not you've stopped beating your wife. It's a complete double standard.

[Shropshire Socialist]

Not to be a sect hawk, but how is the Morning Star 'excellent'?

It is the only left wing paper in the UK, is owned by its readers, and reports news that the corporate press won't touch.

Yes, it has its problems, but the labour movement in Britain would be a hell of a lot worse off without it.

[Tommy4ever]

You didn't answer the question.


Of course I'm not happy to see people lose their jobs, but the positives of this story outway the negatives by some way. Therefore I maintain my smile. :)

[Hit The North]

http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/society/more-people-are-going-to-read-the-mail-on-sunday--201107084050/

I have to say that this article is a massive piece of defeatist crap. It also ignores the fact that the Daily Mail is now also in the firing line as many suspect sharp-practices there. As for the pompous, slightly sinister Peter Hitchen, he's way too ideological and edgy to command the kind of populist support the more blokeish but equally as right-wing NOTW commanded.

This is excellent news, particularly the way it is has shed light on the murky relationship between elite groups (police, media, politicians).

[Jolly Red Giant]

Still, he doesn't deserve to be rotting in jail for perjury, particularly in light of recent revelations about the NotW's practices - but the way in which some people on the left have tried to make Sheridan's conviction the biggest thing with regards this scandal is quite bizarre. Although given the acrimony of the whole affair, they have good reason to call McCombes and the SSP to account on this.

Sheridan's conviction should be quashed - and it is ironic that McCoombs and the others in the SSP leadership who gave evidence against Sheridan were probably being hacked by the NOTW at the same time they were giving evidence for Murdoch's rag.

[bricolage]

I have to say that this article is a massive piece of defeatist crap.
It's also a joke.

[Tommy4ever]

Sheridan's conviction should be quashed - and it is ironic that McCoombs and the others in the SSP leadership who gave evidence against Sheridan were probably being hacked by the NOTW at the same time they were giving evidence for Murdoch's rag.

There is a good chance it will be. But in the end the crime he was convicted of was still commited. I'm not aware of the legal minutae, but from what I've heard there is a very real chance that he will be released.

Even if you don't like Sheridan, that would definately be a good thing. :)

[bricolage]

Mel_Phillips (http://twitter.com/#%21/Mel_Phillips) Melanie Phillips
Whilst guardianistas distract us with jew-baiting (i.e. murdoch), barbarians are plotting our distruction. Lets get things in perspective
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Mel_Phillips (http://twitter.com/#%21/Mel_Phillips) Melanie Phillips
anti-Murdoch campaign being driven by pure anti-Semitism. We must remember he always stood by #israel (http://twitter.com/#%21/search?q=%23israel) when it mattered. bit.ly/ad3LM4 (http://t.co/BMbRL0c)
6 hours ago (http://twitter.com/#%21/Mel_Phillips/status/89957568197308416) Favorite (http://twitter.com/#) Retweet (http://twitter.com/#) Reply (http://twitter.com/#)

[Sam_b]

It is the only left wing paper in the UK

Wrong. How that in itself makes it 'excellent' is beyond me.


and reports news that the corporate press won't touch

This is pretty much just rhetoric.

[Sam_b]

but the positives of this story outway the negatives by some way

What a stupid answer, seriously. It only 'outweighs the negatives' (and it's shocking that a leftist would see the loss of jobs in a unionised workplace as something so frivolous) if you believe this newspaper's rebranding and liquidation as something that materially change anything and put the class in a better position. The fact that in your opening post you say that it "doesn't mean much" should be a particularly strong indicator to how ludicrous your position is.

[Dr Mindbender]

Left wing press are:... The Daily Mirror

roflcopter. :laugh:

[Shropshire Socialist]

roflcopter. :laugh:

Can't see why such hilliarity. They may not be marxists, but they have been fairly loyal to the labour movement down the years, and are far superior to any Murdoch rag.

[Shropshire Socialist]

Wrong. How that in itself makes it 'excellent' is beyond me.



This is pretty much just rhetoric.

