"Mainstream journalism has been driven into the gutter by the profit driven motives of it's owners while they search for the next ‘celebrity scandal’ or sensationalist headline.
Their claim that hacking phones, invading privacy and the entrapment of celebrities is in the public interest is not only tenuous it is an outright fallacy. The idea of responsible journalism has become an alien prospect in the offices of the British tabloid media. This has led to the fear and hate of ethnic minorities being promoted and provoked in a drive to increase sales. The effect of sensationalising incidents surrounding ethnic groups is that of a fuel in an already burning fire of hate on both sides of the increasing divide.
The ‘gutter press’ of Britain has become a monstrous institution of greed and irresponsibility. Any previous morals have been cast aside in their drive for sales and the effect has been nothing less than embarrassing to those who kept their principles. So I urge you, stop GPS now; don’t buy the tabloids, don’t fuel their flames and most importantly, don’t believe a word they say."
In the United Kingdom and in fact, many countries we are riddled with a disease that swings elections, provokes and promotes racial hatred and lies to the public. In the case of the UK, a large amount of this disease is owned by Rupert “to the right, to the right” Murdoch. The disease of course is GPS (Gutter Press Syndrome), the Symptoms of this disease include right wing views, Conservative governments, hatred of cultures, sensationalist headlines, and outright perversion of the truth!
It is not to be confused with Global Positioning System navigation which is an altogether entirely different bag. It is apparent that something must be done about this awful condition but so far all efforts have failed. Initially people started wearing little ribbons to show their support and raise awareness of GPS. Unfortunately they were confused with AIDS awareness and the point was missed completely (one Cardinal of the Catholic Church is reported to have broken down in tears claiming “Popey just wont listen, it is not my fault!”). For years the standards of journalism have been dragged down by the money grabbing drive for sales over accuracy (or truth) and the political influence of many papers' proprietorial owners. Is it not an odd world where The X-factor can take up more column inches than human rights abuses and where breaking stories can be entirely ignored because of the orders of one man?
In 2007 GPS sufferer and ‘Murdoch’ed’ paper The Sun wrote 23 separate stories about the police questioning of Ruth Turner (Prime-ministerial aide) over the cash-for-honours scandal. This year a major scandal has broken out over former News of the World editor and current Downing Street aide Andy Coulson because of his role in the illegal phone hacking carried out at the paper. Andy Coulson was called in for police questioning and, supposed “news” paper, The Sun ran a sum total of zero stories. Now for what reason would The Sun entirely miss a story of this calibre? Could it be because News of The World is also a Murdoch’ed publication? The answer is undoubtedly certain. Because of ever increasing corporate control our media has become the soap box of men like Murdoch who will see any attempt at ‘news’ replaced with his own ‘views’.
Ruth Turner
TOP 5 NEWS OF THE WORLD SCANDALS.
For fans of sensationalistic headlines, shady reporting tactics, and outright despicable behavior, the British tabloid News of the World will surely be missed. This week, the Murdoch-owned rag officially became the most-hated brand in England after it was exposed that journalists had paid a private investigator to hack into the mobile phones of a murdered 13-year-old girl, victims of the 7/7 terrorist bombings, and who knows who else. The investigator and one of the paper's reporters went to jail in 2007 for similar illegal acts against members of the royal family. Labor party leader Ed Miliband called the episode "a stain on the character of British journalism." Prime Minister David Cameron came under some criticism in the wake of the scandal, since he is seen as close Murdoch and an executive in his company, Rebekah Brooks, who happened to be the editor of the tabloid during the time the hacking was taking place.
News International (the News Corp. subsidiary in Britain) ceased publication on Sunday after 168 years (42 of them under Murdoch's wings). It is the highest-selling paper in the country, with 2.6 million daily readers.
Already there's speculation this is just an attempt to fix a damaged brand -- that Murdoch will reconstitute the paper under a different name or put the paper's resources into other News International tabloid properties, such as the Sun.
Let us look back at some of the paper's most questionable journalistic moments in its recent past.
Checkbook Journalism.
News of the World's relationship to scandal long predates Murdoch's ownership. Time magazine in 1941 called the paper essential reading for millions of British homes with its "juicy dish of the week's doings in divorce, scandal, abduction, assault, murder, and sport."
