Rupert Murdoch and the Corruption of the British Media

[Douglas Caddy]

Phone Hacking Documents Suggest James Murdoch Was Made Aware Of Wider Criminality

The Huffington Post

By Jack Mirkinson

First Posted: 11/1/11 11:47 AM ET Updated: 11/1/11 12:03 PM ET

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/01/phone-hacking-james-murdoch-gordon-taylor_n_1069463.html

A series of internal News International memos could contradict one of James Murdoch's central claims about his knowledge of the phone hacking scandal.

Murdoch has long maintained that he was not aware that phone hacking at the News of the World went beyond Clive Goodman, the reporter jailed for hacking in 2007, until late 2010. Colin Myler, the paper's former editor, and Tom Crone, News International's former chief legal director, caused an upheaval when they insisted that they had informed Murdoch of more widespread phone hacking as early as 2008, when Gordon Taylor, the head of the British soccer union, uncovered damning information as part of a legal action against the paper. Murdoch denied that he had been given this information, saying only that he had signed off on a huge settlement with Taylor without knowing why he was doing so.

Murdoch is due to testify before Parliament next Wednesday to address these discrepancies. But new documents released by the Culture, Media and Sport committee on Tuesday will make his session more difficult.

The documents come from Farrer's, the law firm that represented News International at the time of the Taylor situation. Julian Pike, a lawyer for Farrer's who worked closely with NI, provided a series of memos and notes relating to Taylor. Pike recently testified to Parliament, saying that Murdoch and several other top executives were firmly aware of the widespread nature of phone hacking.

One of the documents is a memo that Crone prepared for Myler for a meeting with James Murdoch -- a meeting Murdoch says he cannot recall taking place.

The memo that Crone apparently prepared for Myler is very direct. It says that, through a court order, an email from Mulcaire to a "News of the World reporter" surfaced. The email, the memo says, had a "large number of transcripts of voicemails from Taylor's telephone." This is presumably a reference to the so-called "For Neville" email, which was sent to the paper's chief reporter, Neville Thurlbeck.

The memo also says that, through a court order, Taylor unearthed a "list of named News of the World journalists and a detailed table of Data Protection infringements between 2001 and 2003." The memo says that some of the journalists named in the document are "still with us," and that typical beached include "'turning round' car reg. and mobile phone numbers (illegal)."

Crone calls the evidence "fatal to our case" against Taylor, and says that it puts News International in a "very perilous position." He also writes that he has authorized a settlement offer to Taylor because he is "recognising the inevitable."

Another document provided to Parliament shows Pike's notes to himself of a call he and Myler had following Myler's alleged meeting with James Murdoch.

"Spoke to James Murdoch," the note begins, presumably referring to what Myler was telling Pike. The notes are rather hard to decipher, since they are full of abbreviations and internal language, but a few sentences jump out. "Les evidence to committee," one reads--an apparent reference to Les Hinton, the former head of News International whose tesitmony before Parliament has come under question. "Les no longer here--James wld say get rid of them--cut out cancer," another reads.

That document is followed by an equally intriguing set of Pike's notes--these from a call he had with Crone.

"Mtg with JM + CM [James Murdoch and Colin Myler]," the notes read. "JM sd he wanted to think through options." The phrase "paying them off" also turns up.

There has not been any comment from James Murdoch about the new documents.

The documents:

Tom Crone's Memo

March 2002

1 of 37

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/01/phone-hacking-james-murdoch-gordon-taylor_n_1069463.html

Days after the disappearance of 13-year old Milly Dowler, British tabloid News of the World began intercepting Dowler's voicemail messages. The paper deleted old messages to make room for new ones, leading some to speculate that she was alive. The Guardian reports: "The Dowler family then granted an exclusive interview to the News of the World in which they talked about their hope, quite unaware that it had been falsely kindled by the newspaper's own intervention. Sally Dowler told the paper: 'If Milly walked through the door, I don't think we'd be able to speak. We'd just weep tears of joy and give her a great big hug.'"

[Douglas Caddy]

[Poster's note: Be sure to watch the Telegraph's video by clicking on the link below]

News of the World bosses 'were warned phone hacking was widespread' in 2008

Senior executives at the News of the World were aware that phone hacking was widespread among its reporters as early as 2008, a secret internal email suggests.

By Murray Wardrop

Daily Telegraph

6:02PM GMT 01 Nov 2011

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/phone-hacking/8863288/News-of-the-World-bosses-were-warned-phone-hacking-was-widespread-in-2008.html

A memo from Tom Crone, the tabloid’s former legal chief, to editor Colin Myler warned that a “damning email” existed showing journalists had used "extremely private voicemails" from football boss Gordon Taylor’s phone.