The only DAILY left wing paper, then? And I do think it is a very good read. If there was no Morning Star we'd be stuck with the (lib Dem supporting) Guardian or Daily Mirror.

And as for the rhetoric, why? I could quote you no end of stories that the Morning Star publish that you would never find in any national. Not even in the Guardian.

[Dr Mindbender]

Can't see why such hilliarity. They may not be marxists, but they have been fairly loyal to the labour movement down the years, and are far superior to any Murdoch rag.

The Mirror is liberal, not leftist.They speak leftist voices when it suits them. The Mirror is the mouthpiece of the lib dems and always have been.

[Sam_b]

The Mirror is the mouthpiece of the lib dems and always have been

But the Lib Dems were founded in 1988?

[Sam_b]

And I do think it is a very good read. If there was no Morning Star we'd be stuck with the (lib Dem supporting) Guardian or Daily Mirror.

Errr...what? There's a difference between left dailies and left newspapers, and conventional press - so why are you making this seemingly one choice over another? Part of the Marxist method is breaking down concretes and generating abstractions so why you can't read newspapers in an intelligent way is beyond me. I prefer not to have my politics spoon-fed to me.

[Dr Mindbender]

But the Lib Dems were founded in 1988?

Sorry, I shouldve said the british liberal tendency.

[bricolage]

The Mirror is liberal, not leftist.They speak leftist voices when it suits them. The Mirror is the mouthpiece of the lib dems and always have been.
The Mirror consistently backs the Labour Party at every election.

[Dr Mindbender]

The Mirror consistently backs the Labour Party at every election.

Only because of their post-Smith gallop to the right and general opportunism.

[bricolage]

Only because of their post-Smith gallop to the right and general opportunism.
They backed Attlee in 1945, they backed Foot in 1983.

[Shropshire Socialist]

The Daily Mirror have consistently backed the Labour Party and/or movement throughout their history, even in the dark days when few people voted Labour.

[Shropshire Socialist]

Errr...what? There's a difference between left dailies and left newspapers, and conventional press - so why are you making this seemingly one choice over another? Part of the Marxist method is breaking down concretes and generating abstractions so why you can't read newspapers in an intelligent way is beyond me. I prefer not to have my politics spoon-fed to me.

I do know this, and I do read some of them too, but for a consistent leftwing line, then the only daily that does this is the Morning Star.

[Sam_b]

What is a 'leftwing line'?

[Dr Mindbender]

The Daily Mirror have consistently backed the Labour Party and/or movement throughout their history, even in the dark days when few people voted Labour.

Like i said, when it suits them. They will support the 'lefter' option only when the tory is the worse of 2 evils. Lets be honest here, the Labour party's track record in representing the interests of the working class has been far from unblemished anyway.

[bricolage]

Like i said, when it suits them.
Can you provide an example since WW2 when the Daily Mirror has lent explicit support to a party other than the Labour party?

Lets be honest here, the Labour party's track record in representing the interests of the working class has been far from unblemished anyway.
Obviously, they are a party of capital... but then that's not the issue at hand here.

[bricolage]

Rupert Murdoch may sell his entire newspaper empire in Britain, but he will not walk away from his more profitable pay-TV interests and remains committed to acquiring BSkyB, according to City sources.http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-2012913/Murdoch-sell-British-papers-remains-determined-control-lucrative-BSkyB.html

[apawllo]

Honestly, probably not a huge loss to Murdoch. And I doubt he would have shut down so quickly, if at all, if he didn't want to. After all, print media has been going down hill for some time. He likely has something else up his sleeve. Sad all those workers had to lose their jobs though.

[Shropshire Socialist]

Mudoch has decided not to try and buy BSkyB:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14142307


"We believed that the proposed acquisition of BSkyB by News Corporation would benefit both companies, but it has become clear that it is too difficult to progress in this climate," said News Corp deputy chairman and president Chase Carey in a statement.

