The phone-hacking scandal continues to keep us amused and entertained while most of us should have been doing something better with our time. Rather than cover the details, here is a slice which covers the most important developments. To put it another way, a bluffer's guide with a little detail included.
1. The scandal has actually been going on for years, but most of the British public - understandably - had a 'tough shit' attitude to it when it was celebrities and politicians having their voicemails hacked by investigative journalists working for newspapers. In other words, it was a scandal, but one only media-types cared about.
2. The 'smoking gun' which turned phone-hacking from a scandal to a storm nobody could put out was the news that murdered teenager Milly Dowler's phone was hacked, while she was still missing. By nightfall my anger had turned to a feeling of non-surprise about the inevitability of it all. The silver lining in this awfully dark cloud is that Rupert Murdoch's empire and its power over the regulatory powers of British government would finally come under scrutiny.
3. The scandal led to typically British gallows humour. Yes, we realise Mystic Meg saw none of this coming, including the closure of the News of the World - so far the greatest day in British publishing history. Hopefully those talented and honest writers out of work will be promptly snapped up by other newspapers.
4. The death of the News of the World has already led to one frightening prospect. Rumours abound our friends at the Daily Mail plan to create a downmarket Sunday tabloid to fill the void created by the News of the World.
5. An early highlight of the scandal was Rupert Murdoch being chased by reporters. Welcome to the world of your papers' victims, Rupert.
6. Another highlight was the archive footage of former Prime Minister, Tony Blair, embracing Rebekah Brooks. Meanwhile a randomer was flapping her arms around like a seal attempting to prevent any filming. The right-wing were all in this one together (read Blair's autobiography and judge for yourself how 'lefty' he was in government).
7. The usuals have been making interesting and valid observations. George Monbiot predicted something along the lines of when the dust settles, we would be just as disillusioned with the role of the Metropolitan Police in their failures regarding dealing with the phone-hacking.
8. The usuals have been embarrassing themselves too. Mel Phillips claimed on her Twitter the campaign against Murdoch was that of anti-Semitism. This is despite the fact I always assumed Murdoch's religion was the mighty Dollar. Let us not forget a dead girl's phone had been hacked. Let us consider that people were concerned about Murdoch's discourse-shaping powers, courtesy of his press and media holdings. Or let us not - it turns out we are just prejudiced and full of hate.
9. Those involved in the Times and ex-News of the World have been saying silly things throughout. David Wooding stated 'never has so many jobs been affected by so few'. Miners' strike, anyone?
10. But prize for grand idiocy goes to Roger Alton. As Executive Editor of The Times, he brought his newspaper into disrepute with his diatribe against the website Mumsnet, describing users of it as fair trade tea drinkers and organic shortbread eaters. As someone against the News of the World's actions myself, I can confirm I do not eat organic shortbread, nor am I female.
11. Many jobs have fallen as a result of the phone-hacking scandal. Rebekah Brooks fell on her sword. High-ranking members of Plod have also accepted their P45s for employing ex-News of the World executives as press officers. Naturally, our Prime Minister, David Cameron, believes the idea of his resignation for the same offence is ridiculous.
12. Thankfully, after all the recent madness, the phone-hacking scandal has now calmed down, which means we will be hearing less of the excellent Tom Watson who has campaigned throughout this scandal. Except.......
13. Yesterday it emerged that Sara Payne, the mother of murdered Sarah Payne, may have had her phone hacked by News of the World. Considering the rag made the campaign for Sarah's Law the centre of their moral universe, it is fitting Tom Watson has described the possibility of Sara's phone being hacked as 'the ultimate betrayal'. We wont be hearing less of Tom after all.
14. So far then we have learned of the culture at the News of the World that was a disgrace. Those people the newspaper claimed to be friends of were betrayed by the rag they trusted. Every revelation that goes by must leave Rebekah Brooks feeling a little more sick; a little more disinclined to get out of bed in the morning.
This summary could not begin to collect up everything that has occurred during the phone-hacking scandal, least of all the interminable committees briefly made interesting by the actions of an attention-seeking idiot. However, there will be plenty more to come. No doubt there will be another update soon.
Friday 29 July 2011
Which women's fashions do men dislike?
Many women spend a lot of time over their appearance. Sometimes it may be to impress someone, most of the time it is simply to look good. Inspired by one of those recent MSN articles-by-numbers (those effortless things their editors throw together on a Friday afternoon), I aim to explain why this article slightly misses the spot in terms of trends men 'hate'. At least this man, anyway.
The article in question has caused uproar. Even allowing for the usual tirades of criticism online articles and posts usually attract, the article has attracted criticism from men and women alike. From men, there are claims the writer Sarah Hecks has simply got wrong what men dislike. From women, the understandable response is they dress for themselves, not for the benefit of men.
With that in mind, I am sure my opinions will barely register - though I am prepared to express them.
