There aren’t many institutions in British public life that have gone untouched by scandal in the past few years. Our politicians were caught lying on expense forms and spending taxpayer money on pornography and duck houses. After the banking crisis, the City and the major banks, are a focus for much public anger. The BBC is too scared to put out any programme that might cause Middle England to pick up their online pitchforks and complain them back to the 1950s. Everyone whines about the NHS. We don’t have a manufacturing industry left. The army can’t afford boots. The police have had two major scandals in the past six years in the Jean Charles de Menezes and Ian Tomlinson cases. Church attendance has plummeted. The Royal Family turned out to be more dysfunctional than the average reality TV show family. Our footballers, those beloved bastions of decency actually turned out to be a horde of semi-literate knuckle-draggers, constantly nuts deep in the nearest sex worker. It was the newspapers that gleefully informed the public of the wrongdoings and failings of these organisations, the spotlight never really falling on their own practices. Until last week, when the tabloid The News of the World (NOTW) stopped playing the role of storyteller and became the story. The fact that they are owned by Rupert Murdoch’s powerful News Corp empire (as part of News International (NI)), could not save the beleaguered rag; yesterday, after 168 years and 8,674 issues, the NOTW published its last edition after being implicated in one of the biggest political scandals in British history.
So what happened? Why did it suddenly kick off last week, with new revelations arriving every hour, when this scandal has been quietly simmering in the background for years? Is it going to change anything in the media landscape of the UK? What role did NOTW have in Britain’s culture anyway?
The Phone Hacking Scandal
There were accusations of phone hacking leveled against the NOTW as long ago as 2005; accusations that reporters and private investigators working for the NOTW were hacking into mobile phones of celebrities, royals and politicians by using the default PIN code to access voicemail (that many people do not think to change when they start using their phone) or by tricking the phone service provider’s call centre into giving them the PIN. To many of the public (and a lot of the press) this was a non-story; tabloids going a little too far for a scoop, like they always do, the victims being public figures who know that intrusion is the price they pay for their careers. The catalyst for the events of last week was the revelation that it wasn’t just the rich and powerful that were being hacked; a 13 year old murder victim, Milly Dowler, had had voicemail messages intercepted by the NOTW at the time she was missing, but before her body was discovered. The cruelest intervention had been that they had deleted voicemails from her phone as her inbox became full. Her family thought this was a sign she was still alive. She wasn’t.
While the UK’s public and politicians were still reeling from this news the identity of more possible victims came out: dead soldiers and their families, other murder victim’s families, and 7/7 victims. Today it emerges 9/11 victims were targets. As the same time as opposition politicians piled on political pressure, the public responded to the news on Twitter and on influential blogs like Mumsnet. Perhaps more importantly they signed petitions that hit News International where it really hurt; they called on advertisers to pull their adverts from NOTW (and in some cases all NI products). Boycotts of papers are one thing; eventually the public go back to buying them and most of the outraged are not the people that buy the paper in the first place. But by making it clear to the companies that advertise in the tabloids that they too may have face a boycott for being associated with the NOTW, the campaigners managed to get advertiser after advertiser to disassociate themselves from the mortally wounded publication, forcing NI into swift action. As a way of containing the blow-back, Murdoch cut the NOTW loose. By containing the toxicity to one brand, he was trying to protect his other British assets, not least the successful papers The Sun and The Times. He also hoped to steady the News Corp stock prices and save a controversial deal that will allow Murdoch to take control of a major broadcaster (BSkyB).