[Martin Blank]

"We believed that the proposed acquisition of BSkyB by News Corporation would benefit both companies, but it has become clear that it is too difficult to progress in this climate," said News Corp deputy chairman and president Chase Carey in a statement.

Awwww, poor Rupert. He's soooooo oppressed. :rolleyes:

[bricolage]

'too difficult to progress in this climate'
hmmm, lets see where we are in five years time.

[Feodor Augustus]

'too difficult to progress in this climate'
hmmm, lets see where we are in five years time.

With any luck, Murdoch will be dead by then - he's 80 now, and I think the younger generations of the Murdoch family may lack the mojo of the old man, and thus run the company into the ground, or at least out of politics. And if he's declared 'unfit and improper', that could scupper a deal forever.


(and it's shocking that a leftist would see the loss of jobs in a unionised workplace as something so frivolous)

The News of the World was a unionised workplace? I was under the impression that the NUJ were banned from organising there by law, and that the only 'unions' were yella' company ones.


What is a 'leftwing line'?

I dunno. But to come to the defence of the Morning Star, it does report on trade union conferences, industrial action, etc., and conduct interviews and solicit articles from the people involved (albeit usually the union leadership/bureaucracy). That's leagues ahead of other papers.


The Mirror is the mouthpiece of the lib dems and always have been.

Don't speak rubbish. The Mirror has been a Labour supporting paper since the late 1930s.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daily_Mirror#20th_century

[Shropshire Socialist]

Neither James Murdoch or any of the other board members at News Corp. have any love for newsprint. The only reason News International still exists is because Murdoch has a soft spot for newspapers.

His investors at News Corp. however, are now pressuring him to sell off News International, while the board are asking for James to stand down as Chair of BSkyB.

The FBI are also investigating allegations into phone hacking of 9/11 victims by his American newspapers, as well as News International.

[Sasha]

WOW!, FOXnews finally decides to report on the story:

qtC4gT-_Nj0

don't you love how they simultaneously try to brush it off under "its months ago!, in london!, at an tabloid!", play the victim with "poor murdoch is being harassed" and by clever structuring try to put the subconscious idea in your head that newscorp was an victim of hacking and not the perpetrator.

[Shropshire Socialist]

Rebekah Brooks has been arrested: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14178051


She was arrested on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications and on suspicion of corruption allegations.

[brigadista]

good casting...

wFufrqhp0eE

[Admiral Swagmeister G-Funk]

WOW!, FOXnews finally decides to report on the story:

qtC4gT-_Nj0

don't you love how they simultaneously try to brush it off under "its months ago!, in london!, at an tabloid!", play the victim with "poor murdoch is being harassed" and by clever structuring try to put the subconscious idea in your head that newscorp was an victim of hacking and not the perpetrator.

The danger in this video comes from the fact that this media 'expert' has equated hacking into citi bank with hacking into the phone of a young female murder victim. He has put these two things on the same moral wave-length, even though there is a case for hacking into banks and governments given their lack of transparency - lots of decent investigative journalists have brought us valuable information this way. The real problem comes from the fact that tabloid scum bags use these tactics to their own sick ends in order to get human interest stories.

[Jimmy Haddow (SPS)]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14180043

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson has resigned following the phone hacking scandal.

[brigadista]

dutty babylon implicating cameron and boris...

[Threetune]

dutty babylon implicating cameron and boris...

Do you mean this?

“Secondly, once Mr Wallis’s name did become associated with Operation Weeting, I did not want to compromise the Prime Minister in any way by revealing or discussing a potential suspect who clearly had a close relationship with Mr Coulson. I am aware of the many political exchanges in relation to Mr Coulson’s previous employment - I believe it would have been extraordinarily clumsy of me to have exposed the Prime Minister, or by association the Home Secretary, to any accusation, however unfair, as a consequence of them being in possession of operational information in this regard. Similarly, the Mayor. Because of the individuals involved, their positions and relationships, these were I believe unique circumstances.”