The correspondence states that “a number of” journalists were named in the email obtained by Mr Taylor, the chief executive of the Professional Footballers' Association, who was then pursuing a case against the tabloid.

A separate memo written by Mr Crone says that Mr Myler was to brief James Murdoch, News Corp’s chief executive, about the email – suggesting he was also made aware of the extent of phone hacking.

The documents, published by the parliamentary committee investigating the scandal, reveal the newspaper’s efforts to achieve a "confidential settlement" with Mr Taylor, who subsequently received a £725,000 out-of-court payment from the tabloid.

In a memo on May 24 2008, Mr Crone advised Mr Myler: "Our position is very perilous."

Mr Taylor had obtained an email containing transcripts of his private voicemails as well as evidence from the Information Commissioner of other illegal activities by News of the World journalists, Mr Crone said.

"Amongst the documents from the Information Commissioner is a list of named News of the World journalists and a detailed table of Data Protection infringements between 2001 and 2003 (this is based upon evidence seized in a raid on another private investigator who was subsequently prosecuted).

"A number of those names are still with us and some of them have moved to prominent positions on NoW and The Sun.

"Typical infringements are 'turning around' car reg and mobile phone numbers (illegal)."

In a subsequent email to solicitor Julian Pike, Mr Crone says that Mr Myler was to use the memo "as the basis for his chat with Chief Exec James Murdoch" - suggesting that Mr Murdoch was made aware of the issues at that stage.

Murdoch, who is to appear before the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee for a second time on November 10, has said he did not recall being briefed about the Gordon Taylor case until June 10, 2008.

Also published today are the notes of Mr Pike, the News of the World's external solicitor, from a phone call with Mr Myler on May 27, 2008 in which he writes that the editor "spoke to James Murdoch".

The documentation, provided by Mr Pike's firm Farrer & Co, shows how the News of the World tried to negotiate a settlement with Mr Taylor that would keep the case out of the courts.

Having initially offered £150,000 plus costs, the paper then offered £350,000. Mr Pike told Mr Taylor's solicitor, Mark Lewis, that "there might be a little bit more on the table if a confidentiality deal could be agreed".

Mr Lewis apparently told Mr Pike Mr Taylor wanted "seven figures not to open his mouth". "He wanted to be vindicated or made rich. As well as £1 million, he wanted all his costs being paid," Mr Pike wrote in his notes of the conversation.

A leading counsel warned the News of the World on June 3, 2008 that there was a "powerful case that there is (or was) a culture of illegal information access" at the News of the World.

In a legal opinion, Michael Silverleaf QC said that the allegations would be "extremely damaging to NGN's (News Group Newspapers) public reputation".

He wrote that there was "overwhelming evidence of the involvement of a number of senior NGN journalists" in "illegal enquiries" into an individual whose name is redacted in the published opinion.

"In addition there is substantial surrounding material about the extent of NGN journalists' attempts to obtain access to information illegally in relation to other individuals," he said.

"In the light of these facts there is a powerful case that there is (or was) a culture of illegal information access used at NGN in order to produce stories for publication."

Mr Murdoch has denied the claims of Mr Myler and Mr Crone that they informed him of the so-called "for Neville" email which seemed to implicate other News of the World journalists in phone hacking.

They told the select committee earlier this year that they had told News International boss Mr Murdoch about the document when he sanctioned the Gordon Taylor settlement in 2008.

In his note to Mr Myler shortly before that meeting with Mr Murdoch, Mr Crone wrote: "This evidence, particularly the email from the News of the World, is fatal to our case (with Gordon Taylor).

"Our position is very perilous. The damning email is genuine and proves we actively made use of a large number of extremely private voicemails from Taylor's telephone in June/July 2005 and that this was pursuant to a February 2005 contract, ie a 5/6-month operation."

[Douglas Caddy]

Phone hacking: NoW warned about 'culture of illegal information access'The legal opinion, only now made public, was prepared in June 2008 and referred to the activities of 'at least three' journalists

By James Robinson and Lisa O'Carroll

guardian.co.uk,

Tuesday 1 November 2011 16.53 EDT

Senior executives at News International were warned by a company lawyer in June 2008 that there was "a culture of illegal information access" at the Murdoch-owned media group involving "at least three" of its journalists.

They were also cautioned that it would be "extremely damaging" to the publisher's public reputation if that information reached court as part of a legal action brought by Gordon Taylor, whose lawyers had uncovered evidence of phone hacking at the News of the World during a legal battle with the title.

The warning is contained in a legal opinion prepared by Michael Silverleaf QC, the group's counsel, for the News of the World's legal officer, Tom Crone, on 3 June 2008 – and was made public for the first time on Tuesday.