It is hard to say where this is going to end; it is a complex situation. There seem to be at least four main issues. The first issue is the criminal investigation. Before any public inquiry can come about, the police need to complete their inquires; hopefully leading to the arrest and imprisonment of those responsible for the phone hacking . Also (unfortunately for Scotland Yard) they must investigate the allegations that police officers were paid for information and also to re-examine their former investigations that failed to bring to light the wrongdoing. (See timeline, below)
Secondly, perhaps more importantly, the relationship between the government and the media is going to be carefully examined. Newspapers are meant to be self regulating, under the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) (Broadcasters are regulated by a statutory body, OFCOM; the PCC is a voluntary body). As they cleared the NOTW several times, the PCC looks ineffective and the temptation for the government (who need to be seen to be showing a strong response to this mess) is to introduce stronger, even government controlled, regulation of the media. This is worrying; state interference in the media is not what anybody would wish for and given the existence of “new media” like blogs, it would be hard to enforce. There is already, arguably too much interference with free speech in the UK; for example, English libel law is notoriously strict with nations such as America considering legislation to make these laws unenforceable in their own countries. Another famous example is of course super-injunctions, which may be associated more with the rich and powerful trying to protect their reputations (by using the courts to prevent newspapers publishing whatever sordid fact they are trying to hide), but have also been used in the past by companies trying to prevent reporting of potentially criminal acts, such as the dumping of toxic waste. Basically, the government has to be careful when bringing up more regulation for the press; one good suggestion from The Guardian was to try to define what “public interest” is more clearly in law. So tabloid-type scoops involving the private life of a celebrity are less easy to defend when it come to law-breaking than, for example exposing corruption in politicians or large corporations.
Thirdly, there is the BSkyB deal. Murdoch wants to buy the remaining 69% of the company that News Corp doesn’t own. BSkyB is the UK’s largest commercial (i.e. non-BBC) broadcaster, with more than 10 million subscribers and growing internet service provider and film on demand services. News Corp’s control over both this large broadcaster and politically influential newspapers is seen as unacceptable to many. Ed Miliband, Leader of the Opposition thinks Murdoch should drop the bid and asked in last Wednesday’s Prime Minister’s Questions that News Corp’s bid is referred to the Competition Commission, something David Cameron declined to do. However the deal is now on hold; and as I am writing this post, has just been, in fact referred to the Commission by Jeremy Hunt, the Culture Secretary. It will be hard to convince law-makers they are a worthy company to be in control of so much of the media when it has just been revealed they may have been aware of the full extent of the phone hacking four years ago.
Finally there is the issue of how widespread these practices are and if phone hacking is the only illegal practice being used. As I write (this story has been moving so very fast since last Monday), it is being alleged by the BBC that former Prime Minister Gordon Brown has had documents related to his private finances (and the medical records of his son, who suffers from cystic fibrosis) accessed, not by the NOTW, but by another NI paper, The Sunday Times. In fact the NOTW wasn’t the only paper, perhaps not even the worst when it came to illegal practices. A 2006 report in the (illegal) trade in personal information put the Daily Mail on top. This scandal may be way bigger than NOTW and even News International, but may actually involved the practices of many of the large papers in Britain.
THE PLAYERS
So who are the cast in the UK’s biggest ever production of Machiavelli’s “The Prince“? And how did the events unfurl? Below is a very limited list.
Prince William– Prince. Flies helicopters. Heir with no hair due to anti-monarchist hair follicles. Known best to Californians as the guy causing traffic problems around LA this weekend. His knee started the whole thing. (See timeline, below).
Rupert Murdoch– You know this guy. The spirits of Voldemort, Darth Vader and Mephistopheles channeled into an octogenarian Australian. Has ink for blood according to Toby Young. Chairman of News Corp. Apparently is quite well off. Really wants BSkyB deal to go through. This could lead to profits of up to £1 billion No wonder he was happy to toss NOTW, the newspaper he bought in 1969, when there is far more to be gained in his broadcasting endeavours. May have been persuaded to get rid of the tarnished paper when Renault decided to pull adverts from all News Corp owned media, making the need for containment of bad PR necessary. There has been objections to the deal for a while now; people fear a “Berlusconi”-style concentration of media ownership in the UK. The deal has been currently postponed due to this week’s events. He flew into Britain to sort out the mess yesterday. The temperature here has dropped 5 degrees since. Brilliant account of his dealings in the British media here, from Adam Curtis, well worth reading:
James Murdoch– Chairman and Chief Executive of News Corporation, Europe and Asia. Oversees News International, NOTW publisher. May face charges on both sides of the Atlantic.