“Consequently, we informed the Chair of the MPA, Mr Malthouse, of the Met’s contractual arrangements with Mr Wallis on the morning of the latter’s arrest. It is our practice not to release the names of suspects under arrest, making it difficult to make public details of the arrangements prior to Mr Wallis’s release the same day. The timing of the MPA Committee that I appeared before at 2pm that day was most unfortunate.”

[brigadista]

his resignation is to protect the met and the gov but he also made a parting shot to highlight DC ... not phrased that way for no reason because DC apparently in deep trouble looks like a lot of backstabbing is in view -lol

[Threetune]

I think that’s right.

[Shropshire Socialist]

The Wall Street Journal has today come out fighting for Murdoch and accused the BBC and The Guardian of:


...pursuing the phone hacking story for "commercial and ideological motives"

Full story here: http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/broadcasting/news/a330336/rupert-murdochs-wall-street-journal-hits-back-over-hacking-scandal.html

[~Spectre]

It's all fun and games until somebody gets killed:

News of the World phone-hacking whistleblower found dead
Death of Sean Hoare – who was first named journalist to allege Andy Coulson knew of hacking – not being treated as suspicious (http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/jul/18/news-of-the-world-sean-hoare)


Sean Hoare, the former News of the World showbiz reporter who was the first named journalist to allege Andy Coulson was aware of phone hacking by his staff, has been found dead, the Guardian has learned.

Hoare, who worked on the Sun and the News of the World with Coulson before being dismissed for drink and drugs problems, is said to have been found dead at his Watford home.

Hertfordshire police would not confirm his identity, but the force said in a statement: "At 10.40am today [Monday 18 July] police were called to Langley Road, Watford, following the concerns for the welfare of a man who lives at an address on the street. Upon police and ambulance arrival at a property, the body of a man was found. The man was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after.

"The death is currently being treated as unexplained, but not thought to be suspicious. Police investigations into this incident are ongoing."

Hoare first made his claims in a New York Times investigation into the phone-hacking allegations at the News of the World.

He told the newspaper that not only did Coulson know of the phone hacking, but that he actively encouraged his staff to intercept the phone calls of celebrities in the pursuit of exclusives.

In a subsequent interview with the BBC he alleged that he was personally asked by his then-editor, Coulson, to tap into phones. In an interview with the PM programme he said Coulson's insistence that he didn't know about the practice was "a lie, it is simply a lie".

At the time a Downing Street spokeswoman said Coulson totally and utterly denied the allegations and said he had "never condoned the use of phone hacking and nor do I have any recollection of incidences where phone hacking took place".

Sean Hoare, a one-time close friend of Coulson's, told the New York Times the two men first worked together at the Sun, where, Hoare said, he played tape recordings of hacked messages for Coulson. At the News of the World, Hoare said he continued to inform Coulson of his activities. Coulson "actively encouraged me to do it", Hoare said.

In September last year, he was interviewed under caution by police over his claims that the former Tory communications chief asked him to hack into phones when he was editor of the paper, but declined to make any comment.

Hoare returned to the spotlight last week, after he told the New York Times that reporters at the News of the World were able to use police technology to locate people using their mobile phone signals in exchange for payments to police officers.

He said journalists were able to use a technique called "pinging" which measured the distance between mobile handsets and a number of phone masts to pinpoint its location.

Hoare gave further details about the use of "pinging" to the Guardian last week. He described how reporters would ask a news desk executive to obtain the location of a target: "Within 15 to 30 minutes someone on the news desk would come back and say 'right that's where they are.'"

He said: "You'd just go to the news desk and they'd just come back to you. You don't ask any questions. You'd consider it a job done. The chain of command is one of absolute discipline and that's why I never bought into it, like with Andy saying he wasn't aware of it and all that. That's bollocks."

He said he would stand by everything he had told the New York Times about "pinging". "I don't know how often it happened. That would be wrong of me. But if I had access as a humble reporter … "

He admitted he had had problems with drink and drugs and had been in rehab. "But that's irrelevant," he said. "There's more to come. This is not going to go away."

Hoare named a private investigator who he said had links with the News of the World, adding: "He may want to talk now because I think what you'll find now is a lot of people are going to want to cover their arse."

