Read, and hear, all about it
Now that we have a bit of distance from the ‘phone hacking scandal, it’s clear to see that the whole bloody disgraceful affair is even worse than anyone thought. The thing was like one of those news shots of a natural disaster, such as a flood, you start out focusing on one bloke on the roof of his house and pull back to eventually reveal that shitty water stretches from horizon to horizon. Such a toxic lake has engulfed News International.
Back when the News Of The World phone hacking scandal engulfed people in film and television, the public took the suffering of glamorous people with a pinch of salt or stardust. The second, and I mean the second, it transpired they had hacked the ‘phone of Milly Dowler, you could almost sense a mood of national disgust. Like a mass tequila burp.
The players in the pantomime, NI execs, lined up to be castigated. What was interesting is that while the Murdochs and Rebecca Brooks-Wade have power, money and influence, nobody seems to envy them, and this is not just because they are now about as popular as meningitis, but rather because despite working in, despite actually being, the media, they lack glamour. More than that, they have reverse glamour. They are successful in the same way that Sauron was successful in Lord of the Rings. Undoubtedly powerful, but not someone you’d admire, and prone to torturing hobbits. And RBW looks like Lady Macbeth. A dragged-up Lady Macbeth from an all-tranny production, but Lady Macbeth all the same.
What was fascinating was that when news broke that David Cameron had had dinner at Christmas with RBW and Jeremy Clarkson, the response was not ‘how fabulous’ but rather ‘that’s the winning entry in the ‘name the dinner party from hell’ competition’.
In a desperate effort to deflect attention away from the phone-hacking scum at News International, News International have mounted a spirited ‘they’re all at it defense’ in the apparent belief that guilt is somehow diminished if shared. They want to see any enquiry widened to take in all the media (i.e. their competition too).
Will this include local press? Do they want to see the editor of the Titchwell Gazette giving evidence? That should be a hoot, perhaps that will allow the profession to restore some confidence and pride in the profession by explaining the art of gathering confidential information by propping up the bar at the Sheep Worrier's Arms like a traditional journo.
Back when the News Of The World phone hacking scandal engulfed people in film and television, the public took the suffering of glamorous people with a pinch of salt or stardust. The second, and I mean the second, it transpired they had hacked the ‘phone of Milly Dowler, you could almost sense a mood of national disgust. Like a mass tequila burp.
The players in the pantomime, NI execs, lined up to be castigated. What was interesting is that while the Murdochs and Rebecca Brooks-Wade have power, money and influence, nobody seems to envy them, and this is not just because they are now about as popular as meningitis, but rather because despite working in, despite actually being, the media, they lack glamour. More than that, they have reverse glamour. They are successful in the same way that Sauron was successful in Lord of the Rings. Undoubtedly powerful, but not someone you’d admire, and prone to torturing hobbits. And RBW looks like Lady Macbeth. A dragged-up Lady Macbeth from an all-tranny production, but Lady Macbeth all the same.
What was fascinating was that when news broke that David Cameron had had dinner at Christmas with RBW and Jeremy Clarkson, the response was not ‘how fabulous’ but rather ‘that’s the winning entry in the ‘name the dinner party from hell’ competition’.
In a desperate effort to deflect attention away from the phone-hacking scum at News International, News International have mounted a spirited ‘they’re all at it defense’ in the apparent belief that guilt is somehow diminished if shared. They want to see any enquiry widened to take in all the media (i.e. their competition too).
Will this include local press? Do they want to see the editor of the Titchwell Gazette giving evidence? That should be a hoot, perhaps that will allow the profession to restore some confidence and pride in the profession by explaining the art of gathering confidential information by propping up the bar at the Sheep Worrier's Arms like a traditional journo.
Labels: Media, News, Newspapers
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