As you may have read, Sunday’s is the last edition of News of the World, the British tabloid that been sacrificed to the escalating News Corp scandal.
We got a tip that former News of the World journalists were setting up independent blogs and Twitter feeds. Tracy Delaney, the author of the Serennu astrology research website, scoped out some of those new content streams and is linking them together through a special Twitter feed, which she’s still adding to. If you hear of anything that belongs there, please let me know. If you’re unfamiliar with the story, here is a recap written by Reuters.
Here are some less sentimental tweets from News of the World’s detractors at #NOTW
Here is a BBC compilation of News of the World editors and News Corp executives issuing denial after denial at the parliamentary select committee hearings on phone hacking.
I was trying to explain to my friend Dominick yesterday what News of the World was, and a little about the culture of the British tabloids. There is absolutely no American equivalent (there is in Australia). These newspapers are like the The New York Post mated with National Enquirer digging into the lives of the most notable people in society, with no boundaries, no rules, no ethical framework, read by millions of people, pumped up on hormones and smoking some form of journalistic crack. My involvement in this culture happened over the course of four years as a horoscope writer standing in for Jonathan Cainer in two different titles, The Mail and The Mirror. These newspapers thrive in a viciously competitive environment that is digging for information any way that it can. The result can be all-out wars between the papers, with everyone being fair game.
One of the more legitimate tabloid stories in recent years came out when Ryan Parry of The Mirror posed as a royal footman and revealed how shoddy security was at Buckingham Palace (where he got the job, as a personal attendant to the royals, with only one fake reference). Ryan was one of the first people I tracked down in the UK when I arrived in 2004. We went out for beers near the Trinity Mirror headquarters, and he told me his adventure stories working as an undercover journalist (we were, at the time, writing for the same newspaper). He told me how the last thing he did before he quit and went public with the story was put mints on the pillow of Condaleeza Rice and other members of the U.S. diplomatic team that was visiting the UK at the time.
“Good thing it was me,” he said with a little grin. The story was funny, embarrassing and considered fair play; in the United States you would be taken to Guantanamo if you did something like that. And this is one of the more legit, friendlier reporting methods.
News of the World thought nothing of hacking the phones of royals, families of terrorism victims, a young girl who was kidnapped and murdered, government ministers, members of parliament (MPs) or sports figures. News Corp itself seems to collect this kind of information on anyone of note, whether it plans to use it or not, and it has plenty on file to blackmail or threaten anyone it wants. The police are routinely bribed for information. These methods of journalism are more like what we think of as the mafia than what we think of as reporting; the people who carry it out make arguments about free press and how they do things ‘in the public’s interest’. That is always the excuse. In reality, of course, they are feeding on pain, suffering and embarrassment, and cultivating the appetite for such in the readers.
As you may be reading, there are criminal investigations underway and there have been several arrests, even discussion of arresting James Murdoch, Rupert Murdoch’s son, for allowing all of this to go on unchecked.
The result is that News Corp, owners of Fox News, has become a kind of global intimidation network, a private intelligence agency that nobody will stand up to because it has information on everyone. They sway public consciousness into supporting wars and then directly profit covering those wars, which are of course always good for circulation and ad revenue. The political process is subverted, and nobody really feels safe telling the truth. You keep your cards well hidden and hope that nobody has a reason to go after you.
Murdoch’s voice mail grave robbing scandal spreads; 9/11 dead targeted
by David Waldman for Daily Kos.
Well, this will put you off your breakfast:
[Rupert Murdoch] flew straight into another storm as it was claimed 9/11 victims may have had their mobiles tapped by News of the World reporters.
Yes, it’s the Daily Mail, a rival British tabloid. And for a lot of people, that’ll make it suspect. But man alive, what’s being claimed here is about the most disgusting thing an American could contemplate. (Well, any human being, really. But the “science is still out” on Murdoch’s status on that count.)
More:
Yum. Classy.
Seriously, though. Would the Murdoch empire sink that low?
A second Newscorp paper accused of hacking Gordon Brown’s voice mail.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/jul/11/phone-hacking-news-international-gordon-brown
For years now the tabloid press in the united kingdom of which The Sun and the News of the World are the most prolific, have been refered to has “The Gutter Press”. And quite rightly so, these tabloid news papers claim to appeal to the common man, or the populous “working class”, and they claim to reflect and represent the “thoughts”, “feelings” and “interests” of the said group of people……………In truth these papers pander to the lowest common denominator in the expression of human nature, and play on, in jungian terms, the shadow nature which is dark, closetted, and associated with guilt, shame, and anxiety…………….and ofcourse FEAR. All in the name of power money and more power. It is said that power corrupts, and the reason power corrupts is because once you have power the tendancy is to ruthlessly guard your position. No one is safe if news international gets a bee in its bonnet Michael Jackson, a much loved but naturally complicated personality will be dubbed Wacko Jacko, anyone close to them in the power stakes will be mercifully investigated until the word “sleeze” can be associated with their dealings. And when they really want to defame someone, politician, celebrity or anyone they will stop at nothing, including bully boy tactics, withdrawal of support, slander the foulest type of name calling such is the low life nature of this newspaper group. Intelligent men yes, and very clever too, but their paper, if likened to an individual this iondividual would be an ignorant, arrogant thug.