Speaking to another Guardian journalist last week, Hoare repeatedly expressed the hope that the hacking scandal would lead to journalism in general being cleaned up and said he had decided to blow the whistle on the activities of some of his former News of the World colleagues with that aim in mind.

He also said he had been injured the previous weekend while taking down a marquee erected for a children's party. He said he had broken his nose and badly injured his foot when a relative accidentally struck him with a heavy pole from the marquee.

Hoare also emphasised that he was not making any money from telling his story. Hoare, who has been treated for drug and alcohol problems, reminisced about partying with former pop stars and said he missed the days when he was able to go out on the town.

[Mindtoaster]

I don't think Bush did 9/11.... I don't think the CIA assassinated Kennedy...


.... But this is the most obvious coverup I've ever fucking seen

[brigadista]

now this -- getting more and more bizarre...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/jul/18/mystery-bag-bin-rebekah-brooks

[Shropshire Socialist]

Pressure is also building on the Prime Minister, David Cameron, over his links to News International, Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson. Many in his own party are worried that this could bring the government down.

Let's hope so... :)

[Shropshire Socialist]

Murdoch has today appeared before a committee of MPs in Westminster, and announced that he is "ashamed".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-14195259


Rupert Murdoch has said he was "appalled and ashamed" to learn that the phone of Milly Dowler had been hacked by the News of the World. He told MPs he was not aware hacking was more widespread than originally claimed and he had "clearly" been misled by some of his staff.

His appearance is the first time he has faced direct scrutiny by MPs during his 40-year media UK career.


His son James apologised to victims, saying he had great regrets.



Rupert Murdoch said his appearance was the "most humble day of my life".



Faced with a series of questions from Labour MP Tom Watson, Mr Murdoch paused extensively, and his son James made several attempts to intervene. However. Mr Watson made clear that he wanted to hear answers from the father and not the son.
He added: "Your father is responsible for corporate governance and serious wrongdoing has been brought about in the company.


"It is revealing in itself what he does not know and what executives chose not to tell him."

[Manic Impressive]

I'm watching it now it's on BBC 2. He's not a great liar, you can tell when a question makes him uncomfortable and you can tell when he's telling a big lie. Good entertainment :)

[Manic Impressive]

I hope that my contribution to the United Kingdom will one day be recognized
Me too Rupert, Me too.

[Leonid Brozhnev]

Entertaining to see Murdoch get foam-pied by Johnny Marbles... but that was about it for me. James Murdoch does a shoddy job of answering questions by not answering them... at one point he stammered for 15 seconds 'Or or or or or or or', I could see he was thinking 'Fuck this enquiry, I'm now a Seal'

[RadioRaheem84]

I don't think the CIA assassinated Kennedy...



I used to be a skeptic until a few months ago, now I think that there was possibly a conspiracy.

But that's a whole other thread.

Anyways, this News of the World scandal is getting extremely shady. And it should be noted that there was a conspiracy to hack the phones of public figures by people in the highest levels of law enforcement and the business world.

[Ingraham Effingham]

Sean Hoare, whistleblower that started this, found dead all of a sudden:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/jul/18/news-of-the-world-sean-hoare?CMP=twt_gu

Note that the police find it "strange, but not suspicious"

[Desperado]

Just as the recent crisis in capitalism was about a lot more than a few dodgy unregulated banks, and the MPs expenses scandal a few naughty politicians jumping through loopholes, the Murdoch media crisis reveals the wider symbiotic relationship between corporations, media and the political class. This scandal is clearly only one of a segment of the political elite with a (large) segment of the media establishment over their special interest propaganda programme within the sphere of bourgeois debate, not (unfortunately) of the wider uncommented upon relationship between the general political elite and their media lackeys of all shades over their issues of consensus (i.e capitalism). We must hope that some of the scarier truths are also outed - that though NoW represents in many ways the worst of the worst, this is far more than a Murdoch & Tories problem - whatever Labour, the Lib Dems, or any mainstream media institution might be saying.