Some of the trends Hecks argues men dislike, I do actually (shock, horror) dislike, though I have to admit most of them us men can surely live with. The first picture (number 10) is very showy, but when I see someone wearing something similar on the street, my head tends to move towards the clouds and my thoughts become consumed with the word 'awkward'. Short shorts are great, but they ought to cover up what is necessary.
But other fashions, such as the large beach bag and string bikinis, are fine when used in the right context - on the beach. However, there are some inclusions I for one am delighted about.
The oversized sunglasses are currently big among the posh ladies in south-west London. Do I... (a) tell them they look ridiculous, (b) I have just seen Katie Price (Jordan) wearing them in the above article I refer to, or (c) say nothing and have a good laugh to myself? Okay, I will dispense with the suspense - (c) is the only option.
There are one or two current monstrosities I am disappointed not to see in Hecks' article. First of all, leggings. Ladies, just because your legs and bum are covered in an opaque black material does not mean you look 'decent'. Often that awful material clings to everything, and you are left leaving nothing to the imagination. There is one crumb of consolation though - that material would look ten times worse on men.
And finally, tracksuits. I feel great lounging around in them at home. But for men, and certainly women, they look dreadful.
The article in question has caused uproar. Even allowing for the usual tirades of criticism online articles and posts usually attract, the article has attracted criticism from men and women alike. From men, there are claims the writer Sarah Hecks has simply got wrong what men dislike. From women, the understandable response is they dress for themselves, not for the benefit of men.
With that in mind, I am sure my opinions will barely register - though I am prepared to express them.
Some of the trends Hecks argues men dislike, I do actually (shock, horror) dislike, though I have to admit most of them us men can surely live with. The first picture (number 10) is very showy, but when I see someone wearing something similar on the street, my head tends to move towards the clouds and my thoughts become consumed with the word 'awkward'. Short shorts are great, but they ought to cover up what is necessary.
But other fashions, such as the large beach bag and string bikinis, are fine when used in the right context - on the beach. However, there are some inclusions I for one am delighted about.
The oversized sunglasses are currently big among the posh ladies in south-west London. Do I... (a) tell them they look ridiculous, (b) I have just seen Katie Price (Jordan) wearing them in the above article I refer to, or (c) say nothing and have a good laugh to myself? Okay, I will dispense with the suspense - (c) is the only option.
There are one or two current monstrosities I am disappointed not to see in Hecks' article. First of all, leggings. Ladies, just because your legs and bum are covered in an opaque black material does not mean you look 'decent'. Often that awful material clings to everything, and you are left leaving nothing to the imagination. There is one crumb of consolation though - that material would look ten times worse on men.
And finally, tracksuits. I feel great lounging around in them at home. But for men, and certainly women, they look dreadful.
Sunday 10 July 2011
Phone hacking and our fickle tabloid friends
So now you know who your friends really are – and it is certainly not those at the British tabloid press.
They do not provide public service, though they might like to think they do. They do not act in the interests of the people, though they might say they do. They are there to make money by selling copies. They sell copies by digging out stories. They get stories by leaving their morals at the office door when they arrive for work.
The phone hacking activities revealed to have taken place at the News of the World were beyond contempt. Each revelation was worse than the one which preceded it. The newspaper, and around 200 careers associated with it, laid in ruins as owner Rupert Murdoch brutally closed down the beleaguered publication following a string of destructive headlines as the newspaper suddenly became the big story.
Phone hacking was always a scandal, even when the victims were ‘just’ politicians and celebrities. To learn that the phone of a dead Milly Dowler had also been hacked, as well as the phones of dead servicemen, is sickening. To cap it all off, we learn that the police were paid by News of the World journalists for information. As George Monbiot pointed out, when the dust settles, the police collusion will be equally as big a story as the hacked phones.
Make no mistake, the News of the World became more than a newspaper. It became a criminal network. Until the muddy waters clear, nobody knows who knew what, who is guilty, who is innocent, who will be charged, and who will be released. However, a law qualification is not required to realise the crimes listed above are serious enough to ensure someone is going to jail – and that someone will probably have more than just a few ex-colleagues for company.
The most depressing aspect of all this is the News of the World actually turned out to be the enemy of those it tried so hard to be a friend of. It was this newspaper that led aggressive naming and shaming campaigns of child molesters, often leading to its more uneducated readers to mistakenly attack the wrong targets. All the while, it campaigned on behalf of victims’ families.
I have no doubt the News of the World anti-predator campaigns had the best of intentions. But behind the scenes its investigators were violating the same families of those violated by the likes of Levi Bellfield and Ian Huntley. The newspaper, far from being the victims’ mate, added to the misery already heaped upon those families. It was the newspaper which promised so much, but could only deliver a pack of sordid lies.
