It's not clear yet what led to the parting of the ways between Times editor James Harding and Rupert Murdoch. James has had to handle the paywall, the phone-hacking fall-out, and basic circulation - down under 400,000 again, from around 670,000 when he assumed the editor's chair in December 2007. The best guess is that The Thunderer is following The Sun to seven-day operation.
If James, the youngest editor of The Times on his appointment, is on the open market, the BBC might be interested - a first in history from Cambridge, business journalism, and languages including French, Mandarin and Japanese might appeal to an organisation looking for extra bottom. He certainly has thoughts about the BBC.
Or he just might turn into a full-time Cycling Czar.
Showing posts with label News International. Show all posts
Showing posts with label News International. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Monday, October 29, 2012
Bigging up
Lord Patten on Trevor Kavanagh, November 2011: "Trevor Kavanagh is plainly one of the outstanding political writers of his generation".
Trevor Kavanagh on Lord Patten, October 2012: "Chris Patten IS Lord Smug! As a former Cabinet minister, EU Commissioner and Governor of Hong Kong he is the great panjandrum of the “We Know Best” brigade....
The so-called BBC Trust, set up by Labour, are supposed to act as troubleshooter and guardian of good corporate conduct.
Lord Patten sits atop this empire as chairman while juggling other jobs as Chancellor of Oxford University and lucrative directorships, including the troubled BP. His key role — the reason he was appointed — is to seize command at potentially devastating moments of crisis and deploy his vast experience in defence of the corporation.
Savile’s “Tsunami of Filth” is precisely that sort of crisis. Patten’s job as leader was to step in on Day One, immerse himself in the facts, and act as the commanding face and voice of the BBC Trust. Instead, he stoked the blaze with stupid swipes at Government ministers, left hapless new Director General George Entwistle to swing in the wind and revealed to the world that the Trust and everything they stand for are a pointless waste of space.
Lord Smug must go".
Trevor Kavanagh on Lord Patten, October 2012: "Chris Patten IS Lord Smug! As a former Cabinet minister, EU Commissioner and Governor of Hong Kong he is the great panjandrum of the “We Know Best” brigade....
The so-called BBC Trust, set up by Labour, are supposed to act as troubleshooter and guardian of good corporate conduct.
Lord Patten sits atop this empire as chairman while juggling other jobs as Chancellor of Oxford University and lucrative directorships, including the troubled BP. His key role — the reason he was appointed — is to seize command at potentially devastating moments of crisis and deploy his vast experience in defence of the corporation.
Savile’s “Tsunami of Filth” is precisely that sort of crisis. Patten’s job as leader was to step in on Day One, immerse himself in the facts, and act as the commanding face and voice of the BBC Trust. Instead, he stoked the blaze with stupid swipes at Government ministers, left hapless new Director General George Entwistle to swing in the wind and revealed to the world that the Trust and everything they stand for are a pointless waste of space.
Lord Smug must go".
Friday, June 29, 2012
Flag of convenience
It was only in April that Rupert Murdoch told the Leveson Inquiry he considered himself "half-Scottish". In 1985, Rupert became a US citizen in order to buy a chain of tv stations; to do that, he had to give up his Australian passport. Yesterday, he blamed "The English" for his strategic decision to split News Corporation in two; it was nothing to do with "hacking", he said.
Until July last year, this businessman with a self-professed medium- to long-term view wished to invest £7 billion to take full control of BSkyB.
If Chloe Smith v Paxman made you feel uncomfortable, try this from 5.45 in, to around 9.10. I'm rather pleased he's concentrating his thinking on the States.
Until July last year, this businessman with a self-professed medium- to long-term view wished to invest £7 billion to take full control of BSkyB.
If Chloe Smith v Paxman made you feel uncomfortable, try this from 5.45 in, to around 9.10. I'm rather pleased he's concentrating his thinking on the States.
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Stuffing
Jeremy Paxman's written statement to Leveson is generally sharp and to the point. Here's a couple of extracts.
Q: 7. Would you distinguish between the press and other media for these purposes? If so, please explain how, and why.
7.1 It is striking that this inquiry is into the working of the press, rather than the electronic media. Broadcasters operate under rules and conventions and while the distinction between the electronic media and the press is increasingly blurred (websites and the like) some of the historic tension lingers.
7.2 The word in broadcasting is ’impartiality’. I have always had a problem with this, because it is so hard to define it in anything other than dull, mechanistic measures of minutes broadcast, I do, however firmly believe in ’fairness,’ which, while it is a subjective judgement, one can easily identify. [Ed Note: The BBC Trust is holding a series of seminars on "impartiality"; first up is economics]
Q: 11. In your experience, what influence have the media had on public and political appointments, including the tenure and termination of those appointment? Please give examples, including of cases in which in your view the public interest was, and was not, well served by such influence.
A 11.1 As far as public appointments go, the media seem to me have little influence. Quangos. public nquir~es and task forces seem to have their members selected by the same faceless mechanism as ever. They are probably better for it than the cheap political stunts which see some familiar-ish face made ’tsar’ of something or other, posing for a photo-call and producing a report which washes out of the Whitehall Cloaca Maxima in no time [Ed Note: The Cloaca Maxima was the sewage system of Ancient Rome]
11.2 When it comes to the media ending careers, perhaps the people you ought to hear from are those in the hapless position of having been appointed manager of the England football team,
Q: 7. Would you distinguish between the press and other media for these purposes? If so, please explain how, and why.
