Over/Under of FoxNews Gettign Caught Up...

[Bob Kohm]

...in the Murdoch NewsCorp hacking scandal? If they were brazen enough to spend ten years attempting to hack MP/PM Gordon Brown's personal accounts and info, I'm guessing that someone will be tagging FoxNews with similar activities here in the US.

I'll set the line at five days before first indications of NewsCorps US affiliates having done similar things in the US surface. Over or Under?

[Moonlight J]

Thursday

[Wonderboy]

You know, as much as I'd love to see it, I don't think Fox News is on the same low level as the British tabloids. So my bet is that they don't have any similar problems.

[johnnya24]

Interesting to see how far this spreads ... there was some suspicion when he abandoned the NotW that there were more bombshells to come, and ending the paper will help reduce the impact on the organization.

It was also a cynical cost cutting exercise ... as he had been trying to merge his Sun and NotW operations. Now we will have The Sun on Sunday ... so a mere rebranding.

So far the suspicions have not spread beyond the NotW. Yet.

[johnnya24]

I'm wondering if it was a huge mistake to close the NotW ... now all the pressure has shifted from that paper to the NI organisation as a whole. Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown has came out and very publicly attacked NI for employing criminals to illegally investigate his family.

[primetime]

You know, as much as I'd love to see it, I don't think Fox News is on the same low level as the British tabloids. So my bet is that they don't have any similar problems.

Yeah, I would tend to agree with this. They are partisan but I am not sure they would sink to british tabloid lows. But it would be funny to see the fallout if they did and they were caught.

[Bob Kohm]

The FBI is launching an investigation into NewsCorp for hacking into the phones of 9/11 victims in the States. That cracking noise you hear is the wall I was mentioning...

Let me say, though, that I sincerely hope that Fox, the Post, etc wasn't involved int his behavior. The free press doesn't need anymore damage to its public perception in the current political environment.

[johnnya24]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jul/14/fbi-news-corp-hacking-claims

NI has been trying to run roughshod over the UK popular media for years ... they created enemies all over, and now they are lining up to take them down a notch ... don't expect any let up in this. It was funny reading the various broadsheets today. The Times (Murdoch owned) was obliged (as as a "serious" newspaper ... *ahem*) to comment on the story on the front page, but nothing else. The Sun (Murdoch owned) went with a story about some bloke getting stabbed (because Sun readers are retarded idiots). Every other paper had pages and pages devoted to this ... and the television media are all over it. When this happens in the UK politicians fold ... it's beautiful ... democracy in action. Murdoch pulled out of his planned purchase of BskyB to save the humiliation of even the Tory party voting against the takeover.

Murdoch and his son have also been called before a commons committee on Tuesday. That should be a circus and a half.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/jul/14/phone-hacking-murdoch-parliament-summons

[TranaGreg]

Meanwhile ...

A former News of the World journalist who made phone-hacking allegations against the paper has been found dead

said to be unexplained but not suspicious. hmmm.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14194623

[johnnya24]

The Murdoch's getting grilled now by the parliamentary committee

[regular-guy]

Um--i don't get all this. Are we supposed to believe that Murdoch's empire is the only group of journalists hacking phones?

Here's the top link on many Google pages of how to hack phones, it's not rocket science--i'm not sure why money even exchanged hands in the first place:

http://www.pcworld.com/article/235367/news_of_the_world_cell_phone_hack_how_its_done.html

As for "owning" cops and politicians, are we supposed to believe that journalists haven't been doing that all along, at least since we've been given 24 hour news? There's no way the stories we get are based on voluntary informants alone.

Granted, i think it's pretty bad that people are taking bribes to give private information. Yes, i think hacking phones is an invasion of privacy. It's despicable. But why is this just now becoming a stink? Hasn't this kind of behavior been going on for....generations? Who gains from Murdoch getting dragged through all this?

As for the whistleblower dying, i'm inclined to not buy the line of a natural death. It's too convenient--but for whom? If a police commissioner has resigned over this, perhaps there are a few other cops who don't want to lose their jobs either. i'm more inclined to think cops would be behind it than some journalists; they certainly would have better resources to make it look natural. And in all fairness, his neighbors reported his skin was yellow in recent weeks--which means jaundiced to me, which is completely consistent with his reported lifestyle. From what i've read about the remarkable social medical system over there, it wouldn't surprise me in the least for him to have a fatal liver condition misdiagnosed.

Additionally, are we supposed to believe that only Murdoch's journalists in the 21st century strong arm, bribe, even blackmail to get stories? No way i believe that only News Corp's journalists do this. "Journalism Ethics" in practicum seems to be more of an oxymoron than "speed limit". Even my favorite journalist, Erwin Fletcher, commits a few crimes to get his stories, and his employer turns his head to this while continuously nagging him for his reports.

Bottom line--if a journalist doesn't produce the stories that get ratings or sell--they get fired. That leads to unscrupulous dealings at some point. What's the answer? Violate the first amendment by having the government produce its own watchdog bureaucracy? This seems to be where all this is headed.

Don't get me wrong--if criminal activity is proven, throw the book at them. Hopefully that will clean this up--for awhile. But i just don't understand the news circus of this, except that the competitors of News Corp (and/or political oponents) are going to make as much of this as possible because it either gives them a ratings/poll boost and/or makes them feel better. But they better be careful with what demands that they imply should be done--because it may wind up costing some freedom. That is my concern. i'd much rather have unscrupulous journalists than unscrupulous government watchdogs preventing opposing views.

[TranaGreg]

if nothing else I see a gripping movie coming out of this. maybe starring John Hurt as Murdoch ... and Harrison Ford ... and there will probably be a role for Julia Roberts too.

[Bob Kohm]

Um--i don't get all this.

I do believe that R-G feels like his conservative ox is being gored

[OaklandA's]

But they better be careful with what demands that they imply should be done--because it may wind up costing some freedom. That is my concern.

Prosecuting phone hacking or punishing those who buy information from Scotland Yard is a bad idea because it may cost us freedom? This actually made me LOL.

[Judge Jude]

I've been around the block a few times, and I find this story absolutely shocking.

I have never heard even a rumor of a single colleague ever supposedly paying a nickel for a story, and anyone who does can kiss the industry goodbye.

The entire art of journalism works like this - getting people to tell you all sorts of interesting things, and all they get in return is accurate information getting out there. Sure, sometimes they get to see a rival made to look bad, but only if the guy deserves it. We get plenty of tips that never see the light of day because we can't prove them, or the information doesn't really play out the way the rival claims it does.

It's annoying to think that someone might think that I scoop up free tickets from sports facilities that I cover, just because no doubt they'd be happy to provide them. But they know me well enough not even to insult me with such an offer.

In spite of the occasional scandal - things that happens in all industries - the fact is that most journalists could make more money doing something else, if material gain was the goal.