News News International back tracks again on phone hacking

[Chilly]

Odd, the select comittee made it quite clear that ANY payments to serving police officers IS and WAS completely illegal at the time of the allegations. That does not indicate any legal grey area at all.

I wasn't saying it wasnt illegal, but journalism means breaking the law sometimes. Leaking official documents is illegal, but tolerated under certain circumstances. I'm much happier in a society where journalists are allowed, with solid editorial oversight, a bit of leeway to get to the story.

 

[Cerb]

I just feel bad for the people being put out of work because of what probably a small percentage of the staff actually did.

 

[old.user4556]

I just feel bad for the people being put out of work because of what probably a small percentage of the staff actually did.

Just like the banks then.

 

[Embattle]

NoW is the cap to the weeks tabloid attempt to print as much sex and utter crap on paper, the fact it is gone is no bad thing but it'll just be replaced by something else nearly as bad.

 

[megadave]

I just feel bad for the people being put out of work because of what probably a small percentage of the staff actually did.

Rebekah Brooks gets to keep her job though

Honestly i struggle to sympathise for people working for tabloids.

 

[Lamp]

Apparently all the advertising revenues are going to be given to good causes.

 

[megadave]

that's like me saying all the money in my hand right now is going to charity despite my hands being empty

 

[ECA]

Rebekah Brooks gets to keep her job though

She must have some serious dirt on one or more of the murdochs.

 

[Lamp]

yep

can't help thinking this is a massive twisted PR stunt.

they'll sell every paper on Sunday
and they'll definitely open another tabloid (can't see the 1000s of staff losing their jobs) + the market demand is there for that kind of paper. You don't get to be Britain's best selling rag without the demand.

 

[Helme]

If she admitted breaking the law in that video, why wasn't she arrested and charged?

Or am I being stupidly naive again?

The law only applies to 1) poor people, and 2) people who got rich by scamming the rich. Hope this helps explain things.

 

[cHodAX]

I wasn't saying it wasnt illegal, but journalism means breaking the law sometimes. Leaking official documents is illegal, but tolerated under certain circumstances. I'm much happier in a society where journalists are allowed, with solid editorial oversight, a bit of leeway to get to the story.

Making payment for recieving such information is bribery of a public official, if he was a whistleblower and wasn't paid then fair enough but they paid him cold hard cash and that makes it 100% criminal.

 

[Fafnir]

I wasn't saying it wasnt illegal, but journalism means breaking the law sometimes. Leaking official documents is illegal, but tolerated under certain circumstances. I'm much happier in a society where journalists are allowed, with solid editorial oversight, a bit of leeway to get to the story.

Freedom of the press dont give journalists the right to break the law.

 

[Lamp]

They've been doing it (obtaining information illegally and unethically) for years. Its just all come out now. Much harder to hide stuff like that in today's internet age

 

[megadave]

the domain sunonsunday has already been registered

WHOIS Query

 

[Lamp]

LOL @ Steve Allen on Twitter: "...will re-launch as the Daily Voice Mail"

 

[Raven]

So, it's just a re-branding then with all the shit being stuffed under the carpet.

Righto!

 

[cHodAX]

YouTube - ‪BBC London News 06/07/2011‬‏

lol

 

[Cerb]

Murdoch must be pissed.

 

[cHodAX]

Ken Clarke on News of the World closure: "All they are going to do is rebrand it"

Even senior Tories see what a ruse this 'closure' is.

 

[Gumbo]

Expect another little scandal or two to drive NI share prices down, including BSkyB over the next few months until the deal is done. Each 10 percent saves Murdoch £1billion and it will all recover in 3 years or so.

Wake up everyone, the police and all of journalism knew about phone hacking for 10 years, why do you think it's come out now?

 

[Wij]

Even senior Tories see what a ruse this 'closure' is.

To be fair they are dumping a major brand. That costs.

 

[cHodAX]

To be fair they are dumping a major brand. That costs.