Rebekah Brooks (nee Wade)– Ginger, Charles II lookalike. Meteoric rise to top. Started at the NOTW at the age of 21 as a secretary, became a feature writer, then the UK’s youngest newspaper editor at the age of 32. Became editor of the Sun, then Chief Executive of NI. A favourite of Murdoch; he bought her a Lowry for her 40th birthday. An actual Lowry painting. Lowry’s matchstick figures could be an indication of what Murdoch feels about the public. Murdoch clearly puts her before staff of NOTW . Unless he is using her as a human shield for his son. Made of bit of a hash of a question from of a House of Commons committee in 2003 when she accidental admitted paying police officers for information, which is illegal under British law. According to a NI source, reported in yesterday’s Sunday Telegraph, she will be questioned this week. Admonished a reporter for not dressing up as Harry Potter on the 11th September 2001.
Yates of the Yard– Not a character from a Victorian novel. Real name John Yates, Assistant Commissioner for the London Metropolitan Police. Headed original 2006 investigation into phone hacking. His failure to reopen the case in 2009 has lead to a lot of criticism, a decision he now describes as a cock-up. The fact that some police officers were paid for information may lead to the biggest internal investigation of the police since the 1970s
Nick Davies– Investigative reporter for the Guardian, responsible for many of the big revelations on the phone hacking scandal, including the revelation that Milly Dowler was a victim. Here he is with his summary of the investigation. If they ever do a film of the scandal, Davies will the Woodward/ Bernstein figure. The Guardian has been following this scandal from the start and has some of the best coverage you will find on the matter, thanks in many ways to Davies.
Clive Goodman– Former Royal Correspondent for NOTW. Arrested in 2006 and jailed for 4 months in 2007 for illegally intercepting voicemails (of members of the Royal household). Re-arrested last week.
Glenn Mulcaire– Private investigator, jailed for 6 months at the same time as Goodman over the same affair. Used to be a football player, has a bit of a mullet. Seems like a sleaze-bag, but claims to be a “reformed character“.
Andy Coulson– Editor of NOTW at the time of the hacking. Resigned in 2007 over after the jailing of Goodman and Mulcaire. Was hired by David Cameron as chief of Communications 6 months later and followed Cameron to Downing Street after the 2010 election. Resigned in January this year after new revelations in the scandal. Arrested this week. Once said “Tabloid newspapers in this country do more for its people than any other newspapers in the world”. You are raising your eye-brows right now aren’t you? Don’t do that, you look very silly.
Sean Hoare– Former NOTW hack. Quoted in a New York Times article in September 2010 as saying phone hacking was widespread in the NOTW.
Ian Edmondson– Senior editor at NOTW, suspended in January this year for being fingered in the scandal by evidence from court case brought about by Sienna Miller.
Neville Thurlbeck– Chief reporter for NOTW. Broke story about Max Mosley S + M Nazi sex-worker shenanigans. Arrested in April this year.
Colin Myler– The last editor of NOTW. Came in after the old regime that is thought to be responsible for the hacking and therefore thought not to be involved. “Banged out” his staff on Saturday night (an old Fleet Street tradition; when a reporter leaves, their colleagues bang their desks with rulers as he leaves, Myler did this for the entire staff), after saying goodbye. Gave speech to waiting news media, finishing “‘And now in the best traditions of Fleet Street, we are going to the pub'”, then went to the pub.
David Cameron– Prime Minister of coalition government. Descendant of William IV. Estimated family fortune of £30 million. Went to Eton. Sometimes described as out of touch with the average British person. Appointment of Andy Coulson (despite warnings from people including the editor of the Guardian) lead to speculation about the quality of some of his choices. Friendship with Brooks under scrutiny. Probably will not resign, but some bookies have stopped taking bets on whether he will. Announced public inquiry this week, but refused to refer BSkyB deal to competition commission, until today.
