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Murdoch Media Could Pay Billions In Damages For Illegally Hacking Phones Of Politicians, Celebrities, Sports Stars
Darryl Mason
Your New Reality
Thursday, July 9, 2009
I already know that this is going to be my favourite story of 2009, no matter how it turns out. More to come, obviously, but for now this taster of what could prove to be the biggest media scandal in years, and one that could fell a media empire :
Rupert Murdoch’s News of the World and Sun will be investigated by the Metropolitan Police in London over claims they obtained personal information through deception.
The Guardian newspaper reported yesterday that Murdoch’s News Corp. paid more than 1 million pounds ($1.6 million) to settle lawsuits claiming journalists used private investigators to illegally obtain information on politicians, sports stars and entertainers. The report throws a spotlight on the news- gathering methods of the competitive U.K. newspaper industry. “Following a court order in 2008 we made available a copy of some information from our investigation into the buying and selling of personal information, to lawyers” involved in a related case, Mick Gorrill, assistant information commissioner, said in the statement. “This included material that showed that 31 journalists working for The News of the World and The Sun had acquired people’s personal information through blagging.”News Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Rupert Murdoch said yesterday that he wasn’t aware of any payments made to settle legal cases in which the company’s newspaper reporters may have been involved in criminal activity.“If that had happened, I would know about it,” Murdoch said in an interview at the Allen & Co. media conference in Sun Valley, Idaho.
According to the Guardian, the out-of-court settlements secured secrecy about three cases that may have shown evidence of journalists using private investigators who allegedly hacked into the mobile-phone messages of public figures and gained access to confidential personal data illegally, the report said.The Guardian cited an unidentified person with London’s Metropolitan Police as saying there was evidence that News Group employees used private investigators to hack into thousands of mobile phones.
The above is from Bloomberg, the financial media, who used this headline :
Murdoch Newspapers to Be Investigated Over ‘Blagging’ Claims
That’s a real bad look for Rupert Murdoch, particularly as most of his worldwide media operation is going down the shitter, as paying readers and ad revenue disappear.
Police investigations are never, or rarely, good news for the share price.
Brokers are reading that story in Bloomberg, and are learning that Rupert Murdoch’s UK operation paid out hundred thousand dollars each to a few people that his reporters illegally spied on, and they are calculating how much Murdoch may have to pay out if all the 2000 to 3000 people that Murdoch hacks spied also demand hefty payouts the size of the out of court settlements that have already been paid.
Rupert Murdoch’s media empire could be sued for a $US2-3 billion, or more, if everyone who was spied on decided to go hard for as much money as they could get for having their privacy violated.
On a late night news program in Australia, all this was the last story of the show, but it was mentioned that when Murdoch execs were contacted for a reply to the allegations, all they offered was “No Comment.”
(ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW)
No comment.
This is going to be so much fun to watch unfold. Journos love to report on other journos, and the media that they work for. They love to bitch about each other, and if the Murdoch media empire looks to be on the ropes, as it most certainly does already, non-Murdoch journos will go hard, they will be relentless. Unless they, too, engage in such activities to get their headlines.
The Old Media Will Eat Itself.
UPDATE : A great interview here with UK Guardian journalist, Nick Davies, who broke the Murdoch Spying Scandal story (excerpts) :
What we’ve uncovered is systematic activity by Rupert Murdoch’s journalists on the Sunday newspaper here the News of the World, using illegal techniques of one kind or another to uncover information.
One bunch of illegal techniques is to do with using private investigators to do what’s called “blagging” – that’s conning their way into confidential databases, things like your bank statements, credit card statements, itemised telephone bills, tax records, all that kind of stuff.
That’s all illegal and they’ve been doing it. And the second kind of illegal activity is using private investigators to do what’s called “phone hacking”, which just means that they can get into other people’s mobile telephone networks and hear messages which have been left on the target’s mobile phone.
….there was clear evidence of News of the World journalists, including a middle ranking executive, handling the raw material that was coming through from these intercepts.
….my understanding is that that paperwork shows us that the News of the World were hacking the phones of 2,000 or 3,000 public figures of one kind or another.
(the police) didn’t pursue charges against the Murdoch journalists. And I don’t know the answers to these questions, but it raises the worrying possibility – and it’s only a possibility at this stage – that the police at New Scotland Yard didn’t want to get into a fight with powerful Rupert Murdoch….he’s politically very powerful.
….you begin to get this alarming picture of the newspaper groups drifting beyond the reach of the law because they’re just too powerful.
You can hear the whole interview with Nick Davies here. He sounds very excited. He knows how huge this story will become.
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23 Responses to “Murdoch Media Could Pay Billions In Damages For Illegally Hacking Phones Of Politicians, Celebrities, Sports Stars”
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July 9th, 2009 at 3:30 pm
ALEX JONES FAN ATTACKED AND ARRESTED FOR SAYING 911 INSIDE JOB AT PARADE http://7fzxj.tk
July 9th, 2009 at 4:13 pm
Yes we all have fredom if speech and it sounds like they vandalized his car, although from the video I would almost say this was a bs staged event to further discredit 911 truthers and make them appear as ” loud angry arrogant and crazy” as this guy looked and sounded.
used to be proud brit Reply:
July 10th, 2009 at 1:01 am
Wasn`t Rupert Murdock screaming to have bloggers arrested?
I think he should go to prison for that
IF I START HACKING PEOPLES PHONES WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO ME?
but I`am sure his billions will help him out here
I know he didn`t do it himself but who would have benefited from these crime ?HIM!!!!!
SO HE IS THE OFFENDER BY PROXY
Paying a couple of million in fines will not effect him
WHAT ABOUT THE ENGLISH GUY THAT HACKED THE COMPUTERS FROM THE U S
THEY WANT TO EXTRADITE HIM AND PUT HIM IN PRISON FOR 70 YEARS
THIS SHOWS DOUBLE STANDARDS IN THE JUSTICE SYSTEM
THERE IS NO JUSTICE FOR THE POOR MAN
AND THE MEGA RICH ARE ABOVE THE LAW
THIS IS PROOF
July 9th, 2009 at 4:22 pm
MURDOCH MEDIA publishes Micheal Moore’s books.. .Go get ‘em!
July 9th, 2009 at 4:27 pm
HERE: Stream and Download ALL the best interviews and rants from the Alex Jones Show Archives:
http://alex-jones-archives.politicsfiles.info/
TODAY:
- Rev. Ted Pike:Say NO to Senators on Hate Speech Bill
- Dr. Robert M. Bowman:America Is Artificially Divided
- Actor John Rhys-Davies (Gimli):Reclaiming Your Liberty
- Dr. Francis A. Boyle:State Sponsored Terrorsim
Backup your favorite episodes, don’t miss any!
riffleranger1776 Reply:
July 10th, 2009 at 5:01 am
Dude, good job on your site but be very carefull you don’t make too much money somebody might want their cut!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
July 9th, 2009 at 6:01 pm
Where’s my check ?????
Jack Frost Reply:
July 9th, 2009 at 9:45 pm
You know there is hardware on the market that you can use to listen too and watch texts of other users by dialing their number. anyone can do what murdoch paid PIs to do.
All of those with the fancy phones and ipods need to get hardware thats detects this hacking on your mobile. and you can be tracked by anyone who has this hardware and they can listen to you even when you are miles and miles apart and not using your phone. It was a new article on our TV last night.
July 9th, 2009 at 6:23 pm
Oh my, the mind just boggles at what will come out at ‘discovery’.
July 9th, 2009 at 6:57 pm
I’ve got a “stake ” in this, where the hell’s my check?????????
LUCY LIB Reply:
July 9th, 2009 at 9:17 pm
Government checks are only for our guest workers and Obama youth camp workers. If you do not have a job try going green. As for Dr. Murdoch I find his news coporations always fair and balanced. He certainly would not be spying on you if you were not making illegal hate speech.
CA GIRL
July 9th, 2009 at 7:21 pm
Murdoch can dish the dirt on New Scotland Yard, so they won’t follow it up.
Plus the fact that they are NWO partners in crime. Bit of a non-story really, unfortunately.
July 9th, 2009 at 8:22 pm
murdoch has a teflon hide and a lot of money and powerful friends. (whom he probably has dirt on) so chances of it cramping his style are low. see he says we bloggers are terrorists?
No Opinion But what HE wants you to have folks…get used to it, there will be more of it!
you can hold an opinion…as long as it’s the “right” one
who decides right?
murdoch and his industry and government pals do!
