Posted by John, July 7th, 2011 - under Murdoch, News Corp, News Ltd, News of The World.



A few quick thoughts on the News of the World scandal in Britain.

The drivers for hacking the phone of a murdered school girl, terrorist bomb victims and their families and the relatives of British soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan are money, advantage over the competition, more advertisers, more sales and more profits.

It would be foolish indeed to imagine that this phone hacking was the result of a few bad apples, or that Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp is the only media institution to sink so low.

All of them face the same competitive pressures, including competition from digital media (like this blog, he says laughingly, knowing 200 readers a day on a good day isn’t going to undermine Rupert).

It doesn’t matter whether Rupert knew specifically or not. It is his organisation, and his profit at all costs strategy, which led to this vile phone hacking.

Indeed the drive for an increased audience might infect public authorities as much as private ones, and that pressure could lead to seemingly august public media institutions undertaking journalistic pursuits which are less than pure.

Evidently it is not just phone hacking either. It might be paying cops for information too.

The leadership of the News of the World and of News Corporation are close to British Prime Minister David Cameron.

But more importantly Western leaders in countries where Murdoch has a significant media presence have tried to get him on side, fearing the power of his media to destroy them.

It would also be a mistake to imagine this dismissal of journalistic ethics and law is confined just to Britain. Newspapers across the world are under the same pressure, and the response of News of the World to that pressure may be a systemic issue for News Corp across the globe.

The actions of News of the World show too the utter contempt the rich and powerful have for ordinary people, the people who make their profits for them.

My solution to the News of the World scandals?

Sack Murdoch. It was on his watch, under his leadership that these disgusting and disgraceful actions occurred.

Better yet charge Murdoch. Treat him like Julian Assange. Or Bradley Manning.

More importantly, rather than having news ‘owned’ by profit driven corporations, isn’t it time we democratised the media?

Let’s see the media unions and members take over and run the big media corporations, not to make a profit but to provide information to and entertain working people.

Update:

Since writing this James Murdoch has announced the closure of News of the World this Sunday. He has thrown the people working at the paper on the dustbin to protect the former editor and current News International Chief Executive Officer Rebekah Brooks. She keeps her job while the hundreds working diligently and honestly for News of the World lose theirs.

A bigger game might be that Murdoch is using this scandal to move to producing a 7 day a week cheaper newspaper at the Sun.

The big game is News International’s bid for full control of British Sky Broadcasting Group Plc in the UK. Shutting down News of the World might make it a little easier for the Conservatives to allow that to happen.

And the biggest game of course is protecting the News brand in all its various permutations. If that means sacking hundreds to protect Rupert’s profits that is what happens. What a sick system with sick priorities.

Strike to defend jobs. Occupy to produce the paper.