[Feodor Augustus]

Entertaining to see Murdoch get foam-pied by Johnny Marbles...

I don't really think there was anything entertaining about attacking an eighty year old man. And given that this Jonathan May-Bowles character is a member of the Labour Party, I don't think he's done his party any good, nor the movement that he is apparently a founder member of - UKUncut. Quite immature and pointless activism if you ask me, from someone who is obviously intent on getting his fifteen minutes of fame:


Finally, he made contact—but it wasn’t his first attempt. On July 12, May-Bowles tried to meet Murdoch face-to-face and wound up standing outside his house the following day with a giant puppet in hand. Though it’s unclear what the stunt was, it never came into fruition.

"The Man Who Pied Murdoch (http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/07/19/jonnie-marbles-aka-jonathan-may-bowles-pies-murdoch-wendi-deng-hits-him.html)."

The right will have something of a field day over this - just take a look at some of the initial comments that have accompanied the reporting of this over at the Conservative Home website (http://playpolitical.typepad.com/all_sorts/2011/07/watch-left-wing-protestor-attacks-rupert-murdoch.html). And for the first time throughout this whole scandal people may end up having some sympathy for Murdoch.

Bravo Mr. Marbles! :rolleyes:

(P.S. It even makes me want to retract my comment of a few pages back, that hopefully the aged Digger will soon pop his clogs.)
_ _ _ _ _

Additionally it turns out Ed Miliband's communications tsar, Tom Baldwin, was (while working at The Times) the journalist who first named Dr. David Kelly as the BBC's secret source regarding the claims about 'sexed up' dossiers. Which, when picked up by the Conservative leadership, is likely going to seriously undermine Miliband's attacks on Cameron over his judgement in appointing Coulson.

While the murder of the private investigator Daniel Morgan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Morgan_(private_investigator)) has also started to get some (limited) airplay in relation to all this - although I freely admit that I don't fully understand all the connections, they seem to revolve around Jonathan Rees, another investigator who was in partnership with Morgan and with Morgan on the night of his death, and who was subsequently in the pay of the News of the World. It appears to have been a planned murder, complete with a coordinated cover-up by the MET. And thus this has the potential to further expose the dirty rotten bastards who constitute Her Majesty's Constabulary.

[Leonid Brozhnev]

It's more about the fact that Marbles managed to get through security with all the materials to make the pie during the hearing, and that he managed to get close enough to Murdoch in order to pull it off... on a day where the Police couldn't really do with more fuck ups, they fucked up. I find the apparent sympathy for Murdoch after this stunt abhorrent... it was a fucking foam pie, Marbles didn't round-house kick him in face.

[Feodor Augustus]

It's more about the fact that Marbles managed to get through security with all the materials to make the pie during the hearing, and that he managed to get close enough to Murdoch in order to pull it off... on a day where the Police couldn't really do with more fuck ups, they fucked up.

And the result of this magnificent example of propaganda by the deed? Another democratic freedom, in this instance the ability to attend a public select committee hearing, will likely be further curtailed on the not all that unreasonable charge that members of the public, namely this Marbles chap whom you seem so fond of, have abused this privilege.

Once again, bravo Mr. Marbles, your act of individual terrorism is the complete antithesis of the kind of democratic mass participation you would no doubt claim you acted in the cause of.


I find the apparent sympathy for Murdoch after this stunt abhorrent... it was a fucking foam pie, Marbles didn't round-house kick him in face.

Relativist nonsense.

Not only would you struggle to find any kind of logical standard which could condone this kind of behaviour in this singular instance but then condemn it in general - unless, of course, you're suggesting that we should all be free to walk around doing such things. You'd also struggle to find a reason why a public inquiry into serious criminal practices should be interrupted by some muppet who obviously wishes to get a name for himself as some kind of 'edgy' political prankster.

Apparently 'Marbles' girlfriend understood just what a plank he had been, and promptly dumped him. Good riddance to self-centred egotistical rubbish, I say.