I’ve made the point before that rupert murdoch never makes a move unless he believes it to be shrewd. So far, him and his media machine has done nothing more than to blind the masses to the reality of the relevant truths in the news. I was unaware of the significance of pholus in recent events pertaining to the closure of the notw. With pluto and pholus involved astrologically, the question beggs or rather is answered as to blindness. The blindness of the masses and who was doing the blinding. Pluto, the executioner was involved in this very recent grand square, and saturn in libra the judge. In a flash Uranus, the people have been given their sight once more and murdochs has been eclipsed………….. A negative expression of the masculine principle as well as survival of the fittest, subdue and exploit, is never say die…………..just like when cancer has to be surgically removed in order to save the whole body Murdoch had no choice but to sacrifice the notw. And he thought nothing of 200 or so people that he employed. As far as media in the united kingdom news international is concerned there is now a gap in the market. As far I am concerned there is no gap, just a healing has to place. The cancer is gone and in order to stop this cancer coming back we the 10 per cent poor righteous teachers must be on our toes and act quickly. As News international takes a pasting and begins to crumble we must replace it with an alternative form of journalism one that is geninely interested in the state of the planet and one that doesn’t shy away from being recognised as spiritual.
On any healing journey we are always instructed first and foremost to take back our power. We cannot let the opportunity to do this slip us by. The likes of Eric Francis, myself, many of you reading this and many other well intentioned souls are The New Media and we can instigate positive change via the internet, but the time is right now. If I had the resources in terms of man power I would start our own online news room “e press” is a simple enough and catchy name. Anyone who likes the name and feels inspired to start something with it please feel free, this new age will see an end to these ridculous copyright laws that bind people so and stifle creativity. And if anyone caring to get involved and have a hand in getting “e press” off the ground sees an opportunity to make some cash then thats fine, we’ve all got to eat and there’s nothing wrong with making money…………..it’s said that money is the root of all evil, but by and large its the people who lust after money and power who are evil………………”e press” collective online journalism for the new age and the spirtually concious.
Many thanks to Tracy for the twitter consolidations.
From here, the whole affair looks like an avalanche. You know what happens to the pebbles.
Word is that James Murdoch is liable under the Corrupt Practices Act; if it’s proven that NotW did indeed bribe police officers in the UK, he, as CEO of Newscorp, can be indicted under that law and can get jail time for it. Newscorp is now US based and incorporated, and as such is subject to that law. Heh heh.
If James knew, Rupert knew. Heh heh. I’d love to see Newscorp entirely broken up and divested worldwide as a result of all this, and see the Murdoch’s do time, never to be in the media world again. A lifetime ban sounds awful good.
From today’s Sunday NY Times:
For Years, the Tabloids’ Sting Kept British Politicians in Line
By SARAH LYALL
Fear of media harassment and political necessity have long underpinned the uneasy collusion between British politicians and the nation’s tabloids. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/10/world/europe/10britain.html?_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha2
This strikes me as a disingenuous title. So, who’s keeping the tabloids in line then? Apparently nobody. And probably nobody will since Murdoch is God.
As filthy and murky as this story is there is even more at stake than is mentioned here – though not directly connecetd to NotW.
Murdochs News Corp is currently trying to take over B Sky B with a huge amount of pressure being placed on the British government to allow it even though there is a serious risk of monopoly in the UK media industry if it goes ahead ( and of course even more Murdoch clout to control said Government)
Murdochs UK right hand ‘man’ Rebekah Brooks who is seriously implicated in the NotW hacking as she was Editor at the time is being protected – no doubt because she is spearheading this take over in the Uk and cannot be seen to have bloody hands – interestingly she also lives down the road from the PM David Cameron and they had several social dinners/parties over the Christmas period, they are bessie mates.
If plankton like Rebekah Brooks is being protected to this level there is not a cat in hells chance that any invesigation will find some shit sticking to James Murdochs shoe – here is my £10 which i will happily pass on the PW if it happens.
The reason in a way i think this is even more important than innocent peoples phones being tapped is that with a complete media monopoly in this country, noone will have the clout to bring Newscorp into check andin the case of the current Conservative government noone will even want to.
So, News of the World is abruptly shut down after roughly two Uranus cycles (84 years x 2 = 168) and during a Uranus station retrograde in Aries? Interesting.
Thanks for this. People all over the world see us British as very correct and decent – my Italian landlord was horrified (but also a little delighted, i’m sure) by this news. But the Brits are capable of the most ghastly, cynical moves (yes, Murdoch’s Australian but…). There was a huge scandal in the UK over a terrible rail disaster some years ago, when leaks came out about how the government was trying to get a rail survivors lobbby to shut up. And good old Guardian, always in there, routing out the truth. xx