It was handed over by the company's former legal advisers Farrer & Co to MPs on the culture, media and sport select committee, which is investigating phone hacking at the paper, as part of a group of documents requested by parliament. They were published on the committee website.

In the legal opinion, Silverleaf said there was "overwhelming evidence of the involvement of a number of senior ... journalists" in repeated attempts to access private information relating to Taylor, the chief executive of the Professional Footballers' Association.

Silverleaf named Greg Miskiw, a former news editor at the paper, and Ross Hindley, a reporter, as apparently "intimately involved". A third name given by Silverleaf is redacted.

The documents will be seized on by MPs when they question James Murdoch, third in command at the parent company News Corp, next week, during his second appearance before the committee.

The committee chairman, John Whittingdale, said on Tuesday: "This contradicts the evidence given to us previously and we shall be asking about this when James Murdoch comes before the committee."

In January 2007, the News of the World's royal editor, Clive Goodman, and the newspaper's private investigator, Glenn Mulcaire, were found guilty of hacking into phones belonging to members of the royal household.

In the aftermath of that incident, News International said hacking was confined to a single "rogue reporter". Murdoch told MPs in July this year that he was unaware that other News of the World journalists were hacking into mobile phones when he authorised his executives to settle Taylor's case in 2008 by paying him damages of £425,000 plus costs, taking the total payout to more than £700,000.

But the former News of the World editor Colin Myler and Tom Crone both told the committee in September that they had made Murdoch aware at a meeting on 10 June 2008 that hacking was not restricted to a single journalist.

They claimed this was the reason Murdoch agreed to settle the Taylor's case.

James Murdoch subsequently wrote to the committee to deny this.

MPs will want to establish if Murdoch saw Silverleaf's opinion when they question him next week, although News International insistedon Tuesday he did not. They said he was made aware of its existence only several weeks ago.

The legal opinion from Sliverleaf was prepared for Crone in advance of the 10 June meeting with Murdoch to discuss the Taylor case.

The documents released to parliament also show that an earlier meeting between Myler and Murdoch took place on 24 May 2008.

A briefing note prepared by Crone for Myler in advance of that meeting made it clear the company was certain to lose its legal action with Taylor. "Our position is very perilous," it reads. "The damning email is genuine and proves we actively made use of a large number of extremely private voicemails from Taylor's telephone".

That is a reference to an email sent by a News of the World journalist "for Neville" – believed to be its chief reporter Neville Thurlbeck – which contained transcripts of messages left on Taylor's phone.

Murdoch told MPs in July he did not remember the earlier meeting, but Farrer & Co has released a copy of a note made by its partner Julian Pike of a phone conversation with Myler in which the former editor revealed what he had discussed with Murdoch in May.

It appears to show that Myler told Pike on 27 May 2008 – several days after his meeting with Murdoch – that they had agreed to seek Silverleaf's opinion before deciding whether to settle the case.

The note refers to allegations made by Goodman that other staff were also guilty of intercepting voicemails.

"James wld (sic) say get rid of them – cut out the cancer," it reads. Sources close to News International highlighted that comment as evidence that Murdoch would have sacked journalists who were guilty of wrongdoing had it been brought to his attention when the meeting took place

[John Simkin]

Silverleaf named Greg Miskiw, a former news editor at the paper, and Ross Hindley, a reporter, as apparently "intimately involved". A third name given by Silverleaf is redacted.

I wonder why?

[Douglas Caddy]

Headline: “Lies, Damned lies and New International”

The Independent

November 2, 2011

By James Cusick and Cahal Milmo

[excerpt]

Secret documents kept by News International reveal that executives knew three years ago that there was “overwhelming evidence” of senior journalists involvement in phone hacking…

Last night a News Corp spokeswoman said, “James Murdoch has been clear and consistent in this testimony. He is appearing in front of the Select Committee on 10 November and will be happy to answer any further questions then.”

[Douglas Caddy]

Murdochs 'discussed News Corp succession with family therapist'

James Murdoch was to be groomed for top job before phone-hacking scandal broke, Vanity Fair report to claim

By James Robinson

guardian.co.uk,

Wednesday 2 November 2011 12.28 EDT

The adult Murdoch siblings saw a family therapist last year to discuss succession at the media empire built by their father, Rupert Murdoch, an article to be published in the forthcoming issue of Vanity Fair is to claim.

The report, by former Wall Street Journal journalist Sarah Ellison, will also reveal that Rupert considered stepping aside as chief executive of News Corp last year to allow his son James to be groomed for the job.

According to the magazine, Rupert wanted the company's chief operating officer Chase Carey to step in to the chief executive role on the understanding he would then prepare James, who is the youngest of Murdoch's three children from his second marriage, to take the top job at the media conglomerate. Rupert would have stayed on as chairman.

Ellison writes that to aid the succession process: "the [Murdoch] siblings had been in family counselling with a psychologist over the issue of succession" since before last February.

As well as James, the others involved in the therapy were Lachlan, Rupert's eldest son, who sits on the News Corp board, and Elisabeth, whose production company, Shine, was recently acquired by News Corp. Rupert's oldest child, Prudence, the product of his first marriage, was also involved.

The article reveals the tensions that the phone-hacking scandal at the News of the World caused within the Murdoch empire. "Elisabeth blamed her brother for allowing the phone-hacking scandal to spiral out of control," Vanity Fair reports. "She approached her father and urged him to take control of the situation."

According to the account, Elisabeth told her father that James should take a leave of absence from the company, while arguing that Rebekah Brooks, who was chief executive of News of the World publisher News International, should resign along with Les Hinton, the loyal Murdoch deputy who had run News International previously.

Rupert considered the idea, the article claims, and telephoned James. "'Maybe you should go too', he said. But after a sleepless night he changed his mind."

The article also claims Elisabeth Murdoch did not take up her position on the News Corp board following the Shine acquisition earlier this year because her lawyers advised her to stay off the board to avoid becoming embroiled in the phone-hacking affair.

It had been thought she had not taken up the position because she believed it was a bad idea for another Murdoch to join the board when the company was in crisis.

Rupert Murdoch also voiced misgivings about James, according to Ellison. "Rupert felt that James, while a talented executive, needed to learn to exercise better judgement and exhibit some humility."

That view was shared by his siblings, she adds, who "agreed that James was the best-suited to be heir apparent, but ... also agreed he had to stop being so aggressive and alienating in his public postures".

James Murdoch delivered a lecture at the MediaGuardian Edinburgh International Television festival in 2009, using it to attack the BBC.

News Corp declined to comment.

[Douglas Caddy]

http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2011/11/Murdoch-Clan-Met-with-Family-Therapist-to-Discuss-News-Corps-Future

[Douglas Caddy]

Time for a brief break in this thread to post a recent Houston Chronicle photo of me feeding the ducks in Houston's Hermann Park. I feed about 75 ducks, geese and other birds each morning 20 lbs. of nutritious bird seed. Many of the birds prefer to eat out of my hand. A plus is that I get an hour of exercise in a beautiful environment. Scroll down in the article to see the photo.

http://blog.chron.com/sciguy/2011/10/rain-watch-will-the-city-of-houston-get-lucky-today/

[Douglas Caddy]

Phone hacking: anatomy of a cover-up – what QC's advice papers revealAnalysis: Publication of warning to NI bosses tells the story of how secret payoff evolved

By David Leigh

guardian.co.uk,

Wednesday 2 November 2011 15.49 EDT

Reporters were riveted this week by a rare publication: a counsel's opinion commissioned by News International of the kind normally kept strictly under legal wraps.

Michael Silverleaf QC's view of the News of the World's phone-hacking scandal was so damning that a huge secret pay-off to a litigant followed in order to keep it covered up.

"To have this paraded at a public trial would, I imagine, be extremely damaging to [NI's] public reputation," Silverleaf wrote in June 2008. "There is overwhelming evidence of the involvement of a number of senior journalists in the illegal inquiries … There is a powerful case that there is (or was) a culture of illegal information access."

This reprise of the tabloid's by now well-known iniquities may have overshadowed something more significant: the continuing threat to James Murdoch, the likely successor to his father Rupert's empire.

The records obtained by the Commons culture, media and sport select committee from NI's former solicitors, Farrer & Co, include emails, billing files and handwritten notes, which provide an extraordinary anatomy of the developing cover-up. Those records, on one interpretation, appear to depict James Murdoch at its centre, despite his previous denials of complicity.

Julian Pike, the Farrer & Co lawyer handling the negotiations, testified that he believed Murdoch personally authorised up to £500,000 as a payoff to Gordon Taylor, the chief executive of the Professional Footballers' Association, as the price of his silence. When Murdoch testifies again next Thursday, his challenge will be to explain Pike's documents.

The NoW's legal officer, Tom Crone, and former editor Colin Myler both also insisted to the committee that they had put James Murdoch in the picture on the crucial point – that a "damning email" showed the NoW's "rogue reporter" defence was simply untrue and phone hacking was widespread.

James Murdoch is equally insistent that he was never told of the so-called "for Neville" email, and had no idea of the true state of affairs when he signed off on the secret settlement.

The story the documents tell begins on 24 May 2008, when Crone sent a doleful memo to Myler, the recently appointed editor. It was a briefing document "as the basis for [Myler's] chat with chief exec James Murdoch".

The memo described a devastating email "from a News of the World reporter enclosing a large number of transcripts of voicemails … fatal to our case … Our position is very perilous. The damning email is genuine." The journalist on the story "now remembers the transcripts".

Their opponents also had lists of crimes such as "'turning round' car reg and mobile phone numbers (illegal)" by NoW journalists. "A number of those names are still with us and some of them have moved to prominent positions on NoW and the Sun."

Crone had offered £150,000 for Taylor to drop the case. It wasn't enough. He had asked a senior QC for guidance but "inevitably" there would have to be a further "expensive" offer. Crone had reached the limit of his financial authority, according to subsequent testimony by Pike.

Myler confirmed to Pike that his "chat" with Murdoch had occurred, three days later. Pike's jotted note begins: "Spoke to James Murdoch – not any options – wait for silks view." James Murdoch previously denied to the committee that he had had any such preliminary chat.

Myler added an ambiguous phrase to Pike: "James wld say get rid of them – cut out cancer." This apparently referred to the NoW executives investigated following earlier claims by the jailed reporter Clive Goodman that he had not acted alone. The phrase could mean Murdoch specifically discussed the potentially widespread nature of the hacking with Myler.

The QC's opinion was that a judge would regard the NoW's widespread hacking as "immoral and repugnant" and the publicity would be awful. Silverleaf recommended offering £250,000, saying it was "extremely unlikely" Taylor would get more at a trial.

But on the same day, 3 June, NI offered far more: £350,000, plus an extra payment in return for confidentiality.

Taylor's lawyer still held out, talking of "seven figures not to open his mouth". James Murdoch became involved for a second time. He met Crone and Myler at Wapping on 10 June. Murdoch claims the "for Neville" email was not mentioned and he was unaware of wider wrongdoing. He also claims: "Prior to the meeting of 10 June I do not recall being given any briefing."

Crone reported back to Pike that "JM said he wanted to think through options." Myler was "moving towards telling Taylor to xxxx off". Myler appeared to note another worrying possibility: "Do a deal with them – paying them off + then silence fails." Pike says he thinks Murdoch authorised payment up to £500,000 at this meeting. In fact, the offer was upped to £425,000 plus lavish legal fees of £200,000. Taylor took the money.

[Steven Gaal]

Phone hacking: anatomy of a cover-up – what QC's advice papers revealAnalysis: Publication of warning to NI bosses tells the story of how secret payoff evolved

By David Leigh

guardian.co.uk,

Wednesday 2 November 2011 15.49 EDT

Reporters were riveted this week by a rare publication: a counsel's opinion commissioned by News International of the kind normally kept strictly under legal wraps.

Michael Silverleaf QC's view of the News of the World's phone-hacking scandal was so damning that a huge secret pay-off to a litigant followed in order to keep it covered up.

"To have this paraded at a public trial would, I imagine, be extremely damaging to [NI's] public reputation," Silverleaf wrote in June 2008. "There is overwhelming evidence of the involvement of a number of senior journalists in the illegal inquiries … There is a powerful case that there is (or was) a culture of illegal information access."

This reprise of the tabloid's by now well-known iniquities may have overshadowed something more significant: the continuing threat to James Murdoch, the likely successor to his father Rupert's empire.

The records obtained by the Commons culture, media and sport select committee from NI's former solicitors, Farrer & Co, include emails, billing files and handwritten notes, which provide an extraordinary anatomy of the developing cover-up. Those records, on one interpretation, appear to depict James Murdoch at its centre, despite his previous denials of complicity.

Julian Pike, the Farrer & Co lawyer handling the negotiations, testified that he believed Murdoch personally authorised up to £500,000 as a payoff to Gordon Taylor, the chief executive of the Professional Footballers' Association, as the price of his silence. When Murdoch testifies again next Thursday, his challenge will be to explain Pike's documents.

The NoW's legal officer, Tom Crone, and former editor Colin Myler both also insisted to the committee that they had put James Murdoch in the picture on the crucial point – that a "damning email" showed the NoW's "rogue reporter" defence was simply untrue and phone hacking was widespread.

James Murdoch is equally insistent that he was never told of the so-called "for Neville" email, and had no idea of the true state of affairs when he signed off on the secret settlement.

The story the documents tell begins on 24 May 2008, when Crone sent a doleful memo to Myler, the recently appointed editor. It was a briefing document "as the basis for [Myler's] chat with chief exec James Murdoch".

