Damocles Sword Falls: the News of the World to finish on Sunday
Tags closure, international, murdoch, news, scandal
Founded in 1843, the Sunday tabloid the News of the World will run its last ever edition this Sunday - on July 10th.
The decision is the result of the continuing revelations of the phone hacking scandal, which have shown the tabloid to have, over a sustained period of time, pursued illicit means in order to generate numerous exclusives. Such behaviour will come as little surprise to those already familiar with the paper: the "News of the Screws" and the "Screws of the World" as it has been previously nicknamed, is hardly a bastion of honest and principled journalism. However the recent revelations have shown widespread collusion between the NotW and the Metropolitan Police, whilst also highlighting the close relations that it and its parent company, News International, share with leading politicians. This has provoked massive public outrage, which in turn has caused sponsors to pull out, led to calls for a boycott, and culminated in the closure of this insipid rag.
To quote from an article by John Wight which appeared over on Socialist Unity, "News International and the fear of the wrath of ‘ordinary people’":
However perhaps of most significance is the verdict on this offered by, amongst others, media lawyer Mark Stephens. Who on BBC News last night suggested that this might be a stroke of 'evil genius' which enables the company to start shredding documents that disclose criminal practices, and that ultimately means that, even if found guilty by a criminal investigation, no one will be financially liable. In addition to this, it also lessens the amount of total Murdoch control of the British media, which in turn should help to ensure that the BSkyB deal gets approved - legally speaking, it can only fail due to questions of monopoly control, and not on the basis of improper conduct. (Talk about the law making an arse out of common sense - as the MP Frank Dobson put it: 'with their record of wrongdoing [were News International] to apply to run a minicab firm in London they would not receive a licence'!) The decision to axe the NotW thus seems less a case of cynical opportunism, and more a case of a cold and calculated move to maintain Murdoch's dominant position in British public life.
Still, the intrigue and scandal continues to develop unabated, and it would be foolish to offer any solid conclusions yet. Only this morning the NotW's former editor, Andy Coulson, was arrested and charged: not only because he took part in the illegal practice of phone hacking, but also on grounds of corruption - i.e. the payments that he authorised to police officers in return for information. He is also likely to be charged at some point with having perjured himself during the Tommy Sheridan trial. Coulson has however been offered up as something of a sacrificial lamb, and it was News International itself which provided the police with the incriminating e-mails that led to his arranged arrest. If he remains silent and refuses to implicate those above him - i.e. the two Murdoch's and Brooks - then one must suspect that it is a silence that has been quite handsomely paid for.
Coulson was also a former communications tsar for the current Prime Minister, and this whole affair has left David Cameron in a weak position and shifted the tectonic plates of Westminster in favour of Ed Miliband - who until this week had looked increasingly like a dead duck, but who is now confidently leading the charge against Brooks et al. It has also weakened the New Labour influence that Miliband has been trying to combat. The New Labour cabal represent the most obsequiously pro-Murdoch wing within the Parliamentary Labour Party, and the need to win over the Murdoch press is often given as the primary rationale for a whole host of horrid, right-wing political positions on subjects like immigration and crime. The fall from grace of the Murdoch press in the eyes of the wider public therefore presents a good opportunity for the Labour Party to step out of its shadow - a position it has occupied since the 1992 election, where the Labour defeat was blamed on the ability of the Murdoch press to rubbish their candidate, Neil Kinnock. (Never mind the fact that Kinnock was rubbish anyway!)
This whole affair thus has the potential to hugely shape the course of British politics over the next few years. It is, in effect, a watershed moment, and one that is far more significant than the expenses scandal of 2009. Murdoch's empire is a wounded beast, but in order to slay it the National Union of Journalists needs to take centre stage. The removal of union influence within Murdoch's news outlets was one of the main ways in which he was able to attain hegemonic control over them in order to forward his reactionary and manipulative paradigm, which is a cancer that eats away at democratic debate and practice. In light of the massive public outrage regarding the unethical practices of the media - practices that do extend beyond the NotW, as the 2006 report by Information Commission Richard Thomas entitled "What price privacy now?" documented - it is crucial that the NUJ, and its code of ethics, come to play a leading role in the regulation of the media. Anything short of this would just be the equivalent of sticking a band-aid on a burst pipe.
If you wish to get a good giggle from this whole affair, watch this viral - the Sword of Damocles in action!
The decision is the result of the continuing revelations of the phone hacking scandal, which have shown the tabloid to have, over a sustained period of time, pursued illicit means in order to generate numerous exclusives. Such behaviour will come as little surprise to those already familiar with the paper: the "News of the Screws" and the "Screws of the World" as it has been previously nicknamed, is hardly a bastion of honest and principled journalism. However the recent revelations have shown widespread collusion between the NotW and the Metropolitan Police, whilst also highlighting the close relations that it and its parent company, News International, share with leading politicians. This has provoked massive public outrage, which in turn has caused sponsors to pull out, led to calls for a boycott, and culminated in the closure of this insipid rag.
