Rupert Murdoch, son will get cozy in Parliamentary hot seat

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Their appearances required a little bit of arm-twisting. Rebekah Brooks, the editor of News of the World during the phone hacking scandal will be with them, too. They’ll be questioned on the situation and will have to offer up evidence. Originally Murdoch and his son weren’t going to attend, but only decided to after facing enormous pressure from government officials. The hearing is set for next Tuesday, and it really doesn’t seem like any of this will turn out well for News Corp. In other news — the FBI will investigate News Corp. to see whether the phones of 9/11 victims were possibly hacked by British tabloids. Which would bring this to a whole new level of messed-up. source

Posted by Justin Jones • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 Jul 2011 11:28

I think it’s a shame because they’ve done a lot of good, they’ve riddled out a lot of, let’s say, nasty people. It’s unfortunate that a few people have brought it down. But they have got no choice because they condemned others so they have got to show they are accountable.
Newspaper vendor Jean Natella • Offering her take on the closing of News of the World. Say what you will about the paper’s tactics, but they have shown results in the past, though the problem the paper has faced has been one of culture. As another reader, Michael Mitchell, puts it: “I don’t think it should close; I think the people responsible should not be there. They have, I feel, overstepped the mark. Or they’ve been found out, because if this paper is doing it you can bet the majority of them are doing it as well.” We can get behind that. source

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

I just felt stunned and horrified. I find it hard to believe someone could be so wicked and so evil, and that someone could work for an organization that even today is trying to defend what they see as normal practices.
Graham Foulkes, father of a 2005 London bombing victim • Reacting after learning that he was on a possible list of people whose phones have been hacked by News of the World. As you might imagine, it’s not the kind of news one takes well, and in the case of Foulkes, who will mourn the sixth anniversary of his son’s death later this week, it only makes things more difficult. Foulkes wants leadership at News Corp. to change, starting with Rebekah Brooks, the chief of News International who once edited News of the World, but denies she knew what was going on. “She’s gotta go,” he said. “She cannot say, oops, sorry, we’ve been caught out. Of course she’s responsible for the ethos and practices of her department. Her position is untenable.” Do you agree? source

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

Surely now we should hear from David Cameron and Ed Miliband. It’s utterly disgraceful that they’ve let this scandal run on for as long as it has. No more cowardice — we want action.
Labour parliament member Tom Watson • Reacting to the news that “News of the World,” the U.K. tabloid publication, hacked into teenager Milly Dowler’s voicemail after she went missing in 2002. But it gets worse — apparently, after Dowler’s voicemail got full, they deleted messages in hopes of receiving more of them. But the end result was that it gave her family false hope, because it made them think she deleted the messages. In reality, Dowler was murdered, but News of the World crossed a very strong ethical line in hopes of getting a story. It’s one they’ve crossed before, by the way. source

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

You know, bad journalism is bad journalism. But occasionally, someone manages to open up a new tier of bad journalism, one that not even Jayson Blair or Stephen Glass could even imagine. Such is the case of News of the World, Rupert Murdoch’s downmarket British tabloid, best-known in the States for revealing that Michael Phelps likes doing bong hits at college parties. The paper just admitted, after days of denials, that it is responsible for a scheme wher a bunch of its reporters hacked the mobile phones of many potential sources — including members of the Royal Family, actresses, politicians and sports stars. The scandal has already cost a member of David Cameron’s staff his job, and now News of the World is finally admitting their reporters screwed up. Stephen Glass looks professional in comparison. source

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink