A former staff member of the Irish News Of World said yesterday it was highly likely the same tactics were employed here
About as bizarre as you being delighted when a few TV stations (i.e. Setanta) went out of business a few years ago even though you didnât watch them.
setanta show Serie A you headcase- of course i watch it
Makes it twice as bizarre that you were delighted at that time then.
whats your problem?
What? No problem here at all mate.
Pottergate
Last week, Charles Begley, the News of the Worldâs former Harry Potter correspondent, revealed his humiliation at being required to impersonate the schoolboy wizard.
His breaking point came on the afternoon of September 11, when he was summoned to the office of the editor Rebekah Wade and rebuked for not being âin characterâ. Begley, then 29, was told to appear in full Potter regalia at the next dayâs news conference. He parted ways with the paper a few weeks later and is now considering legal action against his former employers. (His initial claim was turned down because he had been on staff for only six months.)
Begleyâs account was this week dismissed by Stuart Kuttner, the tabloidâs managing editor, as âdeeply flawedâ. In a letter to this paper, he said that his former reporter was a âfantasistâ and Ms Wade had âmade no requestâ for Begley to âparade as Harry Potterâ.
And now? As if by magic - a tape recording of conversations between Begley and senior NoW executives has suddenly âapparatedâ at Telegraph Towers. .
Tues, Sept 11, three hours after the collapse of the Twin Towers: Begley is told to turn up at tomorrowâs news conference, dressed as Harry Potter.
Wed, Sept 12: Still feeling stunned, he phones his newsdesk editor Neville Thurlbeck for confirmation.
CB: Hi, Neville. I just wanted to check, given the enormity of events in America - will the editor still need me dressed up as Harry Potter for conference?
NT: Well, she knew exactly what was going on yesterday afternoon and she still wanted you to dress up then. I think you should just assume she wants you to do it now.
Wed, Sept 26: (Begley did not turn up to conference on Sept 12 and, shortly afterwards, was signed off with stress by his doctor.) He speaks to Stuart Kuttner on the phone.
SK: We heard you werenât well. Whatâs the problem?
CB: Iâve been diagnosed with stress.
SK: That bit I do know. Now, tell me about it, and weâll see what, if anything, we can do.
CB: There were a couple of events which brought things to a head. A few hours after the attack on the World Trade Centre, I was asked by Rebekah to dress up as Harry Potter. She wanted me to dress up and go to her office in the middle of the newsroom.
SK: Which date was that?
CB: That was on Tuesday, September 11. It was the afternoon, less than three hours after [the attacks]. I went into her office and Andy [Coulson, the deputy editor] was on the sofa and Rebekah was on the phone. Andy asked me where was my Harry Potter suit and I made some excuse, saying: itâs not here, itâs in the photo studio. [Actually], it was in the office, but it was hardly appropriate for a journalist to be prancing about as Harry Potter. Andy told me I should always have my Harry Potter gear around, in case of a Harry Potter emergency, and told me that the morning after, I was to dress up for conference as Harry Potter. So, at that time, [when] we were working on the assumption that up to 50,000 people had been killed, I was required to parade myself around morning conference, dressed as Harry Potter.
SK: I see.
CB: What person with any journalistic integrity can be humiliated like that, or told to perform like that?
SK: How did you deal with that?
CB: I was pretty dumbstruck, to be honest. I just said, âRight, okayâ, and left the office. The following morning, I called Neville before leaving home and asked him, given what had happened, did Rebekah still need me to dress up as Harry Potter?
SK: Right, well, Iâm sorry that youâre under the weather. Iâm concerned about you.
CB: Iâve spoken to my doctor. I do value my job. Iâve worked hard to get my job. I just donât think I can cope with it at the minute.
SK: All right, Iâve listened to what youâve said: a) you have been very straightforward in this call, and B) well, you appear to be very stressed. You had better take it easy and weâll talk again very soon.
Later that afternoon, Greg Miskiw, the assistant editor (news), [who was away the week of September 11] calls Begley.
GM: Iâve heard youâre ill. Whatâs the problem?
[Begley repeats what he told Kuttner.]
CB: Neville got a message from Rebekah asking me to dress up in my Potter gear and go to her office. I think Neville was as surprised as I was. I just couldnât bring myself to prance about as Harry Potter when something like 50,000 people were dead.
