Independent UK: A newspaper's closure does not end the hacking scandal

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Leading article: A newspaper's closure does not end the hacking scandal
The management team that repeatedly covered up evidence of wrongdoing remains in place

Friday, 8 July 2011


Even in the depths of a crisis, Rupert Murdoch's flair for the dramatic never deserts him. Yesterday's announcement that the News of the World, the newspaper at the centre of the phone-hacking scandal, is to be closed down was as sensational as any of the stories the scandal sheet has carried on its front page in its 168-year history.

On the face of it, this represents an astonishing capitulation. The News of the World has the largest circulation of any publication in the English-speaking world. It was also Mr Murdoch's first newspaper acquisition on these shores, his bridgehead onto the British media back in 1969. Some wondered yesterday whether they were hearing the first sounds of a mighty empire crumbling.

Yet there is also a cold commercial logic to this amputation of one of the oldest and most colourful parts of the Murdoch regime. This week's revelations that the phones of terrorism victims and British soldiers killed in action were hacked were lethal blows to the News of the World's brand. The paper was haemorrhaging advertising revenue, with some of the largest UK businesses deciding that they could no longer afford to be associated with such an organisation. And despite its vast circulation, the News of the World is not profitable.

No – the sound that could be heard yesterday was not of an empire crumbling, but an empire attempting to shore up its defences and protect its key personnel. The purpose of this move is to prevent the rest of the sprawling Murdoch media organisation from contamination. There was a danger that UK advertisers would withdraw their custom not only from the News of the World, but also from Mr Murdoch's other UK newspapers, The Sun, The Times and The Sunday Times. Mr Murdoch will have also realised that there was no chance of News Corporation's planned acquisition of the broadcaster BSkyB being allowed to go ahead by the Government without some dramatic demonstration of internal reform. ..............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/leading-articles/leading-article-a-newspapers-closure-does-not-end-the-hacking-scandal-2308680.html