For a brief period after the second world war, the paper experimented with publishing high brow fiction from well-known writers like Somerset Maugham. But the experiment failed, and readership dropped off.
In the 1960s, the paper went back to what it knew best: sex and scandal. It began paying celebrities to disclose personal secrets about themselves -- often with disastrous consequences for them and their associates. The actress Diana Dors -- facing debt and unpaid taxes -- allowed the paper to write an expose about her life for £35,000. Serialized over 12 weeks, the film bombshell divulged details about her dead husband's sex addiction. The Archbishop of Canterbury called her a "wayward hussy," but it was a hit with the public.
In 1963, the paper paid Christine Keeler to discuss her role in one of Britain's greatest political scandals --her brief affair with John Profumo, the war secretary. Turns out she also had other lovers -- including a Soviet naval attaché, Eugene Ivanov, who also happened to be a spy. When the news broke, the press went into hysterics. Some said (falsely, apparently) that Profumo and Ivanov "shared" her and that there were orgies. To top it off, News of the World photographed her sitting naked on a chair. Tasteful, as ever.
Christine Keeler
‘Sick Nazi Orgy'
Max 'Kinky Old Boy' Mosely...Nice One Naughty Boy!
Who doesn't love a Nazi orgy story? In 2008, News of the World secretly filmed Max Mosley -- the head of Formula 1 motor racing at the time -- engaged in what they said was sado-masochistic, Nazi-themed sexual role play with five hookers at a dungeon-themed party. The 68-year-old son of Oswald Mosley, England's most famous fascist leader in the 1930s, admitted the encounter was sado-masochistic in nature, but denied the women were hookers or that there were Nazi themes -- though the women appear to be dressed in Nazi uniforms.
"[There are] few things more unerotic than Nazi roleplay," Mosley said. He sued the paper for invasion of privacyand was awarded $98,000 in damages.
The Fake Sheikh
News of the World reporter Mazher Mahmood.
What enterprising investigative reporter hasn't pretended to be an Arab sheikh to trick rich and powerful people into exposing embarrassing secrets or performing illegal activities? What's so wrong about that? News of the World reporter Mazher Mahmood, who was born in Britain to Pakistani immigrant parents, claimed to be responsible for putting over 100 criminals behind bars (though critics have questioned the number). The sheikh character he effected dressed "in flowing robes, with a huge gold Rolex on his wrist, and a deferential entourage of hired hands scuttling in his wake," theDaily Telegraph reported. "A large slice of [the paper's] editorial budget" funded his activities, according to the Telegraph.
Behind velvet ropes at VIP after-parties, the fake sheikh made friends with celebrities and their hangers-on. And he'd often catch them behaving in horrific ways. Stars were exposed doing drugs -- and selling them --- and one wealthy society doyenne slipped him embarrassing secrets about royals. He's also responsible for secretly filming Dutchess of York Sarah Ferguson offering access to her ex-husband Prince Andrew for 500,000 British pounds (or close to $720,000) last year.
At best, it's shady journalism and in extremely bad taste -- except when he just flat out got things wrong. His biggest embarrassment came in 2002 when a story about a gang allegedly planning to kidnap former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham led to their arrest, only to get tossed from court after the evidence provided to Mahmood by a paid informant was deemed unreliable. His source was thought to have invented the entire story and Mahmood -- the supposedly astute reporter -- apparently believed it all. Critics also say his scoops have less journalism than straight-up entrapment.
"He is often held up as an example of the worst of British journalism, which critics claim will resort to any tactic, no matter how legally or ethically dubious, to net exclusive stories," reported a Time magazine profile of him last year.
"If there is one name in British journalism that inspires fear and loathing in just about equal measure, it is Mazher Mahmood, the reporter who recently exposed the Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, for offering access to her former husband, Prince Andrew, for £500,000 (close to $720,000). Mahmood specializes in the classic Fleet Street sting, and Ferguson was secretly filmed in a Mayfair apartment offering to "open any door you want" to a wealthy businessman — Mahmood in disguise — by way of the Queen's second son. As the British saying goes, she was bang to rights, or caught red-handed. Fergiegate, as it will inevitably be called, has sparked a minor royal crisis, and the Queen, it can safely be assumed, is not amused.
