Greetings from Burnley where the rain has just started to fall on the Turf Moor pitch and the first meeting of the advisory board of the new University and College of Football Business is about to begin.
An odd way to spend publication day of Power and Responsibility, volume 3 of my diaries, but I managed to persuade the publishers that it would be a novel approach to do no press, TV or radio on the day the book came out. Different, they agreed.
That is not to say I have been absent from the airwaves in recent days as the phone-hacking story has gone from bad to worse.
It was interesting to be labelled a News International spokesman by Peter Oborne this morning, at the same time as News Intermational people were telling me I was persona non grata because of my sustained pointing out over the last couple of years that this was only going to get worse unless they got all their dirty linen out.
Anyway, one should let Oborne fulminate away, as he did perfectly well about David Cameron, and I will return to the issue of the welcome announcement of inquiries into both the police mishandling of the first investigation, and the broader practices of the media.
Cameron did not look comfortable when asked about his relationships with News or the issue of BSkyB. But just as eventually his political instincts drove him to announce the inquiries under pressure, so he is now looking for a way to put a pause on the BSkyB takeover.
It is now being reported that Nick Clegg is pressing for tougher and more far-reaching inquiries than Cameron wants. Mr Clegg must hold firm, and Conservative ministers who know the reality of how some of our papers operate must join him in pressing on this.
Finally, after years of one-sided debate, in which the press have been in denial about the consequences of their own actions, there is an opportunity for a new settlement between politics, media and public which improves public debate. It cannot be wasted.
What I find remarkable in the quotes today from the army families is the “shock” because they thought the tabloids “cared” and “supported” the armed forces.
As if these newspapers “cared” or had a conscience about anything apart from maximising profit and readership. They are commercial instruments whose owners have long worked out that the way to fully exploit revenue is to pander to narrow-minded stereotypes and to simplify all stories into extremes of “outrage” (paedophiles) or fawning reverence (the Royal Family), where everyone is either a “monster” or a “saint”.
They are “amoral” – just look at the ex-NOTW journo McMullan parading himself around the news channels. He clearly has no idea of the gravity of his actions and seems to be rather loving al the attention. The exclusive story is all that matters and it doesn’t matter who get hurts – the idea that tabloids have somehow mislaid their “moral compass” is absurd.
As you say it is now time for a new “settlement” between the press and society but my worry is that all the disdain and opprobrium for Murdoch’s operation may lead to outrage-fuelled regulation that will make future wrongdoing by those in power (such as MPs’ expenses) difficult to uncover. This is definitely “devil and deep blue sea” territory and a very fine line to walk to ensure no particular group gets the upper hand.
News Corp. are a standard case study in MBA strategy modules up and down the land. Invariably students end up marvelling how Murdoch didn’t go bust in the 90s and still has a very small if innovative HQ overseeing such a sprawling global empire, despite the fact he is still in hock to Citibank.
More traditional (if less profitable) companies would have outed Brooks and Coulson years ago through the boring tho’ effective tools of audit. More traditional companies would then have imposed a strict liability and sanction on the executives at home office (like James Murdoch) who were supposed to know what they were doing.
There is a business governance dimension to this affair that needs addressing. This may be also the time to consider whether this is the new Profumo affair. In what way is the Chipping Norton set different from the Cliveden Set ?
I particularly like your last paragraph Simon L. It looks as if you may also have read Oborne’s piece in the telegraph. It crossed my mind too that this could become a Profumo like affair, for the 21st century. It has many similar elements already in place! Only time will tell obviously, but it also crossed my mind whether this could even bring down this ToryLed Government!
There must be a judge led inquiry with powers to compel witnesses to attend and put witnesses on oath covering police/press relations, illegal activities and untruthful reporting by the press. Hopefully it will recommend a ststutory press commission with investigatory powers and the power to force papers to publish corrections and their judgements on the front page. This inquiry must be set up and report within 2 years. The NOW and others have a record of incitement and lying that I would like to see them brought to account over
No pause just a constant dribbling on of the same putrid stuff.
First day of the running of the bull today, Pamplona. Cameron’s bull, B.S. and big society has been running through the gutters for some time. The real big society, we the people, are repulsed. These revelations are, well, like a red rag to a bull.
Viva San Fermin, Gora San Fermin.
Death in the afternoon.
Hemingway’s take on bullfighting.
The News of the World died today.
There was much rotten in the state of Murdoch.
The ghost that is Murdoch the father remains.
I cant believe how surprised people are by this. After all the press do, surely alistair you must have suspected this could happen in your days in number 10. That phone calls could be listened into so you needed a secure line.
Why are people so shocked. They will dress up as other people to sting any one in the public eye they can, pay for stories of people sex lives, destroy marriages and reputations on unfounded evidence if they can get away with it. So where is the shock that they would do this. It is not right….but i am not surprised at all.
I don’t think anyone is shocked about simple hacking, as you say we know it’s been going on since the early 90s.
The revulsion now is about some of the targets and the going beyond ‘mere’ listening by deleting too.
I can’t imagine how the bereaved families feel, knowing that their private lives have been being scanned to ‘feed’ faux empathy and I’m sure the McCanns are going to be revealed as targets too.
It’s all just so dreadful and shaming, these scum have been living among us, they’ve probably even had influence on their own children.
I wonder whether like everything else this will be absorbed in to our experience so the shock reduces, I hope not.
For folk who have never had a mental breakdown, this flow of hacking stories from all different directions and from all different people and with all different implications is about as close a comparison as I can imagine.
Except the crazy music.is missing.
And this is real life – not all in the mind.
I do not know what that link is doing in my post – it should not be there.
Sorry.
The phone-hacking saga gets worse every day. It is time for Jeremy Hunt to announce a pause in the BSkyB takeover.
Mr Hunt must wait until we know how high the rot goes in News International (NI). Ofcom can use the “fit and proper” test if senior executives face criminal charges. We must wait to see whether this happens.
It is a bit odd that Rebekah Brooks is in charge of NI´s internal inquiry. Will she sack herself..?
It has been said that Ms Brooks was on holiday during the Milly Dowler story, and Andy Coulson may have been editing the NoW then. But Ms Brooks had a habit of reading proofs of the paper while away.
The Tory-led government appears to be a couple of steps behind the public outrage. But there has to be a judical inquiry into press standards, and the BSkyB takeover must be delayed.
BSkyB should not be allowed to go into the hands of a morally depraved organisation.
NI has hired Simon Greenberg to deal with the situation. I saw an interview on C4 and was not impressed by him.
We are extremely confident that under the leadership of Rebekah [Brooks] we will sort this situation out, was his message.
With Sainsbury latest big company to pull advertising out of the NoW, I do wonder whether the NoW brand will survive.
Mr Murdoch should now sack Ms Brooks and hire a new PR person to replace Mr Greenberg. He should come to Britain and personally apologize to victims.
Nothing less will do now.
I don’t buy the idea that Clegg has a great deal of leverage in this – surely the pressure was applied yesterday by Ed Miliband in PMQs. Cameron was wearing his ‘please let me empty my bowels’ face by the end of that.
Like Lansley’s NHS proposals, the BSkyB takeover will pause – the government likes pauses – only to be resumed later.
I hope AC will not ignore the NHS in favour of the furore about bent coppers, amoral news corporations and the government – fascinating though it may be.
Clegg? phfft! Sheffield forgemasters, and this Derby slightly south of him Bombardiers? Talk sense Alastair. You might as well be talking to the Devil.
AC, I’m so pleased you mentioned Peter Oborne in your blog today! I read his piece in the Telegraph last night and could hardly take in all that he was writing about/against Cameron. I recommend it as a mighty fine and devastating piece of writing. A “must read” for all Labour supporters! Obornes piece is entitled;
“David Cameron is in the sewer because of his News International friends”
This “phone hacking” story gets more interesting by the day. There is obviously much more going on here than just “phone hacking” bad as that is in itself.
There is speculation today that a witness may have been paid to give evidence against Tommy Sheridan, in court.
It is good that the BSkyB takover bid has been postponed until September, at least.
AC please let me/us know when your new book, Power and Responsibility, is available to buy in paperback.
A potato pitch, unlike the Liberty in next year down jackland Swans that will face the Premiership without a toadstool and not a weed in sight. Keep all working on it Alastair. Ahem!
NOTHW. RIP.
time for The Observer to push on.
The Guaradian should never have left Manchester, it is said. London twats, they say.
News of the Worlds is no more just to protect one women?
Chris Moran of the Guardian has spotted that the domain name thesunonsunday.co.uk was registered a mere two days ago….
NOTW, RIP! Good fecking riddance, That twat, in 1989, Kelvin McKenzie was the watershead of this shit, and it has taked 22 years for liverpudlians to piss on the last of New of the World and the Sun.
What? The Sun is carrying on? How long will that last, Kelvin McKenzie right c@nt.
Watching Murdoch on Sky in the US!!, Shouldn’t be in some sudo-state of Russia at the moment, or even Russia, if he wants to continue to make big bucks as a c$nt
Bugger off Clegg, pokerface, via around Sheffield and such districts, twat, real 100% twat that has devoped so much UK anger, we are half a step from swaring…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLkTZ58N7ow
Salvation is at hand! NOW is to close.
Rebekah and Murdoch have seen the light and delivered the solution to this awkward local difficulty.
Transform Our Souls”SUN on SUNDAY” Exclaims Rupert Selflessly
News International have created a smokescreen by suspending production of the News of the World, which will be replaced by the Sunday Sun. The real issue is not allowing full ownership of BSkyB to fall into Murdoch’s hands. At the same time the political story is about Cameron, Coulson and hacking. Labour have to be careful as the Tory media is hinting that is a problem across politics and Blair should not have courted Murdoch in the way he did. A further nonesense. The real story is how, in the GB media, there is an inherent Tory bias with no opportunity for any alternative view to be developed. This is bad for democracy and bad for our body politic. The party has to move the debate higher and embrace the need for democractic renewal across all our institutions including financial service, public life and democratic engagement.
I am concerned that the main message coming from Ed Miliband is that Rebekah Brooks should go. I do agree with him that as editor at the time, she should take responsibility, whether she knew or not, although I find it very hard to believe that she wouldn’t have known.
However, we must not lose sight of the wider picture, that at the core of the problem is News International/Murdoch style media culture. If (probably when) Brooks goes, this culture and the Murdoch family will still be there, hoping to get their hands wholly on BSKB to further spread their influence in Britain.
It is clear similar practices exist elsewhere within News International and at other news groups. In recent years we have seen our TV media more and more willing to feed off and spread stories uncovered by these unethical practices. The BBC and SKY regularly discuss the contents of daily newspapers and put unpleasant, crass stories in view of many people who choose not to read the gutter press.
Labour needs to keep this wider focus to ensure all inappropriate and criminal behaviour is uncovered and those responsible are brought to book. What we need is a root and branch examination of media practices which covers all media outlets, with a view to establishing codes of behaviour, externally regulated if necessary, to ensure decent, ethical, balanced and honest reporting in future.
I am concerned that the main message coming from Ed Miliband is that Rebekah Brooks should go. I do agree with him that as editor at the time, she should take responsibility, whether she knew or not, although I find it very hard to believe that she wouldn’t have known.
However, we must not lose sight of the wider picture, that at the core of the problem is News International/Murdoch style media culture. If (probably when) Brooks goes, this culture and the Murdoch family will still be there, hoping to get their hands wholly on BSKB to further spread their influence in Britain.
It is clear similar practices exist elsewhere within News International and at other news groups. In recent years we have seen our TV media more and more willing to feed off and spread stories uncovered by these unethical practices. The BBC and SKY regularly discuss the contents of daily newspapers and put unpleasant, crass stories in view of many people who choose not to read the gutter press.
Labour needs to keep this wider focus to ensure all inappropriate and criminal behaviour is uncovered and those responsible are brought to book. What we need is a root and branch examination of media practices which covers all media outlets, with a view to establishing codes of behaviour, externally regulated if necessary, to ensure decent, ethical, balanced and honest reporting in future.
‘ Labour have to be careful as the Tory media is hinting that is a problem across politics and Blair should not have courted Murdoch in the way he did’
You are right to draw attention to attempts to bring the Labour Pty into the frame. Have they forgotten though that Murdoch wanted to buy Manchester United after Labour came to power. He wasn’t allowed to do so. Strong governments stand up to overly powerful business in the interests of the country. Is Cameron a man or a mouse?
