[Update] The News Corp scandal

[Maggy J]

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/03/us...nt&tntemail1=y

Shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, relatives of some of the victims began suspecting that someone was eavesdropping on their telephones.

Ten years later, their long-held suspicions aroused by The News of the World phone-hacking scandal in London, dozens of relatives of victims contacted the Justice Department. On Aug. 24, eight of them met with Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. and asked him to determine whether their privacy had been violated. As a first step, they asked him to see whether Scotland Yard had a record of their names or phone numbers among the material seized from a private investigator who hacked cellphone messages for the tabloid.
Four months later, they are still waiting to hear back and are frustrated by the Justice Department’s silence.

Jodi Westbrook Flowers, a lawyer at a South Carolina firm that represents more than 6,700 relatives of Sept. 11 victims, said she and her colleagues had scoured the British tabloids and found scores of details about the victims. Relatives were not certain how the tabloids found out so much so quickly after the attacks.
One of the relatives, whom she declined to identify, said that five days after Sept. 11, The Sun published the words from a voice mail message left on his cellphone by his son, who was aboard one of the planes that hit the World Trade Center. (British authorities are also investigating whether hacking occurred at The Sun, which, like The News of the World, is owned by News Corporation.)

Even if it's not phone hacking someone has been underhand in obtaining information.

[Alan Fry]

It is the case that other non-News Corp newspapers were involved with Phone Hacking?

[Maggy J]

Originally Posted by Alan Fry

It is the case that other non-News Corp newspapers were involved with Phone Hacking?

I suggest you take a look at the Democracy Live pages at the BBC and watch the recorded sessions of the Leveson Inquiry rather than expect everyone here to tell you what's occurred and what's been discovered or you could read the backlog of this thread which has numerous links to a variety of articles on the subject.

Oh and there are recordings of Select Committee sessions about this issue.

[Chris]

Originally Posted by Maggy J

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/03/us...nt&tntemail1=y

Even if it's not phone hacking someone has been underhand in obtaining information.

yep. It's called blagging, it goes on at every level of our print media from your weekly free-sheet to the nationals, and it's one of the reasons I got out of the industry (having realised being good at reporting probably meant being good at blagging too).

[denphone]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16439328

A former executive assistant to ex-News of the World editor Rebekah Brooks has been arrested by police investigating phone hacking, the BBC understands.

Scotland Yard said a 47-year-old woman was arrested in Essex on Friday on suspicion of attempting to pervert the course of justice.

The BBC understands she is Cheryl Carter

The latest arrest happened at about 06:55 GMT on Friday, and the woman is in custody

[Maggy J]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16494872

The Daily Telegraph paid the middle man in the MPs' expenses story £150,000 for the disc containing the information, the Leveson Inquiry has heard.
Former editor Will Lewis said he was initially concerned the story was a hoax but soon realised he had a "responsibility" to publish it.

He also denied the paper had dragged out its reporting for commercial gain.

That's a lot of money..

[Maggy J]

Caught up with Ian Hislop's appearance at the Leveson Inquiry..Interesting to watch.

[Damien]

News International has settled a number of hacking cases today.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16629036

[Maggy J]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16634365

The High Court has awarded several high-profile figures tens of thousands of pounds over phone hacking by the now-defunct News of the World. Here, some react for the first time.

At least there is no gagging clause THIS time.

However what I really want to see is some actual prosecutions..

[Damien]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16682663

Surrey Police says detectives did not give the News of the World messages from the voicemail of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler.

In a letter to MPs, the force said that the newspaper accessed the phone.

The allegation that the newspaper hacked Milly Dowler's phone in 2002 is at the heart of the investigation into the closed title and its journalists.

[denphone]

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/media/ne...-in-april.html

Rupert Murdoch has already seen "draft designs" of a Sunday version of The Sun and the paper could launch in April, a Labour MP has claimed.

Tom Watson, who has been a constant critic of Murdoch's media empire in the phone hacking scandal, said that a source at News Corporation informed him that the new Sunday paper is getting close to launch.

He said that Murdoch has already seen proposed designs for The Sun on Sunday, and that the paper will launch this spring at a cheap price.

Lets hope not as l for one will never purchase this rubbish.

[heero_yuy]

Originally Posted by denphone

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/media/ne...-in-april.html



Lets hope not as l for one will never purchase this rubbish.

Nobody's forcing you to. I think it would do well seeing as there's 3 1/2 million ex-NOTW readers* out there together with the millions of regular Sun purchasers that would as likely buy their paper 7 days a week.



*Obviously I use the term "readers" in it's broadest context.

[Maggy J]

http://www.avaaz.org/en/stop_murdoch...888936&v=12287

The BBC is being forced to hand over tens of millions of pounds every year to line Murdoch’s pockets. Murdoch’s cronies in government are determined to save this scheme -- but together we can stop this outrage.

If anyone thinks this needs altering then please sign the petition.

[Damien]

I am confused. They need to pay BSkyB to show their programming? Isn't that fair enough, or do they mean they need to pay BSkyB to show BBC programming?

[RizzyKing]

Glad it's not just me looked for more info found mention of a figure of a hundred million but no real detail on what this is about.