Ed Miliband– Leader of opposition Labour party. Had bad week last week, after a bizarre interview in which he repeated himself over and over again, looking like a surprised groundhog, caught in his own timeloop. Also failed to support public sector strikes (the unions are the only reason he is Labour leader; the majority of Labour party members and MPs voted for his brother David; the vote of the unions gave Ed victory), This week he dealt some pretty decent blows to Cameron in Prime Minister’s Questions; he asked for a public inquiry into the scandal and got an affirmative answer. Then he used further questions to point out that the BSkyB deal should be delayed by sending it to the Competition Commission, and pushed Cameron into admitting responsibility for his appointment of Coulson. Labour now polling at 44%, 9 points ahead of the Tories. However he also has a former NI employee, Tom Baldwin as his spin doctor.
Hugh Grant– Fictional Prime Minister. Quite posh, but not as posh as real Prime Minister. Once got sucked off by a prostitute in a car. Has been warning about phone hacking for ages. Recorded Paul McMullan admitting phone hacking was widespread. Appeared on BBC’s Question Time this week. This is the only time that it is acceptable that celebrities get involved in politics as they are actually involved in the case. In nearly every other example, when a celebrity is used on TV or in print instead of an expert it is REALLY VERY ANNOYING. Comedian Steve Coogan also appeared on BBC’s Newsnight this week and also gets a pass.
Paul McMullan– Hilarious stereotype of a grimy Fleet Street reporter. Recorded by Hugh Grant admitting knowledge of phone hacking, but also willing to go on any TV show or talk to any newspaper about it, especially if they mention the pub he owns. Current NOTW employees say he know nothing of new regime. Wears the same disheveled suit all the time. looks like a man that survives on cigarettes and last night’s takeaway. Fascinating character as he looks like a normal human being, but seems to have had all morals and compassion removed. Possibly from enacting the darkest of the dark arts for so long. Would make a great satirical character but is too bizarre to be actually real (except he is actually real, which is puzzling). described by Newsnight anchor Emily Maitlis as “tortured soul”, while he was taking a verbal beating from Steve Coogan this week. Admits running stories about a Jennifer Elliott (the daughter of an actor) using information bought from a policeman. She later committed suicide. He admits “I totally humilated and destroyed her and it wasn’t nessecary. She didn’t derserve it… I went a step too far… if there was anyone to apologise to I would, but they are all dead”
Chris Bryant– Labour MP. Asked the question in 2003 that lead to Brooks admitting paying police officers. Lobbied for an emergency debate in Parliament this week. Openly gay, was once asked by Brooks ‘Oh, Mr Bryant, it’s after dark – shouldn’t you be on Clapham Common [popular gay cruising area]?”, before her then husband told her to “shut up, your homophobic cow”.
John Prescott– Former Labour Deputy Prime Minister. Once punched a guy in the face during an election campaign (the man had thrown an egg at him). Has been calling for a hacking probe since the dawn of time.
Sienna Miller– Actress, hacking victim. Received £100,000 damages this year.
Andy Gray– “Football pundit”, hacking victim. Once outraged a nation by suggesting women do not understand the offside rule. Recieved £20,000 damages this year.
Milly Dowler– A schoolgirl who was murdered in 2002 at the age of 13. Victim of phone hacking.
Other Victims: for a complete list of confirmed victims, including Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne and model Elle Macpherson, see this list. This is thought to be just the start with many other victims thought to be out there, including Prime Minsters Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and David Cameron,
TIMELINE:
(See here and here for good accounts of full timeline.)