Prince Andrew has denied all knowledge of the meeting, and Buckingham Palace issued a statement saying he carried out his duties as U.K. trade envoy with "complete and absolute propriety and integrity." Ferguson issued her own statement, saying, "It is true that my financial situation is under stress. However, that is no excuse for a serious lapse in judgment, and I am very sorry that this has happened." She added that the Prince was unaware of the meeting and played no part in the discussions. (See TIME's 10 Questions with Prince Andrew.)
Oh No! I've been Suckered In...and Not My TOES...this TIME!
But it is undoubtedly Mahmood who has earned the reputation as Britain's most feared and/or respected investigative reporter — depending on whom you ask. Only three weeks before Fergiegate, he exposed World Snooker Champion John Higgins and his agent, Pat Mooney, for apparently agreeing to fix games. This was a big deal in the U.K., where snooker is a hugely popular game watched by millions on TV. And Mahmood has scores of similar exclusives under his belt involving politicians, celebrities, criminals and film, TV and sports stars. No one, it appears, is safe from the "Fake Sheik," the nickname he earned for his habit of disguising himself as a wealthy Arab when engaged in one of his elaborate investigations. (See TIME's photo-essay "Prince William: Action Hero.")
Mahmood does not work for a "serious" newspaper of the sort that once lived by investigations but for a "red top" Sunday tabloid, the mass-readership the News of the World, part of Rupert Murdoch's media empire. He is routinely attacked for using entrapment to nail his victims. Most famously, in 2003 he was criticized for his part in exposing an alleged plot to kidnap Victoria Beckham after a court case against the plotters collapsed amid claims that the key informant — the core of Mahmood's reporting — had received £10,000 (more than $14,000) from the News of the World for the story.
Mrs Victoria Beckham
He is often held up as an example of the worst of British journalism, which critics claim will resort to any tactic, no matter how legally or ethically dubious, to net exclusive stories in what remains a fiercely competitive industry. However, others claim he carries out a highly legitimate role in exposing the rich and powerful when they deserve it and bringing villains, including drug dealers, pedophiles, arms dealers and corrupt officials, to justice.
Mahmood keeps his identity as mysterious as possible. No one is entirely sure of his background, or if Mazher Mahmood is even his real name. He says he comes from the Midlands, where his Pakistani parents settled in 1960. As well as the Arab robes he deploys in the Fake Sheik stings, he uses other disguises and regularly works with bodyguards — he says he has received several death threats. He claims credit for 232 successful prosecutions.
His contract with the newspaper stipulates that his picture will never appear in print; he rarely shows up in the office. However, a left-wing former MP, George Galloway, won a court battle in 2006 allowing him to publish an old photograph of Mahmood. The News of the World had attempted to block the act on the grounds that it would compromise his safety.
In an interview with the BBC in 2008, Mahmood explained how he became a journalist. "I was trying to break into journalism as a 16-year-old and got turned down two years in a row for work experience," he said. "And some family friends came round one night and they were chatting over dinner about video piracy. One guy was talking about how he was stealing films from a cinema and producing them on videotape, and I thought, That's a great story. So I just picked up the phone and rang the News of the World. Next thing I knew, as a 16-year-old, I was down in London working for the News of the World." The fate of the "family friend" went unreported.
Mob Justice
Long before the television show Dateline got into the controversial pedophile predator-catching game, News of the World was angering police, social workers, and journalists with a campaign to "name and shame" child abusers. Back in 2000, after the murder of 8-year-old Sarah Payne, the paper began publishing the names and photographs of known sex offenders in the country. The outing spawned a spate of mob attacks on the homes of the people named. One crowd of about 150 people in a South London neighborhood, threw stones, torched the car, and damaged the home of a convicted pedophile.
Similar scenes played out across the country, with unfortunate results. In one instance, a home belonging to a pediatrician (whose occupation was possibly mistaken for "pedophile" by the ignorant crowd) was vandalized; in another, an innocent man who was mistakenfor one of the photographed pedophiles in the paper had his home vandalized.
One constable called the paper's actions "grossly irresponsible."
I have nothing against 'Mob Justice' against Pedophiles as long as the right ones are targetted.