The memo described a devastating email "from a News of the World reporter enclosing a large number of transcripts of voicemails … fatal to our case … Our position is very perilous. The damning email is genuine." The journalist on the story "now remembers the transcripts".

Their opponents also had lists of crimes such as "'turning round' car reg and mobile phone numbers (illegal)" by NoW journalists. "A number of those names are still with us and some of them have moved to prominent positions on NoW and the Sun."

Crone had offered £150,000 for Taylor to drop the case. It wasn't enough. He had asked a senior QC for guidance but "inevitably" there would have to be a further "expensive" offer. Crone had reached the limit of his financial authority, according to subsequent testimony by Pike.

Myler confirmed to Pike that his "chat" with Murdoch had occurred, three days later. Pike's jotted note begins: "Spoke to James Murdoch – not any options – wait for silks view." James Murdoch previously denied to the committee that he had had any such preliminary chat.

Myler added an ambiguous phrase to Pike: "James wld say get rid of them – cut out cancer." This apparently referred to the NoW executives investigated following earlier claims by the jailed reporter Clive Goodman that he had not acted alone. The phrase could mean Murdoch specifically discussed the potentially widespread nature of the hacking with Myler.

The QC's opinion was that a judge would regard the NoW's widespread hacking as "immoral and repugnant" and the publicity would be awful. Silverleaf recommended offering £250,000, saying it was "extremely unlikely" Taylor would get more at a trial.

But on the same day, 3 June, NI offered far more: £350,000, plus an extra payment in return for confidentiality.

Taylor's lawyer still held out, talking of "seven figures not to open his mouth". James Murdoch became involved for a second time. He met Crone and Myler at Wapping on 10 June. Murdoch claims the "for Neville" email was not mentioned and he was unaware of wider wrongdoing. He also claims: "Prior to the meeting of 10 June I do not recall being given any briefing."

Crone reported back to Pike that "JM said he wanted to think through options." Myler was "moving towards telling Taylor to xxxx off". Myler appeared to note another worrying possibility: "Do a deal with them – paying them off + then silence fails." Pike says he thinks Murdoch authorised payment up to £500,000 at this meeting. In fact, the offer was upped to £425,000 plus lavish legal fees of £200,000. Taylor took the money.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXooooXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Profits down

link http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x5047173

[Douglas Caddy]

Murdoch writes off $91m for shutting News of the World in hacking scandal

News Corp also lost anything up to $130m over failed bid to get 100% of BSkyB satellite broadcaster, in quarter's 'other charges'

By Dominic Rushe in New York

The Guardian,

Wednesday 2 November 2011

Closing the News of the World cost Rupert Murdoch's News Corp $91m (£57.2m), the company has announced.

The tabloid, the most profitable newspaper in Murdoch's portfolio, was shut in July amid an escalating investigation into illegal phone hacking at the company that has cast doubt on the 80-year-old Murdoch's succession plans. The scandal has triggered investigations into the company on both sides of the Atlantic, the resignation of senior executives and more than a dozen arrests.

Last month, independent shareholders overwhelmingly voted to have James Murdoch, deputy chief operating officer and head of the division that oversaw the UK title, and his brother Lachlan booted off the board.

Announcing the latest quarterly earnings, Chase Carey, News Corp's chief operating officer, said: "We have great confidence in James. James has done a good job. We are not contemplating any changes." He said he took the views of shareholders seriously but was "proud" of News Corp's board and the work it had done.

Murdoch, chairman and chief executive of the company, was not on the call with press and analysts.

Carey said he could not comment on the ongoing investigations of News Corp. He said the issues would be properly addressed and that the company was fully co-operating with the UK authorities. "I really want to assure you that despite the time spent on the UK issues, the last three months have been a time of real progress, driving the business toward both our short- and long-term goals," he said.

News Corp also incurred $130m in "other" charges over the quarter, which included the cost of dropping its bid to acquire 100% of satellite broadcaster British Sky Broadcasting.

The company reported total revenue for the first quarter of $7.96bn, 7% higher than a year ago. Net income was down by nearly 5% to $738m thanks in part to the News of the World closure and fees the company incurred after it was forced to withdraw its full takeover bid for BSkyB.

News Corp's cable network group, which includes the FX network and Fox News, performed well, producing operating income of $775m for the quarter, up 18% from a year earlier, as advertising revenue picked up and the firm increased fees for the rights to distribute shows including American Idol, the Emmy Awards and The X Factor.

The company's film group reported a 24% increase in operating income for the quarter to $347m, powered by Rise of the Planet of the Apes, which grossed more than $450m at the box office and home entertainment sales of the animated release "Rio" and "X-Men: First Class.