November 2005– Prince William’s knee is a great place to start this story. Prince William hurts his knee. Clive Goodman, Royal Correspondent of NOTW writes about the an appointment William has with a doctor (fascinating story, Clive, definitely worth breaking the law for). Buckingham Palace is suspicious at how much detail Goodman knows about and suspecting interference with voicemail, reports it to the police.
August 2006– Glenn Mulcaire and Clive Goodman arrested for intercepting mobile phone messages.
January 2007– Goodman and Mulcaire are jailed for 4 and 6 months respectively. NOTW and NI deny knowledge of their actions, although Andy Coulson as editor acknowledges he bears ultimate responsibility and resigns. The policeman in charge of the investigation would later become a columnist for the NOTW. Mulcaire and Goodman would go on to win an unfair dismissal case against NI.
May 2007– Press Complaints Commission clears NOTW of wrongdoing in a report that states that there was no evidence anyone else in NOTW that was aware of phone tapping. This report would later be withdrawn. Later the same month David Cameron, who was then Leader of the Opposition, hires Andy Coulson as his Director of Communications.
July 2009– Nick Davies of the Guardian reveals that News Corp had paid out in excess of £1 million pounds to settle cases that would expose the phone hacking. Thousands of other victims alleged, including government minister Tessa Jowell, Mayor of London Boris Johnson and Manchester United Manager Alex Ferguson. NI denies all charges, John Yates, of Scotland Yard refuses to investigation further, although the Crown Prosecution Service looks over evidence from 2006.
November 2009– PCC clears NI again of any wrongdoing.
February 2010– A Committee in the House of Commons finds no evidence of phone hacking, buts states it is”inconceivable’ that no one but Goodman was aware of the practice. Guardian reports that Scotland Yard had uncovered more than 4000 names and 3000 telephone numbers from Mulcaire and Goodman in their 2007 investigation, as well as 91 PIN codes for voicemail access. Only 8 people had been named in court.
March 2010– Guardian reports that publicist Max Clifford was paid £1 million to drop legal case that would expose other NOTW journalists.
April 2010– More hacking allegations leads to suspension of feature writer, Dan Evans.
May 2010– David Cameron becomes Prime Minster, Andy Coulson enters Downing Street with him as new government’s head of Communications.
September 2010– New York Times article alleges phone hacking both widespread and encouraged in NOTW, quoting former NOTW staffer Sena Hoare. Also alleges Scotland Yard investigation not vigorous. Paul Mcmullan speaks to Guardian, reporting that phone hacking and other illegal practices were widespread in NOTW. Scotland yard re-opens investigation, John Prescott presses for judicial review of Yard’s investigation.
January 2011– Ian Edmonson sacked after court case brought about by Sienna Miller. Andy Coulson quits as Chief of Communications. “Operation Weeting” started by Yard in response to evidence given to it by NI.
March 2011– Chris Bryant MP alleges in Commons that people had been “warned off” pursuing the case.
April 2011– Edmonson and Neville Thurlbeck arrested on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications and unlawfully intercepting voicemail messages. NI accepts liability for 8 cases; Sienna Miller, Miller’s stepmother Kelly Hoppen, Tessa Jowell MP, Jowell’s ex-husband David Mills, Andy Gray, sports agent Sky Andrew, John Prescott’s aide Joan Hammell and Max Clifford’s assistant Nicola Philips. June 2011- Andy Gray football pundit, granted £20,000 and Sienna Miller, actress accepts £100,000 damages from NOTW.
4th July 2011– Guardian reports Milly Dowler was a victim of phone hacking. Everyone in Britain has to read headline 5 or 6 times until it sinks it.
5th July 2011– Rebekah brooks claims she is “appalled and shocked”. Rest of country rolls eyes at Rebekah Brooks.
6th July 2011– During PMQs, David Cameron announces a public inquiry, but says there is no need to hold off on BSkyB deal.
7th July 2011– Allegations emerge of hacking of phones of dead soldiers families and 7/7 survivors. Parents of Soham victims are interviewed by the police in connection with possible hacking of their phones. Advertisers and Royal British Legion abandon association with NOTW. James Murdoch announces closure of NOTW.