Out of this darkness however may come light. The model of cosy relations between our party political leaders and the key people in the print media is now discredited. And while the allegations against the News of the World are strong and clearly with foundation when considering the defensive stance of its management, few people believe the News of the World was alone in unscrupulous practices. When considered as a whole, the days of a free press are over – and the loss of that freedom may not be a bad thing.
No longer should publications with such large circulations be allowed to tell people how to vote. This would bring it in line with broadcast media, where a plurality of views must be represented. This is the only way to cut the strong bond between politician and press. Headlines such as The Sun’s 1992 “lights out" if Kinnock wins must never happen again. A balanced democracy needs a balanced media with balanced levels of freedom as opposed to total freedom. Gone are the days when people can write whatever they like.
We must also take our share of the blame for legitimising the misdeeds of the press. We laughed, smirked and sneered when the complicated private life of a certain Ryan Giggs was released on websites, then in the House of Commons, then in the press – drip-by-drip. Will we ever know how all the incriminating evidence was collected? Given the events of the past week, it is not unreasonable to assume more than just a sprinkle of skullduggery.
Then there was the parliamentary expenses scandal. We applauded the ‘outstanding journalism’ which exposed Members of Parliament. We chose to overlook how the data came into the hands of journalists, because it was inconvenient to our collective sense of outrage at the time.
It is easy to full into the trap of thinking those who bring us the exclusives are our friends. They are not. They make money. They set the political agenda. They get Tories elected with the minimum of fuss. Now it is time for change.
They do not provide public service, though they might like to think they do. They do not act in the interests of the people, though they might say they do. They are there to make money by selling copies. They sell copies by digging out stories. They get stories by leaving their morals at the office door when they arrive for work.
The phone hacking activities revealed to have taken place at the News of the World were beyond contempt. Each revelation was worse than the one which preceded it. The newspaper, and around 200 careers associated with it, laid in ruins as owner Rupert Murdoch brutally closed down the beleaguered publication following a string of destructive headlines as the newspaper suddenly became the big story.
Phone hacking was always a scandal, even when the victims were ‘just’ politicians and celebrities. To learn that the phone of a dead Milly Dowler had also been hacked, as well as the phones of dead servicemen, is sickening. To cap it all off, we learn that the police were paid by News of the World journalists for information. As George Monbiot pointed out, when the dust settles, the police collusion will be equally as big a story as the hacked phones.
Make no mistake, the News of the World became more than a newspaper. It became a criminal network. Until the muddy waters clear, nobody knows who knew what, who is guilty, who is innocent, who will be charged, and who will be released. However, a law qualification is not required to realise the crimes listed above are serious enough to ensure someone is going to jail – and that someone will probably have more than just a few ex-colleagues for company.
The most depressing aspect of all this is the News of the World actually turned out to be the enemy of those it tried so hard to be a friend of. It was this newspaper that led aggressive naming and shaming campaigns of child molesters, often leading to its more uneducated readers to mistakenly attack the wrong targets. All the while, it campaigned on behalf of victims’ families.
I have no doubt the News of the World anti-predator campaigns had the best of intentions. But behind the scenes its investigators were violating the same families of those violated by the likes of Levi Bellfield and Ian Huntley. The newspaper, far from being the victims’ mate, added to the misery already heaped upon those families. It was the newspaper which promised so much, but could only deliver a pack of sordid lies.
Out of this darkness however may come light. The model of cosy relations between our party political leaders and the key people in the print media is now discredited. And while the allegations against the News of the World are strong and clearly with foundation when considering the defensive stance of its management, few people believe the News of the World was alone in unscrupulous practices. When considered as a whole, the days of a free press are over – and the loss of that freedom may not be a bad thing.
No longer should publications with such large circulations be allowed to tell people how to vote. This would bring it in line with broadcast media, where a plurality of views must be represented. This is the only way to cut the strong bond between politician and press. Headlines such as The Sun’s 1992 “lights out" if Kinnock wins must never happen again. A balanced democracy needs a balanced media with balanced levels of freedom as opposed to total freedom. Gone are the days when people can write whatever they like.
We must also take our share of the blame for legitimising the misdeeds of the press. We laughed, smirked and sneered when the complicated private life of a certain Ryan Giggs was released on websites, then in the House of Commons, then in the press – drip-by-drip. Will we ever know how all the incriminating evidence was collected? Given the events of the past week, it is not unreasonable to assume more than just a sprinkle of skullduggery.
Then there was the parliamentary expenses scandal. We applauded the ‘outstanding journalism’ which exposed Members of Parliament. We chose to overlook how the data came into the hands of journalists, because it was inconvenient to our collective sense of outrage at the time.
It is easy to full into the trap of thinking those who bring us the exclusives are our friends. They are not. They make money. They set the political agenda. They get Tories elected with the minimum of fuss. Now it is time for change.
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