THANK YOU AND GOODBYE, was News of the World’s flashy headline as it bowed out. In a characteristics picturesque outlook reminiscent of olden day yellow journalism, the paper bade bye to its loyal and sometimes irked readers and to the public at large after 168 years of concerted effort to satisfy its readership.
News of the World, one of Britain’s most selling daily and News International’s stable came tumbling from body and soul on July 3, 2011 rendering jobless 200 employees and a readership torn apart, the circumstances surrounding its closure notwithstanding.
It was the death of the paper for more ways than one. This has been the paper which has dominated the UK market for many years rubbing shoulders with many a people in the land from celebrities, politicians and all the high and mighty not only in the UK but borders beyond. However, what came up as a shocker to many were revelations that the paper has not only been snooping into private affairs of individuals but hacking on phones of victims of violence- classical being 13-year-old Milly Dowler who had been murdered.
The Ethical Question
NoW has for long spurred a lot of debate in the UK and the US on media laws, ethics and regulation. The debate has been a healthy one because the UK houses of parliament have been forced to engage in a national discourse on matters of privacy, breach of confidence and related areas as contempt of court. When the UK parliament tabled the white paper courtesy of Lord David Calcutt in 1990, one of the motivating factors was a result of complaints about breach of privacy, harassment of individuals, inaccurate reporting and intrusion. NoW largely did not escape mention. This debate was the closest the UK got to legislating on privacy, a worrying trend in am democratic society.
The Murdoch Effect
For a long time, Rupert Murdoch has literally been the man behind the throne in the UK and across the Atlantic-The US. A number of Murdoch's outlets have always served as propaganda machines advancing rightist ideologies-a case in point being Fox News which has been the Republican Party's public relations tool though of late it seems to be moving far right developing warmer relations with the Tea Party in the US. Back in the UK, News International, a franchise of the mother company News Corp. has over the time enjoyed very close ties with UK premiers from Margret Thatcher to later day establishments.
A look at News Corp's outlets shows how much Murdoch has influenced not only those in power but also people from diverse backgrounds globally. A quick search points out the following: 9 satellite TV networks, 100 cable channels, 175 newspapers, 40 book imprints, 40 TV stations and 1 movie studio. The effect of this empire translates to the following: US Tv newtworks have an estimate outreach of 280 million people, 300 million people by the Asian satellite network while cable channels reach 300 million homes. Murdoch wraps it up with a magazine outreach of 280 million people.
What do all these translate to? The Murdoch empire commands an audience which three quarters of the world population-4.7 billion people.
The collapse of the Empire?
Following the revelations by its rival, The Guardian that News of the World reporters have been engaging in unethical ways by hacking into people's private conversations, the House of Lords has summoned News Corp's proprietor Rupert Murdoch, Chairman James Murdoch and News International's Rebekah Brooks to appear before the Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee. With these developments, Murdoch has humbly eaten the pie and closed News of the World, surrendered his bid for UK's most profitable media outlet BSkyB and seems indicative of parting ways with his other papers-The Times, The Sun, and The Sunday Times. There is already a build up of pressure across the Atlantic that News Corp could face prosecution under Federal law based on The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) which outlaws the bribery of foreign officials.
A Call for Media Regulation?
A glance at some of the reactions in Britain following what has now been loosely termed as The Watergate -scale' scandal is quite telling about how much Murcdoch's empire is shaping the British media industry. Deputy Premier Nick Clegg has called for a "fundamental reform" of the British media, based on the principles of "freedom, accountability, plurality", and independent regulation of the press. This is likely to bring into light once more the role and capacity of the Press Complains Commission, an independent newspaper and magazine regulatory body.Ironically, Murdoch has also sucked in the House of Commons regarding its constitutional authority to summon non UK citizens to appear before it.
Whatever the direction this case takes, a fall or a dent on Murdoch's empire will greatly define the future of the media industry in the UK.