8th July 2011– Andy Coulson and Clive Goodman arrested
10th July 2011– Last edition of NOTW, headlined “Goodbye and Thank You”.
THE ROLE OF THE NOTW IN BRITISH LIFE
The NOTW was originally started for the newly literate Victorian working class and cheaper than the other papers available in the 1840s. It’s style and content came from giving the people what they want; delicious scandal and gossip with as much gory details as possible. The Gawker of its day. It still caters to the same audience and a newer one, or so Gawker commenter Shoreditch Twat argues: “Because of the required reading level, The NOTW, Sun, and Daily Mirror are read by many immigrants, and provide good training in British humour and sensibilities”. An unfair comparison I have seen on American blogs is that it was like the defunct Weekly World News; this is not necessarily true. It dealt with the real world and was politically influential. It was seen by some as a competitive tabloid that held people to account, was successful at investigative journalism and brought fun, irreverent news to millions of people each Sunday. Their reporting on the Profumo affair is one example of one of their good exclusives. Also their 2009 report revealing a video of Prince Harry calling a fellow Army officer a “paki” (I do think that is an important scoop; if we must pay for a royal family, I do think it is a good idea if we know exactly what level of racism we are paying for). It’s failing, in my eyes, is that the big exclusive that really mattered came few and far between. The majority of its news and a lot of its “scoops” tended to be, for example, printing exclusive photographs of an ex-girlband member snorting cocaine; unimportant at best, overly intrusive at worst. As its scandals tended to be about the personal lives of the famous (“the famous” being anyone from a politician to a WAG to a reality TV star), it meant the NOTW never seemed to to turn it resources and experience of investigative reporting to arguably more important stories. Channel 4 and the BBC, among others all are capable of producing good work on subjects that actually matter. The Telegraph’s exposing of the MP expense scandal for example. The NOTW didn’t seem to produce that many earth shattering exclusives for 168 years work.
Alongside these “splashes”, though would be political reporting, and this where Murdoch felt he had his power; this paper was still selling 2.5 million copies a week and that is after sales had dropped by nearly a half as the internet swallowed up more and more of the market (in fact their own website had 7.5 million unique users, they claimed) and surely those readers would be influenced by the newspapers editorial stances. But perhaps the events of the last week shows that Murdoch’s opinion is not the public’s opinion. The NOTW’s sister paper The Sun claimed after the 1992 election that the Tories victory was all down to them; “It Was The Sun Wot Won It” as the infamous headline went. This allowed him to persuade more politicians that they needed him. Perhaps this is not as true as he claims and perhaps the folding of the NOTW will be the start of an era where politicians are not quite as keen to snuggle up to the cosy bosom of positive headlines today, when it means they have to owe something to News Corp tomorrow. But still, many politicians, including the current PM, David Cameron are closer to Murdoch than perhaps they feel comfortable with right now; Cameron is friends with Brooks, and as one blogger put it: “As Leader of the Opposition he flew to a Greek island and met with Murdoch. Immediately afterwards he started announcing a variety of policies beneficial to the mogul’s interests, including downsizing OfCom and abolishing the BBC Trust”
It should be noted as well that 200 (mostly innocent) people just lost their jobs. Many didn’t work for the old pre-2006 regime. They have never heard of Glenn Mulcaire. They got two day’s notice and a three month pay off, before facing a difficult job market. Many will not be re-employed by News Corp. It should also be noted though, that with the departure of Coulson and the old regime, the NOTW may have claimed it had changed, but this may not be strictly true.
So it wasn’t the worst paper, but it certainly wasn’t the best. It will probably be replaced by The Sun on Sunday (News International has registered the URL thesunonsunday.co.uk, seemly for this purpose). But what type of media world will this new paper will be waking up to? With new developments coming every hour, it is really hard to tell.