Carey confirmed that Fox has commissioned a second series of Simon Cowell's The X Factor for US television.

[Douglas Caddy]

James Murdoch fails to win Jeremy Hunt's full backing

Culture secretary dodges issue of whether Murdoch is 'fit and proper' person to run BSkyB in wake of phone-hacking scandal

By Josh Halliday

guardian.co.uk,

Thursday 3 November 2011 10.13 EDT

The culture secretary declined an opportunity to throw his support behind James Murdoch's continuing chairmanship of BSkyB, with the minister saying he could not give a settled view until police and public inquiries had concluded.

Jeremy Hunt, answering questions in the House of Commons on Thursday, said that "the most important thing is that the truth comes out" when asked if James Murdoch was a "fit and proper" person to run BSkyB.

Hunt was pressed on the future of Murdoch by the Labour MP Chris Bryant, who claimed that internal News International documents published earlier this week show that the company's sole rogue reporter line was "completely and utterly untrue".

The documents released include a counsel's opinion prepared in 2008 for the News of the World's former chief lawyer, Tom Crone, which described a "culture of illegal information access" at the newspaper. James Murdoch, who was in charge of the newspaper at the time, denies seeing the document.

Bryant asked: "Does the secretary of state really believe, with the AGM of BSkyB coming up on 29 November, that James Murdoch is therefore a fit and proper person to be chairing that company any longer?"

Hunt replied: "The most important thing is that the truth comes out. James Murdoch is speaking to the select committee, we have the public inquiry by Lord Justice Leveson and we have extensive police inquiries.

"Before those are complete it would not be appropriate for me to make specific comments about who should do what job."

Earlier in the Commons session, the culture secretary told MPs that the government will publish its white paper on future regulation of the press by the end of 2012, after the Leveson inquiry reports in September next year.

"We are overhauling the system of press regulation," Hunt said. "But we don't want to go too far in the opposite direction and stop the press being free, vibrant and robust.

"The Leveson inquiry will be reporting by September 2012 and there will be a government white paper before the end of next year, which will include what we think should happen in the light of those recommendations."

The Leveson inquiry begins on 14 November at the high court in London, with the first witnesses due to appear a week later on 21 November

[Steven Gaal]

.

Edited November 3, 2011 by Steven Gaal

[Douglas Caddy]

Elisabeth Murdoch 'wanted James Murdoch to step down', magazine claims

Elisabeth Murdoch allegedly persuaded her father to remove her brother as chairman of News International because he had allowed the phone hacking scandal to “spiral out of control”.

Daily Telegraph

By Mark Hughes, Crime Correspondent

6:00AM GMT 03 Nov 2011

Rupert Murdoch’s daughter approached her father days after the closure of the News of the World in July and told him that her younger brother James should “step aside”, the magazine Vanity Fair has claimed.

The 80-year-old media mogul was “open to the idea” and told his son “maybe you should go”, but changed his mind the following morning, according to an article in the magazine.

The report also says that Mr Murdoch’s eldest four children — James, Elisabeth, Lachlan and Prudence — saw a family therapist earlier in the year to discuss the issue of who would succeed their father as the head of News Corporation.

The 11-page article provides an insider account of the ruptures that the phone hacking scandal has created in the powerful media family. It describes how they have been at odds over the phone hacking issue, with Elisabeth vocal in her thoughts about how it has been handled.

Miss Murdoch is said to have told her father that Rebekah Brooks, who was News International chief executive, and Les Hinton, the chief executive of the News Corp subsiduary Dow Jones who was News International chairman during the years that phone hacking was carried out, should resign.

Mr Hinton and Mrs Brooks, the former editor of the News of the World and The Sun, stepped down from their positions less than a week later.

However, the article claims that James was also close to leaving. It states that the family met in London after Rupert Murdoch arrived in Britain days after the announcement that the News of the World would close.

The article states: “Elisabeth blamed her brother for allowing the phone-hacking crisis to spiral out of control. After the meeting, Elisabeth approached her father and urged him to take control of the situation.

“She said Brooks and Hinton needed to resign (they eventually did) and that James needed to take a leave.

“Rupert was open to the idea – he and James had been at odds for months. Elisabeth had been urging her father to step in.

“The next morning, Elisabeth, at her father’s suggestion, confronted James and said he should step aside and let Rupert handle the crisis moving forward. The suggestion infuriated James.”

The article continues: “Rupert summoned Brooks and told her she should take a leave. He called Hinton and asked him to come to London. Rupert then spoke to James and suggested that he take a leave – 'Maybe you should go too,’ he said. But after a sleepless night he changed his mind.”

