Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
The American mainstream media has been slow to cover what has been a simmering scandal in Britain for several years now. That scandal is now exploding and may take down the government of Prime Minister David Cameron.
Rupert Murdoch's News of The World rag (and now The Sun) has been accused of hacking into the telephone accounts of members of Parliament and celebrities fishing for an "insider" scoop to report. Only in the last few days have I seen the Arizona Republic report stories now that the scandal has hit a new low, even for Rupert Murdoch: hacking into a missing 13-year-old's phone messages, possibly hampering a police inquiry into her abduction and murder. Tabloid accused of hacking missing British girl's phone and today, Phone-hacking scandal in Britain widens (The scandal, which has already touched the office of Prime Minister David Cameron, widened as the Metropolitan Police confirmed they were investigating evidence from News International that the tabloid made illegal payments to police officers in its quest for information.)
This morning comes breaking news: Rupert Murdoch is shutting down his rag News of The World on Sunday. 'News of The World' is Closing Down: The Fall of Rupertgate UPDATED | Crooks and Liars:
C&L has been covering the Rupertgate story for a while now and finally there have been consequences for News Corp over this huge and ugly scandal. Will FOX News even cover it? And how much of a hit will Rupert Murdoch take here in America?
News of The World is closing down Sunday:
In the past few days, claims have been made that the paper authorised hacking into the mobile phones of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler and the families of 7/7 bombing victims.
Mr Murdoch said proceeds from the last edition would go to good causes. Downing Street said it had no role or involvement in the decision.
The News of the World is the UK's biggest selling newspaper and has been in circulation for 168 years.
No advertisements will run in this weekend's paper – instead any advertising space will be donated to charities and good causes. In a statement made to staff, Mr Murdoch said the good things the News of the World does "have been sullied by behaviour that was wrong – indeed, if recent allegations are true, it was inhuman and has no place in our company".
"The News of the World is in the business of holding others to account. But it failed when it came to itself."
He went on: "In 2006, the police focused their investigations on two men. Both went to jail. But the News of the World and News International failed to get to the bottom of repeated wrongdoing that occurred without conscience or legitimate purpose.
"Wrongdoers turned a good newsroom bad and this was not fully understood or adequately pursued. "As a result, the News of the World and News International wrongly maintained that these issues were confined to one reporter.
"We now have voluntarily given evidence to the police that I believe will prove that this was untrue and those who acted wrongly will have to face the consequences. This was not the only fault. "The paper made statements to Parliament without being in the full possession of the facts. This was wrong.
"The company paid out-of-court settlements approved by me. I now know that I did not have a complete picture when I did so. This was wrong and is a matter of serious regret."
He reiterated that the company was fully co-operating with the two ongoing police investigations.
He added: "While we may never be able to make up for distress that has been caused, the right thing to do is for every penny of the circulation revenue we receive this weekend to go to organisations – many of whom are long-term friends and partners – that improve life in Britain and are devoted to treating others with dignity."
The Guardian has more.
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"The News of the World is in the business of holding others to account," the deputy chief operating officer of News Corporation told staff of the 168-year-old newspaper.
"It failed when it came to itself.
"The good things the News of the World does … have been sullied by behavior that was wrong. Indeed, if recent allegations are true, it was inhuman and has no place in our company."
News Corporation has been rocked in the last week by claims that its best-selling Sunday tabloid hacked in to the phones of relatives of British soldiers killed in action, of missing children and those caught up in the July 2005 London bombings.
UPDATE: And now a second paper under Rupert's umbrella is under suspicion for doing the same thing.
Today, The Independent reported that hacking allegations have engulfed a second publication of Rupert Murdoch's — The Sun — his "best-selling" daily paper in the U.K. Previously, the scandal was confined to Murdoch's News of the World tabloid. From The Independent:
Detectives are looking into allegations that a second newspaper at Rupert Murdoch's News International may have used hacked voicemails to publish stories about the private life of a prominent public figure.
Andy Gilchrist, a former union leader, has asked Scotland Yard to investigate his belief that interception of his mobile phone messages led to negative stories about him appearing in The Sun at the height of an acrimonious national strike by the Fire Brigades Union (FBU).
He is the first public figure to suggest that the illegal technique was carried out for stories that ran in News International's best-selling daily title, rather than its Sunday red-top, the News of the World (NOTW).
One of the stories, headlined "Fire strike leader is a love cheat", appeared in The Sun during the first week of its editorship by Rebekah Brooks following her transfer from the NOTW.
As News International's chief executive, Ms Brooks, née Wade, is leading the company's defence against claims that phone hacking was rife at its headquarters in Wapping, east London.
Rupert Murdoch's media empire is being exposed in this scandal, and it may take down the government of Prime Minister David Cameron with it. Rupertgate – The Smoking Phone:
As these revelations now involve the former Communications Director for Prime Minister David Cameron, Andy Coulson who was, prior to his appointment, editor of News Of The World and who has subsequently resigned his post with Cameron in January, questions continue to rise over how much Coulson knew and how far reaching actually is this scandal. It's been said to have taken on Nixonian proportions, and that may well be true. That now it is revealed Police bribes and sand bagging have been ongoing since 2009 and earlier suggest the scandal is far more prevalent than previously thought. That this scandal is being paid scant attention here in the U.S. begs to entertain a more sinister atmosphere (not merely the breezy smokescreen that it's the code of ethics among members of the Fourth Estate not to discuss such matters) and that this is a scandal very much about to break on our own shores involving people who have taken the lead of fact-free and loosely procured sources in the name of journalistic integrity, fairly expose the root of what has been a problem ever since our introduction to the ways of The News Of The World and the tabloid atmosphere so much a part of the Murdoch empire.
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The revelations don't appear to be over by any stretch. My suspicion is it's only a matter of time before revelations about Newscorps activities in the U.S. are discovered. My hunch, and only a hunch not based on anything other than speculation based on reports I'm hearing today, is that this may very well have the potential to bring down the Cameron Government – or at least do serious damage to credibility some weeks or months down the road.
News Corp's activities in the U.S. should be investigated. And TeaNN (formerly CNN) isn't entirely off the hook either. TeaNN hired Piers Morgan to replace Larry King. Piers Morgan is the Prince of Rupertgate | Crooks and Liars:
I wrote about this topic in an earlier post on the News Corp. phone hacking scandal that the US media refuses to give any time to. Since the news broke that Rupert Murdoch's rag actually allegedly deleted phone messages which interfered with a police investigation because the voice mail was full from a 13 year old girl named Milly Dowler, who was murdered by a serial killer.
Listen to Morgan's rant and then ask yourself how he ended up on CNN. he equates what news Corp did to Wikileaks and Hollywood stars like Hugh Grant, who in his mind use the media to become more famous. It's seriously bizarre and just whacked out.
This rant by Piers Morgan should live on in infamy.
Will the American mainstream media start covering the Rupertgate scandal now?
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