[Jimmy Haddow (SPS)]

http://www.socialismtoday.org/148/uncut.html


“Half-a-million participated in the TUC demonstration against the cutbacks on 26 March, a clear indication of the potential power of Britain’s organised working class. Numerous other protest movements have also emerged. UK Uncut, for example, mobilises a radicalised layer exposing big-business tax evasion. Some commentators, however, claim that this is a ‘new model’, in opposition to coordinated strike action and democratic mass campaigns. HANNAH SELL explains that this view poses a danger to the struggle to defeat the attacks of this right-wing government.”


I believe that the person who carried out the incident on Rupert was a member of UKUNCUT, or so the chatter on the websites say, so I offer a link to an article from the May 2011 edition of Socialism Today the political journal of the Socialist Party/CWI.


Personally I think this was a crass move, and a mistake, by this individual which took attention away from the questioning of the Murdochs, I saw it live at the time, on to sycophantic praise of Rupert and his wife. While there will be many thousand, possibly millions, of people who think Rupert deserved it, it calls into question how we should organise against the capitalist system and the people who run it. Should the people organise in groups or organisations and come to democratic decisions on what action to take in defence of our services and media; of do we leave it to individuals to take decisions and actions for us. I favour the former! If we do not watch out these individual action could turn into ‘terrorist’ actions which would be disastrous for working people in Britain. It is bad enough now it will be worse if that took place. Anyway read the article and see what you think.

[Ingraham Effingham]

It's more about the fact that Marbles managed to get through security with all the materials to make the pie during the hearing, and that he managed to get close enough to Murdoch in order to pull it off... on a day where the Police couldn't really do with more fuck ups, they fucked up. I find the apparent sympathy for Murdoch after this stunt abhorrent... it was a fucking foam pie, Marbles didn't round-house kick him in face.

- It turned a serious, important topic into a prime-time TV-style, opinion circus.
- It dilutes any ramifications or implications, and generates sympathy for Murdoch.
- It was totally unproductive
- It wasn't even funny
- it did more overall to help and protect Mudorch and the establishment, and distract from the grave matter at hand

The idea that the security force assigned to Murdoch, probably one of the top 10 most powerful people on the planet, UNINTENTIONALLY allowed this guy to get so close seems incredible.

Murdoch: the master of manipulating public opinion.

[Invader Zim]

Of course I'm not happy to see people lose their jobs, but the positives of this story outway the negatives by some way. Therefore I maintain my smile. :)

I went to university with a guy who worked for NOTW, he is actually pretty leftwing, and it seems a shame that he, and others, lost his job to protect those individuals, and the wider corporate institution, which actually set the editorial stance of NOTW as a rightwing rag. It seems that they were the scapegoat in all of this, and a needless one given that the BSkyB deal has fallen through and Brooks is out on her arse.

[Sasha]

suprised no'one posted this one yet: n1aZcsY-O8Q

[Shropshire Socialist]

Cameron has now said that James Murdoch "needs to answer some questions."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14245922



Speaking during a visit in Warwickshire, the prime minister said: "Clearly James Murdoch has got questions to answer in Parliament and I'm sure he will do that.
"And clearly News International has got some big issues to deal with and a mess to clear up, that has to be done by the management of that company."


A few weeks ago Murdoch could do no wrong, but now even Dave is distancing himself.

[Feodor Augustus]

It's Friday, Friday, Friday (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5z4CJRFBKY)... and much better than the ori-gi-nal.

[Shropshire Socialist]

Allegations of hacking at The Sunday Mirror today: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/jul/23/phone-hacking-sunday-mirror-newsnight


BBC (http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/bbc)'s Newsnight has revealed what it calls "the first chink in the armour" of news groups beyond the Murdoch empire. The programme reported on what it claims was widespread use of phone hacking and private detectives at the Sunday Mirror (http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/sundaymirror).The primary source for the story, who Newsnight says worked at the paper for a number of years, reports witnessing "routine phone hacking in the newsroom".

[brigadista]

did not believe the RM feeble old man act