Sources confirmed to the Daily Telegraph that the meeting took place in James Murdoch’s Wapping office on Monday 11 July, one day after the final edition of the News of the World was published. The source claimed that while James’s resignation was discussed it was not seriously considered.

In July, The Daily Telegraph revealed that Miss Murdoch was “furious” with Mrs Brooks and thought she had “f***** the company”.

The article points to other suggestions of unease in the Murdoch family, claiming that the adult children attended therapy together over who would take over their father’s empire.

The piece says that in February Rupert Murdoch had considered relinquishing his News Corporation chief executive title and wanted Chase Carey, the chief operating officer to “groom” James for the top job.

The article continues: “Lachlan, Prudence and Elisabeth had discussed the move extensively with James. The siblings had been in family counselling with a psychologist over the issue of succession.

“They told James that if they worked together as siblings they could help him and their father have a better relationship.

“Together the siblings agreed that James was the best-suited to be the heir apparent but they also agreed he had to stop being so aggressive and alienating in his public postures.”

The article also provides an insight into the relations between extended members of the Murdoch clan. It says that Rupert Murdoch and Elisabeth’s husband, public relations guru Matthew Freud, enjoy and “uneasy” relationship.

The article quotes an unnamed News Corp executive who says: “Rupert hated Matthew…Rupert still doesn’t trust him.”

And it claims that Mr Freud and James Murdoch’s wife, Kathryn Hufschmid, are also on bad terms. The magazine quotes an unnamed source as saying: “She detests Matthew with a passion.”

A spokesman for Elisabeth Murdoch declined to comment on the article. A spokesman for News Corporation refused to comment.

The article paints Miss Murdoch as an unwilling heir apparent.

Miss Murdoch previously worked for one of her father’s companies when she joined satellite broadcasting company BSkyB in the mid 1990s.

She married Matthew Freud in 1997 and in May 2000 resigned from her father’s company to start her own production company.

The Vanity Fair article claims that she did not even tell her father she was resigning, instead faxing him a copy of the press release announcing her resignation shortly before she quit.

She started Shine Productions and she and her husband became firm members of the exclusive social group known as the Chipping Norton set, socialising with the Prime Minister and other famous faces.

She later sold the company to News Corp. and agreed to take a place on the board.

But the magazine piece claims that she went back on that decision when her husband, a public relations expert, warned her it would be a bad idea to involved herself as a senior member of the company during the phone hacking scandal.

However, despite having no official voice in News Corporation, the article alleges that she had a crucial say in the futures of certain executives as the scandal threatened to engulf her father’s empire.

[Douglas Caddy]

Phone hacking: number of possible victims is almost 5,800, police confirm

News of the World private investigator Glenn Mulcaire may have targeted 2,000 more people than previously acknowledged

By Lisa O'Carroll

guardian.co.uk,

Thursday 3 November 2011 14.35 EDT

The number of possible victims of phone hacking by the News of the World private investigator Glenn Mulcaire is now close to 5,800, the Metropolitan police have confirmed.

This is 2,000 more than previously identified by detectives tasked with trawling through 11,000 pages of notes seized from Mulcaire's home.

It will reinforce claims, by solicitors acting for victims and by MPs investigating phone hacking for a parliamentary select committee, that hacking was conducted on an "industrial scale" at News of the World.

A spokesman for Scotland Yard said: "It is not possible to give a precise figure about the number of people whose phones have actually been hacked but we can confirm that as of today's date, 3 November 2011, the current number of potentially identifiable persons who appear in the material, and who may therefore be victims, where names are noted, is 5,795. This figure is very likely to be revised in the future as a result of further analysis."

The Guardian's original story in 2009 suggested that between 2,000 and 3,000 individuals may have been victims of phone hacking and this was dismissed at the time.

Assistant commissioner John Yates said, after reviewed the first inquiry, that there were "hundreds, not thousands" of potential victims.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said the number referred to the list of full identifiable first and second names in Mulcaire's notes but it may not be the final figure.

In July this year, deputy assistant commissioner Sue Akers, the senior detective in charge of the Operating Weeting inquiry into phone hacking said there were just under 4,000 victims identified at that time by officers.

A spokesman for Scotland Yard added "the figure of 3,870 first and second names given by DAC Akers at the home affairs committee in July 2011 referred to material recovered from Glen Mulcaire that had been put on a searchable database". He said Operating Weeting continues to analyse relevant material.

It is known that Mulcaire kept meticulous notes of his activities, with names of victims and of those whose messages he may have intercepted.

He was jailed in 2007 for charges related to phone hacking but is now facing more than 40 more civil cases being taken by celebrities such as Hugh Grant, Jemima Khan and crime victims such as Shaun Russell.