Karen of Australia Reply:
July 9th, 2009 at 8:53 pm
Increasingly the opportunity to comment on particular stories is also being cut as the months pass.
July 9th, 2009 at 9:13 pm
GREAT NEWS! I WAS FEELING SLIGHTLY DOWN UNTIL I READ COMRAD MURDOCH IS GONNA BE BUSTED. SPEEKING OF MEDIA SPYING AND CENSORSHIP WHERE IS THAT GREAT PHOTOGRAPH OF OBAMA CHECKING OUT THE FRENCH GIRLS BUTT AT THE G-8 SUMMIT IN ITALY. I WAS SURE ALEX WOULD POST IT. I AM CERTAIN STATE RUN MEDIA WILL NEVER SHOW IT. EVEN THE FRENCH PRESIDENT WAS GETTING A GIGGLE OUT OF WATCHING THE COMMUNITY ORGANIZER, OBAMA OGGLE EYE THIS CHICK. SAVAGE WAS HAVING A BALL WITH THIS PHOTO ON HIS SHOW TONIGHT AND SO WAS WREC RADIO AM 600 EARLIER THIS AFTERNOON. HEY MURDOCH WHY DON’T YOU SHOW THIS PHOTOGRAPH ON YOUR STATE RUN MEDIA INFOMERCIALS???? NOW I JUST WONDER IF MICHELLE GOT A LOOK AT THE PHOTOGRAPH OF HER HUSBAND, THE ACCIDENTAL PRESIDENT OGGLING THIS CHICK?? LOL LOL. THIS IS PRESIDENTIAL BEHAVIOR?? THIS OBAMA CLOWN IS GOING TO UPSTAGE CLINTON BEFORE IT IS ALL OVER IN 2009 FOR HIM.
July 10th, 2009 at 2:06 am
This doesn’t surprise me at all. People think the NSA actively spies on them and certainly they do have that capability, but all they really have to do is data farm the private sector to get all sorts of juicy information about you: credit reports, nasty reports from every landlord you’ve ever had, you name it. And we can just add private detectives to the list.
And this goes to prove that while the ultra-rich are indeed ruthless (at least the successful ones), they aren’t necessarily any smarter than the rest of us.
The fact is, privacy has been an illusion for a very long time. It’s too bad everyone is so distracted trying to find Satan and not looking at the all too human actors who are destroying the world as we speak.
LUCY LIB Reply:
July 10th, 2009 at 6:28 am
Randall it is medication time. Plesase see our camp nurse. Ms Ratchett.
July 10th, 2009 at 7:50 am
And this is such a great oppurtunity that Alex Jones has left for Australians,it is a wonder there are not more of us here.I guess we all got used to Murdoch bullshit,either accepting it ,or totally rejecting it,our brains cannot anticipate maybe, the old Bastard has finally bit off more than he can chew,and it wasn’t the Government Tit,but, the Celebrity one.As the economic Titanic will make him cringe,whilst people like me,well the wind blows strong and cold.Rudd our beloved leader,the Osama photo oppurtunity,has been a lot dependent on the Murdoch Machine,will find it has no place here in Australia soon.It has offended just too many people.Murdoch has offended me personally so often,and his newspapers etc. I am feeling freer by this news as it is.
July 10th, 2009 at 7:52 am
S should of been B. [Eh!Things can be reversed!] in Obama.
July 10th, 2009 at 9:17 am
Looks like the snake has begun to swallow its’ own tail !!!!!
July 10th, 2009 at 9:37 am
one scape goat in a trillion. all on wall street, in the white house, or in some for-gin bank accounts with our money, hollywood you aint looking to good either
July 10th, 2009 at 10:55 am
Murdoch and News Corp are sometimes over- estimated. Also News Corps income is
declining, several of his papers are losing money.
If interested in more data, it is very easy on “Google finance” or Yahoo Finance, one just
has to type “news corps” in the search bars there – and one had access to lots of financial
information. (Hope I’m coming over as arrogant. But I love it because of News Corps gradual
decline, so maybe somebody else does as well. A bit of patience is needed. News Corps
will publish its Quarter report in a couple of weeks. – For other info on the media I would
suggest to google with “newspaper revenue” and then click on NEWS. Google selects all
news from that sector. Quite interesting what is continually reported and selected to that
search words.)
July 12th, 2009 at 4:31 pm
Sexy costumesThese fancy