To quote from an article by John Wight which appeared over on Socialist Unity, "News International and the fear of the wrath of ‘ordinary people’":
Ultimately, and most significantly, the turmoil that has ensued at the apex of British society over the past week calls to mind the prescient words of Lenin: “There are decades in which nothing happens, and there are weeks in which decades happen.”The decision to close the paper appears to have been taken at least two days ago, on July 5th, as this was when the domain name thesunonsunday.co.uk was registered. (A Sunday edition of The Sun will be the NotW's replacement.) Nevertheless it was a well-kept secret, and came as a huge surprise when announced by James Murdoch yesterday - not least to the 500 or so staff whose employment will be terminated. Apparently (most of) these people will be re-employed within the News International empire - providing of course they keep their heads down and mouths shut. And the sacrifice of this 'red top' has enabled another 'red top' to be saved: i.e. Rebekah Brooks will not be sacked.
By anybody’s reckoning this is one of those weeks. And to think it is all because of the terror that resides in the breasts of the rich and powerful over the consequences of incurring the wrath of ‘ordinary people’.
It arrives as an invaluable and timely reminder of where true power resides.
However perhaps of most significance is the verdict on this offered by, amongst others, media lawyer Mark Stephens. Who on BBC News last night suggested that this might be a stroke of 'evil genius' which enables the company to start shredding documents that disclose criminal practices, and that ultimately means that, even if found guilty by a criminal investigation, no one will be financially liable. In addition to this, it also lessens the amount of total Murdoch control of the British media, which in turn should help to ensure that the BSkyB deal gets approved - legally speaking, it can only fail due to questions of monopoly control, and not on the basis of improper conduct. (Talk about the law making an arse out of common sense - as the MP Frank Dobson put it: 'with their record of wrongdoing [were News International] to apply to run a minicab firm in London they would not receive a licence'!) The decision to axe the NotW thus seems less a case of cynical opportunism, and more a case of a cold and calculated move to maintain Murdoch's dominant position in British public life.
Still, the intrigue and scandal continues to develop unabated, and it would be foolish to offer any solid conclusions yet. Only this morning the NotW's former editor, Andy Coulson, was arrested and charged: not only because he took part in the illegal practice of phone hacking, but also on grounds of corruption - i.e. the payments that he authorised to police officers in return for information. He is also likely to be charged at some point with having perjured himself during the Tommy Sheridan trial. Coulson has however been offered up as something of a sacrificial lamb, and it was News International itself which provided the police with the incriminating e-mails that led to his arranged arrest. If he remains silent and refuses to implicate those above him - i.e. the two Murdoch's and Brooks - then one must suspect that it is a silence that has been quite handsomely paid for.
Coulson was also a former communications tsar for the current Prime Minister, and this whole affair has left David Cameron in a weak position and shifted the tectonic plates of Westminster in favour of Ed Miliband - who until this week had looked increasingly like a dead duck, but who is now confidently leading the charge against Brooks et al. It has also weakened the New Labour influence that Miliband has been trying to combat. The New Labour cabal represent the most obsequiously pro-Murdoch wing within the Parliamentary Labour Party, and the need to win over the Murdoch press is often given as the primary rationale for a whole host of horrid, right-wing political positions on subjects like immigration and crime. The fall from grace of the Murdoch press in the eyes of the wider public therefore presents a good opportunity for the Labour Party to step out of its shadow - a position it has occupied since the 1992 election, where the Labour defeat was blamed on the ability of the Murdoch press to rubbish their candidate, Neil Kinnock. (Never mind the fact that Kinnock was rubbish anyway!)
This whole affair thus has the potential to hugely shape the course of British politics over the next few years. It is, in effect, a watershed moment, and one that is far more significant than the expenses scandal of 2009. Murdoch's empire is a wounded beast, but in order to slay it the National Union of Journalists needs to take centre stage. The removal of union influence within Murdoch's news outlets was one of the main ways in which he was able to attain hegemonic control over them in order to forward his reactionary and manipulative paradigm, which is a cancer that eats away at democratic debate and practice. In light of the massive public outrage regarding the unethical practices of the media - practices that do extend beyond the NotW, as the 2006 report by Information Commission Richard Thomas entitled "What price privacy now?" documented - it is crucial that the NUJ, and its code of ethics, come to play a leading role in the regulation of the media. Anything short of this would just be the equivalent of sticking a band-aid on a burst pipe.
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If you wish to get a good giggle from this whole affair, watch this viral - the Sword of Damocles in action!
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