Foot Fault
Tabloid to participate in spot-fixing hearings
News of the World, the tabloid that broke the spot-fixing story this summer, is set to be part of the hearings of the three Pakistani players at the centre of the allegations. ESPNcricinfo understands from sources close to the case that there is a "strong possibility" all relevant people involved in the investigative story will appear in Doha, Qatar between January 6-11 as part of the evidence in the hearings of Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir.
It is believed that, to avoid conflicts of interest, there will be some kind of restrictions on the tabloid from reporting the proceedings of the hearings.
In a story that appeared on the third evening of the fourth Test at Lord's between Pakistan and England, NOTW alleged that the three players were involved in bowling deliberate, planned no-balls in England's first innings. Much of the published story centred around a video sting operation in which Mazhar Majeed, an agent to the players, was filmed talking about the no-balls and allegedly taking payment for them from undercover reporters posing as a betting syndicate.
That evidence was passed on to Scotland Yard and the ICC's anti-corruption unit (ACSU), who subsequently launched their own investigations and gathered more evidence. The UK's Crown Prosecution Service is currently considering whether the evidence passed on to them by police is enough to warrant criminal prosecution against the players.
The ICC's response was swifter: They provisionally suspended the three, soon after the story emerged, based on the ACSU's investigations. Since then, Butt and Amir have had their appeals against suspensions dismissed by Michael Beloff QC, the head of the ICC code of conduct commission, in a hearing in Dubai. Asif chose not to appeal.
Beloff will now be part of the three-man tribunal - Justice Albie Sachs of South Africa and Sharad Rao, a lawyer from Kenya are the others - for the Doha hearings.
The conduct of the hearings is the subject of some concern in the legal and administrative fraternities. On the one hand, Beloff's presence has become a bone of contention for Butt's lawyers, one of whom - Aftab Gul - has withdrawn his services as a result. Gul, a former Test cricketer, is unhappy because he believes the players will not be provided justice at the hearing because Beloff has already ruled against them in one instance. Though Amir's lawyer Shahid Karim has expressed concerns over Beloff's inclusion in the full hearing, he has maintained that he will defend his client.
Conversely, observers familiar with and, in some instances, involved in the case have expressed concerns over the attitude of some of the lawyers and how it might affect the workings of the hearing. Sources who witnessed the provisional suspension hearings believe that the public statements made thereafter by the lawyers and players could potentially damage their own defence.
In some cases, it is claimed, views expressed inside the hearing were different to those expressed subsequently as public statements. One source also told ESPNcricinfo that there was an informal agreement made during the Dubai hearing between lawyers and Beloff to not speak to the media about the case, an arrangement that has not lasted.
"There is a need for these players to have legal representation that will not grandstand to the public and make things difficult for the players themselves," one source said. "The players should have the best possible defence they can."
With the headline, "Caught!" News of the World had one of its biggest scoops last year after a hidden camera investigation allegedly exposed members of Pakistan's cricket team taking a $240,000 bribe to "underperform" at certain moments in a match against England. The video showed an agent and bookmaker with ties to several players on the team taking money from undercover reporters posing as members of a professional sports betting syndicate.
It was one of the biggest scandals to hit the sport in recent years and the International Cricket Council -- which oversees the league -- suspended the players allegedly involved.
We could actually consider this fair journalism --though with incredibly shady tactics. Some critics said the paper sensationalized what was actually a somewhat less-than-heinous act by the players. Apparently, the things they agreed to do weren't going to alter the course of the match, according to a sports columnist at the Guardianwho clearly knows a lot more about the sport than I do. He called the actions by the players "small (over) steps."
And, indeed, the sins were intentional foot faults by the bowlers -- something akin to "balk" in American baseball at a couple points during the game. "While not necessarily affecting a game's outcome -- [it] can attract millions of dollars of bets across Asia," according to the New York Times.
It ain't exactly breaking open the Watergate affair, but we'll miss not having News of the World to kick around anymore.
In some ways News of the World has contributed positively in many areas, but all that has now been overshadowed by this 'Hacking' into phones of murder victims, of soldiers families and of a little one's health records.
Cent soixante-huit ans et maintenant vous ne sont pas plus... Siena.
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