I’ve said it before, Cameron is a busted flush. Previously, the Tory media has done him proud by airbrushing over every screw up he’s made. The trouble for him now is that his butt-kissing of Murdoch and Brooks and his shockingly bad judgment over Coulson means those previous lackies will not be so quick to come to his aid – they are all very obviously toxic. Clegg is also toxic for very different reasons and I therefore doubt he has the clout to deliver on anything of any merit.
The fact that Cameron is so obviously resisting demands that Brooks must go just exposes where his true loyalties lie – not with the people, but with Murdoch and Brooks. When public servants speak out about genuine concerns in their area of expertise, he slaps them down, “you do the fighting, I’ll do the talking”. Yet he won’t say a word against Brooks and Murdoch. He is corrupt and spineless and it’s obvious from the company he keeps and his allegiance to their unaccountable gutter dwelling existence.
Oh, and as an aside, did I miss something or isn’t it about time for Cameron to do the monthly relaunch of his Big Society?
The Sun on Sunday.
James and Rupert’s Taj Mahal for Rebecca?
Something is missing here. I will see if I can put my finger on it.
10 Downing, the PM’s office has been occupied by a assortement of occupees over the last 20/30 years. The politicians who elevated there leaders to become resident of number 10 live in hope that their candidate will win.
Then media steps and backers are found aplenty backing this one or that one.
And the media who has the biggest sway wins for their man to be the incumbant.
And the media who has a big sway waits for another 5 years or so before exercising their sway again, knowing that for the ensuing 5 years all will be well……or so they thought.
It’s time that Cameron should go. Enough with a prime ministers who
have been appointed by enyone other than the electorate.
Des Currie
The ‘Tory press’ is the same one that backed the Labour party for a number of years. The reality is that in most cases they just reflect public opinion
The Sun on Sunday, à la Mail on Sunday!!! News Corp/International are really taking the piss now. Aren’t they?
Drive them into the sea, I say, rags and all,
I agree Alastair. It is time for Nick Clegg to step out of the shadows and show us once again, a glimpse of the man we saw during the election debate. He needs to push hard not for News International to be held to account, but also for all newspapers, politicians of all parties and indeed the police to be scrutinised. It is a sad day for all the professional, award winning journalists at the News of the World who have been hung out to dry but hopefully will be the first sweep of the broom clearing out the rubbish which has accumulated in the media in this country. Despite his condemnation of events at the press conference in downing street this morning, I think David Cameron and indeed politicians of all parties, would be well advised to choose their ‘friends’ more wisely in future.
*Enjoying what you are saying in the media generally.
Very good presence on SkyNews “Boulton and co” just now.
You made Jenkins and Boulton look like yesterdays rightwing news.
I think that we’ve just had the truth that although that might be their overt activity they also function subliminally in trying to change public opinion and stooping to doing whatever they think it takes.
I often agree with ends justifying means but this week has exposed extremities that I can’t agree with. To all the people wondering why the situation about Milly’s texts hadn’t been exposed before this week, it couldn’t possibly have happened without impacting on Bellfield’s trial
We can only be grateful that the trial ended when it did and there has been this window before the BSkyB deadline.
Back to ‘ends justifying means’; I find myself supporting the withholding of this awful information about emails till post-trial.
Turf Moor in Burnley sounds fron a Bronte book, doesn;t it Gillebc. Your not a taurian or a virgo perchance, or capricorn. Aries?
Hi Ehtch,
Turf Moor, does sound as if it belongs in a Bronte book or similar.
I’m none of those star-signs Ehtch. I’m not really into astrology, except as a bit of light entertainment! So with that in mind let me guess that you could possibly be a libran? You certainly have many of the attributes that are associated with that particular star sign and yes they are good attributes, in case you’re wondering.
What star sign are you then gilliebc – bet you are a sagitterious – you are, arn’t you Gilliebd? I can tell November wimmin.
http://www.astrology-online.com/sagittar.htm
Well Done Ehtch, I am a Sagittarian. But not born during the month of November. I was born in the middle of December.
So are you a Libran, or not?