The latest revelation - relatives of soldiers who've died in combat, have been advised that their phones may have been hacked. News of the World, how low can you go? Actually the lowest point for me is deleting messages from Milly Dowler's phone so there'd be room for more heartfelt pleas from relatives. If I were News International, I'd seriously think about reassigning everyone who works currently for NotW (except maybe Rebekah Brooks) and closing the paper down. I just don't see how they can recover from such scandal.
Tomorrow's Telegraph frontpage: http://twitpic.com/5m764m/full @unknowngamer: I agree 100%. The public wanted it, some sleazy parts of the media provided it. Now the public are loving this story. Figures.
To be honest, it's human nature. HOw many people drive past a crash on the motorway without having a look? I don't, But I have to fight the urge to look. As people we are fastinated by our own mortallity, it's part of our culture, we make a big deal of it. ( as in funerals and wakes) We get emottionally moved by them. IS it the same type of strange pleasure that we get while being scared in a horror movie or rollercoater? A certan amount of anguish making you feel alive? Who knows ( I don't) Although I'd belilltile and berate the gawpers at a crash, I know were it not for my high horse and holier than thou attitude I'd be one of them. If you ride a high horse, you can't join the hoi polloi So I mount up and admonish socitety for the blood thirsty need for tittle tattle. Tally ho folks.
The BBC News polled public opinion this morning: One man admitted liking to read about celebrities and never having wondered how journalists obtained their stories. He was shocked however and was going to change --to the Mirror. A woman said she assumed that most newspaper stories were made up anyway. It wouldn't change anything for her --she was still going to buy the News Of The World. One man thought it was disgusting, that people should be prosecuting and he certainly wouldn't be buying the paper. A newsagent admitted he would like to boycott the paper, but it remains his best-selling item so he can't afford to --especially in this recession. So there you have it: the public has spoken. Largely dumb, unquestioning, cynical and selfish, it keeps buying the paper. Normal service will resume in a few weeks. Murdoch won't have to lose any sleep.
@Nexxo: Would agree with that. The media will keep kicking up a fuss (well, the non-murdoch media; The Telegraph have been sticking the knife into The Times about why it's strangely not been reporting the phone hacking stories...) before it dies down naturally, or the next 'big thing' comes along (personally I'm going for some killer illness which turns out to be overly hyped). I think NOTW will lose some circulation, but unless there's wholesale arrests at NOTW, I can't see this becoming the end of it.
No need for the tinfoil hat, it seems very convenient that all this is coming to light just as the decision to allow the takeover is looming. PS, it's killing the price of my shares - grrrrr
Well, Vince Cable did say he would do everything he could to stop it ... And I've wondered the same as you tbh. Dixons and Boots pulled their advertising now. Looks to me like the end of NoTW.
And it's outta there: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14070733 Didn't see that coming. Thought it'd be business as usual. So what's the bets: a few arrests (and jail sentences?), then in 6 months Hunt confirms the BSkyB sale and a new Sunday tabloid is launched within a week?
Murdoc probably sent and memo saying this has got to stop and the execs took it a bit too literally. Sun on Sunday??
Bold move, News Corp must really want the Sky deal to go through. Sacrificing NOTW for a company with £1B a year profit.
Was bound to happen --NoW has too damaged a reputation to survive. Resources will be redeployed in the Sun and in six months a new NoW-a-like tabloid will be launched.
http://webwhois.nic.uk/cgi-bin/whois.cgi?query=thesunonsunday.co.uk Although it's not registered by news international.
It might be some very forward thinking person out to make a profit by reselling the name to News International. Funny either way.
