baldysblog.co.uk

We are still in the “Silly Season” as the Media eagerly anticipates the Party Conference Season so some stories still border on the distinctly odd and none more so than that concerning Andy Coulson a former Editor of the News of the World and now David Cameron’s chief spin doctor.

To me, the ‘story’ seems rather less interesting than the motives behind reviving it at this time because the question “In who’s interest” is always fascinating when there seems no particularly strong public interest in the topic and it is unrelated to any current story going the rounds so Why ?

The Basic Story

The story which may be more related to circulation wars in the USA, was reignited by the New York Times claiming that phone tapping by NoW journalists was endemic and that Coulson was not only well aware of it by ordered it according to two former and likely disgruntled employees. In 2007 the News of the World’s royal editor, Clive Goodman, was jailed for conspiracy to access phone messages specifically concerning the “Royals”. The paper insisted it was an isolated case but Andy Coulson the then Editor resigned anyway.

The Police investigated the whole affair as a criminal matter and not only Clive Goodman but also Glenn Mulcaire the private investigator who actually did the ‘eavesdropping’ was also jailed. For a snapshot of how it was seen at the time, try this: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/6301243.stm .

It is one of the great features of the web, rather than relying on what journalists write today, you can tune back into both place and time by referring backwards. What is also true is that fresh information may come to light and therefore change the perspective but in this case whilst allowing for them putting themselves in a risky personal position, apart from these statements from two former employees of the NoW, there is no really fresh evidence to justify reopening this.

Questions

To me there are a number of questions that need to be addressed before I can take this all too seriously.

The first thing is fairly simple which is if these kind of practices were “endemic” to NoW operations as claimed, why have not other stories come to light ? In the normal run of things, once a story like this breaks (originally), it doesn’t take too long for others to surface and that hasn’t happened.

Secondly, this was investigated by the Police and unless one assumes that they are stupid, I am fairly sure that if there were other instances, they would have turned them up. Indeed, Glenn Mulcaire did own up to ‘bugging’ a number of celebrities at the time, he did not say that it was on the specific instructions of the NoW.

Thirdly, both these chaps were facing jail time so even if you assume that Clive Goodman in return for a “…we’ll look after you if you keep your mouth shut..” inducement from his employers, I doubt that a freelance like Mulcaire would fall for that.

So What is it About ?

What does this grubby little story come down to ? Some journalists fearing for their future employment perhaps who don’t like Coulson and are trying to lever him out of his job to open up an opportunity for themselves to get his £140k pa post ?

If it were the State involved in this story originally rather than the NoW, I would agree it would be a potentially serious matter but it wasn’t and therefore when the long arm of the law caught them up, the charges brought were criminal rather than civil.

To talk as Ed Balls has done about the ‘integrity’ of Coulson in this context is to say the least banal when you consider the “Anti-Terror Laws” and the capabilities of GCHQ and other Government Agencies in this area, I am rather more interested in the checks and balances on their powers than some newspaper. I also found it very amusing to see former Labour Ministers queuing up to make an issue over the NoW when it was on their watch that draconian Laws to empower the State against it’s own Citizens were brought in.

The funniest was Teressa Jowell, the “gangsters moll” who’s husband got jail time in Italy for fraud. So, 28 times Ms Jowell, you are not that interesting and it may have been the Mafia anyway.

Hard Times in Newspapers

The main problem is that newspapers in particular and whilst still widely read, are totally unprofitable and unlikely to ever regain their former financial glory for their owners, in fact even owning one these days may be considered more “vanity publishing” than good commercial sense. The consequence is that people within that industry, ever more desperate to hold on to their jobs, will become evermore scurrilous and underhand in pursuit of headline stories and herein lies real danger.

Although the content will inevitably migrate away from newsprint to the ‘electronic ether’, the Fourth Estate is important needs to be preserved and not destroyed in the death throes of the existing business model. Already we are seeing a steady procession of footballers and the like gaining ‘privacy’ injunctions through the Courts, if the newspapers do not restrain themselves, it will not be long before all kinds of legal barriers are erected to prevent the proper investigation “in the public interest” which is not whether someone has silicone implants, I might add.

By not adapting their business model and like the big record labels, trying to carry on regardless whilst in reality just “clinging to the wreckage of their past”, the newspapers are bringing the house down on themselves. The real danger to the rest of us is in their doing so, civil liberties and freedom of speech may be further eroded by poor legislation bought in to curb their excesses.

Lardy Lover Boys

As to Mr Coulson, the Police did investigate and the DPP would have reviewed the evidence so, unless we are saying that under a Labour Government, both were leaned upon and the course of Justice impeded and perverted, I might suggest that a few people in the Labour Party and especially the Leadership Candidates might do better to engage their brains before opening their mouths and that applies especially to Lardy Lover Boys who like to play Croquet !