GM: I understand where youâre coming from. You want to be taken seriously as a journalist, you donât want to be prancing around doing silly things.
CB: Iâm not being precious. I toed along with it as far as possible. I didnât walk out there and then, but I have to say I was tempted.
GM: Well, if Iâd have been there, I would have said to her: look, he canât. . . Ah, well. You said two things?
CB: I heard more great Harry Potter scenarios [were planned]. Iâd be in Hollywood prancing around, while Stuart White [NoWâs American editor] and I donât know who else would [be] in New York doing proper stuff. I would be dressed up as a transvestite teenage schoolboy, for Godâs sake. I did it for as long as I could. Itâs a shame because Iâd worked hard to get my job. But I couldnât.
GM: OK.
CB: Iâm sorry that youâve been left to deal with it, because Iâm sure youâre faced with a bit of an inquisition on this. Iâm not trying to swing the lead.
GM: I hear what youâre saying, Charles. When I went in to talk to Rebekah this morning, she was concerned this had happened. It was mentioned if it was this Harry Potter thing. At that point, I didnât know about all this. So, what do you want me to do with this information?
CB: Well, [Rebekah Wade] should know. She should be aware of it. I donât want to criticise her in a phone call, but I canât see how the editor of the - as weâre always reminded - best paper in the country, could expect a reporter to do that. Iâm not being precious - I know we have to do silly things. It was hardly appropriate and it was bloody humiliating. That was just too much.
GM: I hear you. Let me speak to Stuart.
Later on Wed Sept 26: Miskiw calls back.
GM: Stuart would like to know what your plans are. Now, we donât want to lose you. Iâm not asking you to come in tomorrow. Come in on Friday. We had this problem, and we sorted it out. We are taking this serious, in the sense of how itâs affected you. Rebekah has heard what youâve said, and accepts what youâre saying. Stuart has heard what youâve said, and accepts what youâre saying. But saying âIâll call you tomorrowâ is not really acceptable.
CB: Iâm thinking to myself that my situation now was that my copy book was completely blotted.
GM: Itâs not. I donât want you to think that. What you need to do is pick yourself up, dust yourself down, and say : âFuck itâ. Rebekah has said: Right, letâs get him off the Harry Potter thing. Letâs get him [to change his name back by deed poll].
CB: Obviously, I do want to come back to work, but if I just rush back in. . .
GM: We really donât want to put any pressure on you.
CB: I find it hard to believe that for the editorâs pet project to crumble away, in such a spectacular fashion, is not going to be held against me in any way.
GM: Listen Charles, I decide who goes out on jobs. If a good story comes in on Friday, Iâm going to put you on it. I promise you, Iâm giving you good advice here. I canât afford to lose someone of your calibre.
Begley agrees to call Miskiw back in an hour. Later still, Wed Sept 26.
CB: I donât think I can make a final decision on my future right now.
GM: Iâm not forcing you into a decision. Iâm telling you something that will benefit you.
CB: Iâm so wound up about all this.
GM: Charles, Charles, Charles, let me tell you something. This is not a business for prima donnas. You know that and I know that.
CB: Iâm disillusioned. . .
GM: I have told you that this is not going to be held against you. Charles, you should think very seriously about coming in on Tuesday.
CB: Well, to be frank, Greg, as far as my future at News International is concerned, I havenât toed the line for the editorâs pet project. I didnât prance around while the World Trade Centre was being bombed, for her personal amusement. I canât just stroll in.
GM: Why not? Charles, that is what we do - we go out and destroy other peopleâs lives.
CB: I donât want to waste any more of your time, Greg. Iâm sorry.
GM: Well, look after yourself. Cheers.
:lol: Thats fantastic. Iâm nearly on NOTW side with this one. The man was the Harry Potter Correspondant FFS how could he possibly complain about not being taken seriously.
News Internationalâs efforts to cut off the NOTW and hope the problems end there are looking dodgy now.
Guardian are reporting that Gordon Brown was targeted by the Times which Scotland Yard are now investigating.
Abbey National statement:
âOn the basis of these facts and inquiries, I am drawn to the conclusion that someone from the Sunday Times or acting on its behalf has masqueraded as Mr Brown for the purpose of obtaining information from Abbey National by deception.â
The BSkyB deal looks shaky now too with the Lib Dems unsure on their support and the deal being referred to Ofcom.
