From one rich mogul to another: Former Turner Broadcasting owner Ted Turner, who knows a thing or two about running his mouth, says that Murdoch has made tactical errors in his handling of the phone-hacking scandal, including his claim that he didn’t know anything about the hacking. “Well, he should have known,” Turner said. “He was chairman of the board. He’s responsible. I took responsibility when I ran my company. You never heard me say, ‘Well, I didn’t know.’” The two moguls once famously feuded, after Turner claimed Murdoch’s media outlets (including Fox News, a direct rival to the Turner-founded CNN) were largely behind the Iraq war, because it helped his company. Turner says they eventually buried the hatchet, however, after he bought Rupert a bison burger and praised the Wall Street Journal. Well, this may perhaps change that situation once again. Heh. source
In light of the current controversy surrounding News of the World, I have declined the bonus that the company chose to award to me. While the financial and operating performance metrics on which the bonus decision was based are not associated with this matter, I feel that declining the bonus is the right thing to do.James Murdoch • Explaining his reasons for not accepting a $6 million bonus from News Corp. in the wake of the News of the World scandal. Accepting the bonus would have increased his 2010 take-home pay by 74 percent. His dad Rupert, meanwhile, accepted a $12.5 million bonus of his own. Do you think James made the right move? And if so, should Rupert Murdoch have followed the same track? source (via • follow)
As we wait to see just how involved Arrington will remain, as a media company that should supposedly hold up some sort of journalistic ethics, AOL is coming out looking quite sleazy.The Atlantic Wire’s Rebecca Greenfield • Offering her take on the debacle revolving around Michael Arrington and TechCrunch. Here’s the issue we see, as outsiders: Michael Arrington has always been as much of a player in Silicon Valley as he’s been a journalist, so there’s always been a small conflict of interest there. But by making the “player” element a bigger part of his job title by creating a venture capital fund, he makes himself a target. But wait. Tech journalism is already incestuous and ethically broken. A few examples: Business Insider’s Henry Blodget was once a financial analyst barred from the securities market for fraud. The WSJ’s Kara Swisher is married to a female Google exec (which she discloses). And Gizmodo parent Gawker Media pays for stories that can draw millions of eyeballs to their sites. The difference is that AOL, which bought TechCrunch a year ago, is a big company that knows better. Or should. And the end result is that it makes AOL look really bad. source (via • follow)
Thought of the day: They have more fun raggin’ on world leaders on the other side of the pond. As for the clip itself, Cameron makes a point to emphasize that, Andy Coulson, the former “News of the World” editor who worked for him, didn’t do any wrong on his watch. “Of course I regret,” he said, “and I am extremely sorry, about the furor it has caused.” Well, duh. What else is he going to say? “Oh yeah! Andy was a great hire! He made my office look smashing! We got such good publicity from hiring that Andy Coulson! He was the sugar in my office’s tea!” source
After the past week, that assertion has been reduced to tatters, torn apart by a spectacular avalanche of contradictory evidence, admissions by News International executives that hacking was more widespread, and a reversal by police officials who now admit to mishandling the case.New York Times reporter Don Van Natta Jr. • Discussing the News of the World phone-hacking case in a piece that suggests that Scotland Yard had played a role in keeping evidence of hacking under wraps. “At best, former Scotland Yard senior officers acknowledged in interviews, the police have been lazy, incompetent and too cozy with the people they should have regarded as suspects,” the article continues. “At worst, they said, some officers might be guilty of crimes themselves.” Maaaan, this is getting messy. source (via • follow)
We believed that the proposed acquisition of BSkyB by News Corporation would benefit both companies but it has become clear that it is too difficult to progress in this climate.News Corp. chairman Chase Carey • Explaining why the company chose to drop out of the coveted BSkyB deal which they had been gunning for for a while. However, this mess with News of the World happened, and here we are. Right now, the company’s problems center on the United Kingdom, but Sen. Jay Rockefeller is threatening to give them some increased stateside scrutiny. This could be bad. source (via • follow)
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This fire keeps burning: In the wake of the scandal and subsequent closure of News Of The World, British society has been thrust into a debate about journalistic ethics, and for former PM Gordon Brown the matter isn’t just academic; in addition to the scurrilous behavior we mentioned earlier, Brown specifically believes journalists tried to access his voice mails. We confess ignorance on British law, but this seems like the sort of thing that could easily be called a national security risk, which would be bad news for whoever was calling the shots. News International ended News Of The World altogether to try to nip this cell hacking story in the bud. Even if they had the zeal to shut down The Sun and the Sunday Times as well, it’s too late now. This story looks nowhere near finished. (Photo courtesy Remy Steinegger/World Economic Forum). source
I think it’s a shame because they’ve done a lot of good, they’ve riddled out a lot of, let’s say, nasty people. It’s unfortunate that a few people have brought it down. But they have got no choice because they condemned others so they have got to show they are accountable.Newspaper vendor Jean Natella • Offering her take on the closing of News of the World. Say what you will about the paper’s tactics, but they have shown results in the past, though the problem the paper has faced has been one of culture. As another reader, Michael Mitchell, puts it: “I don’t think it should close; I think the people responsible should not be there. They have, I feel, overstepped the mark. Or they’ve been found out, because if this paper is doing it you can bet the majority of them are doing it as well.” We can get behind that. source (via • follow)
Rupert Murdoch’s son James liable in News of The World hack?: You would not believe the kind of migraine a long-term phone-hacking scandal causes. The younger Murdoch could face charges in both the U.S. and UK over the allegations. source
I just felt stunned and horrified. I find it hard to believe someone could be so wicked and so evil, and that someone could work for an organization that even today is trying to defend what they see as normal practices.Graham Foulkes, father of a 2005 London bombing victim • Reacting after learning that he was on a possible list of people whose phones have been hacked by News of the World. As you might imagine, it’s not the kind of news one takes well, and in the case of Foulkes, who will mourn the sixth anniversary of his son’s death later this week, it only makes things more difficult. Foulkes wants leadership at News Corp. to change, starting with Rebekah Brooks, the chief of News International who once edited News of the World, but denies she knew what was going on. “She’s gotta go,” he said. “She cannot say, oops, sorry, we’ve been caught out. Of course she’s responsible for the ethos and practices of her department. Her position is untenable.” Do you agree? source (via • follow)
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