No, what costs is printing a paper every week with massive losses due to advertisers walking. All they have done is take the smaller loss.

 

[Lamp]

The new rag will take over where NotW left and will be written by the same journos with the same celebrity content the same football & tits, and be just as popular.

 

[Wij]

No, what costs is printing a paper every week with massive losses due to advertisers walking. All they have done is take the smaller loss.

A loss nevertheless.

 

[Wij]

The new rag will take over where NotW left and will be written by the same journos with the same celebrity content the same football & tits, and be just as popular.

Nope. Sun staff will be making the new newspaper. NotW will not be redeployed en masse. They are separate papers. Not that this makes it ok ofc.

 

[DaGaffer]

No, what costs is printing a paper every week with massive losses due to advertisers walking. All they have done is take the smaller loss.

Without knowing what the goodwill (LOL) value of NotW is, its kind of difficult to know whether the write down will be offset by the operating savings; printing and paper orders are already in flow, although I assume they can be rerouted elsewhere in NewsCorp, and probably some of the staff, they'll have to take the hit on some other overheads for a while.

 

[cHodAX]

Nope. Sun staff will be making the new newspaper. NotW will not be redeployed en masse. They are separate papers. Not that this makes it ok ofc.

BBC are reporting otherwise, that the Sun going 7 days will open up alot of vacancies and exisiting staff will not be able to work all 7 days longterm without failing to comply with employment law, it is a redeployment in all but name. As for your comment on a loss, every weekend they run NotW without major advertisers and and lower sales could cost up to £10 million a time. They have taken a smart business descision, a smaller financial hit now and kill off a toxic brand rather than continue and risk massive losses but more importantly kill any chance of the BskyB deal which is vastly more important to News International.

We are also hearing reports that the Sun was going to be going 7 days a week in the next year anyway, they already had a replacement lined up.

 

[Gibbo]

Complete sham.

The News Of The World closing is News International's attempt to deflect all the flak they have been getting. News International want their hands on BSkyB and will hope that this somehow will help them.

Don't forget, the people who were in charge of this at the time are still in charge. The editor of the NoTW Rebekah Brooks at the time of the Milly Dowler phone hack is STILL the chief executive of News International. So whilst she keeps her job, several hundred people at the paper who were not involved in this are in danger of losing their jobs. Just watching Sky News at the moment and there is lynch mob mentality within the NoTW and News International at the moment towards Rebekah Brooks.

And come next Sunday, we will probably get the The Sunday Sun because The Sun is the paper that Murdoch really cares about. The NoTW has been losing readers for years and was never going to recover.

 

[Wij]

BBC are reporting otherwise, that the Sun going 7 days will open up alot of vacancies and exisiting staff will not be able to work all 7 days longterm without failing to comply with employment law, it is a redeployment in all but name. As for your comment on a loss, every weekend they run NotW without major advertisers and and lower sales could cost up to £10 million a time. They have taken a smart business descision, a smaller financial hit now and kill off a toxic brand rather than continue and risk massive losses but more importantly kill any chance of the BskyB deal which is vastly more important to News International.

We are also hearing reports that the Sun was going to be going 7 days a week in the next year anyway, they already had a replacement lined up.

That doesn't contradict my point though. They are separate papers. NotW staff will have to apply for jobs on The Sun. They won't be moved straight across (I'm guessing.)

 

[ford prefect]

Lets face it, none of this is a huge suprise and I have to say that for a change I am with the Lib Dems on this one. Any enquiry should be lead by a Judge given the allegations involving the police and any criminal investigations should be dealt with by an independant team from outside the Met. I don't really understand the reluctance Cameron is showing in that regard.

Murdoch has always been a slippery customer and one hell of a business man, but this issue needs complete transparency with a full and open enquiry. I think in this instance the onus needs to be on News International to prove that they are worthy of running a media empire of that size, especially with the Sky deal on the horizon.