The Daily Mail have risen to the gap in the market today with an attack on Steve Coogan. No new information or anything, just a rehashing of old stories. They still lead with coverage of the royal family of course.
I think Murdochs will end their interest in taking full control of Sky now. No way it can happen really. Real issue should be whether OfCom should question News Corps existing stake in Sky.
Steve Coogan on Newsnight.
Apparently the News of the World staff had a bit of a laugh with the crossword with the crossword at the weekend.
The clues for the quickie and cryptic crossword included âwoman stares wildly at calamity,â âcatastrophe,â âstinkâ and âcriminal enterprise.â Other clues in the cryptic puzzle include âstring of recordings,â âmix in prisonâ and âwill fear new security measure.â Answers included âdeplored,â âstench,â âdisaster,â âmenace,â âracket,â âdesistâ and âtart.â
Adam Boulton wrote this guff earlier today. Sky News doesnât seem very independent to me Adam
BSkyB with its 10 million subscribers would not exist were it not for Rupert Murdoch. Sky News, whose award winning independence the government is bending over backwards to defend, would certainly not exist without Rupert Murdochâs unwavering commitment.
In building Sky and the massive expansion in unprecedented choice which British TV viewers now enjoy, Rupert Murdoch âwent to the wireâ, âbet the farmâ and risked fiancial wipeout at least twice.
I am proud of what we achieved and do not believe it would have been possible under any other ultimate proprietor. I can think of no-one else who would have invested ÂŁ1bn pounds over 23 years in Sky News.
Now of course BSkyB can stand on its own as a UK PLC, inside the FTSE 100. If we do merge with News Corporation, Sky would be the biggest and most profitable division of the new company, making about ÂŁ1bn a year. Having taken the risks, made the investment, overseen the management and complied with the regulators since Sky was founded, it is entirely understandable that News Corp and the Murdoch family should want to take full ownership of the business.
But now all that is under threat because of the indefensible misdeeds of some in a completely different corner of the empire. The phone hacking and police payment activities of the News of the World are already the subject of criminal investigation and prosecution. Inevitably they raise big questions about the responsibilty and oversight of the executives in the parent company News International, itself a division of News Corps.
The public is outraged especially by the callousness of the alleged exploitation of victims - Milly Dowler and her family, the Soham parents, the bereaved of war heros. The brutal execution of the News of the World has failed to allay this anger.
The merger deal requires approval by the government and regulatory authorities, Ofcom and the Competition Commission - and you have to wonder what politician or bureaucrat would waive it through in defiance of the current mood? (70% now oppose the merger according to YouGov.)
The Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt MP has already played for time by delaying his ruling until September. Today he went a step further directly raising the issue raised by last weekâs revelations with Ofcom and the competition commission. Ofcom has the power to rule on whether the owners of a broadcaster are âfit and properâ.
Both the Labour Leader and the LibDem leader have publicly called for the merger to be de-railed. Nick Clegg says that âin decencyâ News Corp should withdraw its plan. The stockmarkets appear to have decided the deal is off, and BSkyB shares are plunging.
So there we have the potential tragedy - after a lifetimeâs effort and daring at the age of 80, Rupert Murdoch risks losing the ultimate deal which would have secured the future of his company and his dynasty because of âa mole of natureâ: the culture, at the very least, at the News of the World, the first non-Australian media asset he acquired at the start of his global expansion.
Independent leading tomorrow with stories on the Sun and the Sunday Times:
âEx-PMâs childâs medical records âhacked by The Sunâ under Rebekah Brooksâ and âSunday Times based story on financial details âobtained by fraudââ
The thing I canât understand about them trying to obtain information on Brown and trying to hack him is that it didnât become a national security matter. He was Chancellor and then PM, surely as this was happening, MI5, MI6, The Home Office, The MOD, the SAS, 1st Para and the Welsh Guards should have been knocking down doors at NI, shooting first and asking questions later.
Very disappointing to see how soft the British establishment has become. The PM now banks with a building society.
News Corp have withdrawn bid for BSkyB.Hope Ofcom go after them for remaining 39% now.Nice and humiliating anyway.
Ah lovely. This has been a tremendous story so far.
Kay Burley is fuming.Schadenfreude.
It deserved a better thread title, apart from that, its been splendid.
Sensational turn of events. Couldnât have predicted this a little over a week ago.
+1
Bandwagons have their uses