7.1 It is striking that this inquiry is into the working of the press, rather than the electronic media. Broadcasters operate under rules and conventions and while the distinction between the electronic media and the press is increasingly blurred (websites and the like) some of the historic tension lingers.
7.2 The word in broadcasting is ’impartiality’. I have always had a problem with this, because it is so hard to define it in anything other than dull, mechanistic measures of minutes broadcast, I do, however firmly believe in ’fairness,’ which, while it is a subjective judgement, one can easily identify. [Ed Note: The BBC Trust is holding a series of seminars on "impartiality"; first up is economics]
Q: 11. In your experience, what influence have the media had on public and political appointments, including the tenure and termination of those appointment? Please give examples, including of cases in which in your view the public interest was, and was not, well served by such influence.
A 11.1 As far as public appointments go, the media seem to me have little influence. Quangos. public nquir~es and task forces seem to have their members selected by the same faceless mechanism as ever. They are probably better for it than the cheap political stunts which see some familiar-ish face made ’tsar’ of something or other, posing for a photo-call and producing a report which washes out of the Whitehall Cloaca Maxima in no time [Ed Note: The Cloaca Maxima was the sewage system of Ancient Rome]
11.2 When it comes to the media ending careers, perhaps the people you ought to hear from are those in the hapless position of having been appointed manager of the England football team,
Monday, April 30, 2012
Steps
A regular correspondent - a man of taste and style - suggests Jeremy Hunt may have more time to spend perfecting his Lambada before the Olympics, and that I should get ahead of the game by opening a book on his replacement at the DCMS.
He offers Damian Green (desperate to get away from those Heathrow immigration queues); Grant Shapps (why else that strange profile in the Grauniad ?) and Cheeky Monkey Eddie Vaizey.
A second missive notes that, by this stage into Government (23 months) Blair had reshuffled more than 6 Cabinet ministers. Cameron may welcome the opportunity to reshuffle before the summer of fun, and could bring back either David Laws or Liam Fox. The LibDems of course will want to see their numbers maintained if not increased around the Cabinet table. "And the appointment must surely be made with an eye on the Leveson report, due in the autumn. No point putting into DCMS somebody who will be covered in ordure when LJL produces his findings. We live in interesting times !"
He offers Damian Green (desperate to get away from those Heathrow immigration queues); Grant Shapps (why else that strange profile in the Grauniad ?) and Cheeky Monkey Eddie Vaizey.
A second missive notes that, by this stage into Government (23 months) Blair had reshuffled more than 6 Cabinet ministers. Cameron may welcome the opportunity to reshuffle before the summer of fun, and could bring back either David Laws or Liam Fox. The LibDems of course will want to see their numbers maintained if not increased around the Cabinet table. "And the appointment must surely be made with an eye on the Leveson report, due in the autumn. No point putting into DCMS somebody who will be covered in ordure when LJL produces his findings. We live in interesting times !"
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
A very short arm's length
We need much more information on Fred Michel, News Corp's lobbyist on the BSkyB takeover - who clearly knew all these emails to DCMS special advisers and civil servants were coming via Rupert Murdoch to Leveson, and attempts to create a Hunt defence in this additional witness statement. But somehow, sure-footed Fred seems to make things worse...
I didn’t personally meet with Jeremy Hunt very often although I would periodically keep in touch with him. As it happens, both our wives gave birth in late May 2010 at Chelsea and Westminster hospital. We bumped into each other in the very same ward and shared a night of anxiety
And it wasn't just emails that were exchanged.
There were a few personal text messages between Jeremy and myself, For example, after the formal meeting on 20 January 2011, I sent Jeremy a text to say it had been good to see him. He replied: "Good to see u too. Hope u understand why we have to have the long process. Let’s meet up when things are resolved Jo" 16 On 13 March 2011, after Jeremy had been on the Andrew Marr Show on the BBC, I sent him a text saying that he had been "very good". He replied: "Merci hopefully when consultation over we can have a coffee like the old days!
But this is the bit that does it for me... (my underlining)
For the purposes of these emails, I did not distinguish between Jeremy Hunt’s advisers and him personally. His advisers were there to assist and advise Jeremy Hunt and it was my understanding that when they told me something, it was always on behalf of the Minister and after having conferred with him
I didn’t personally meet with Jeremy Hunt very often although I would periodically keep in touch with him. As it happens, both our wives gave birth in late May 2010 at Chelsea and Westminster hospital. We bumped into each other in the very same ward and shared a night of anxiety
And it wasn't just emails that were exchanged.
There were a few personal text messages between Jeremy and myself, For example, after the formal meeting on 20 January 2011, I sent Jeremy a text to say it had been good to see him. He replied: "Good to see u too. Hope u understand why we have to have the long process. Let’s meet up when things are resolved Jo" 16 On 13 March 2011, after Jeremy had been on the Andrew Marr Show on the BBC, I sent him a text saying that he had been "very good". He replied: "Merci hopefully when consultation over we can have a coffee like the old days!
But this is the bit that does it for me... (my underlining)
For the purposes of these emails, I did not distinguish between Jeremy Hunt’s advisers and him personally. His advisers were there to assist and advise Jeremy Hunt and it was my understanding that when they told me something, it was always on behalf of the Minister and after having conferred with him
Hunted
Overnight, images of the Secretary of State for Culture Media and Sport brought a 1973 film to mind - Michael Chricton's Westworld. The brief synopsis: "A robot malfunction creates havoc and terror for unsuspecting vacationers at a futuristic, adult-themed amusement park".
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Live news
A relaxing week ahead for the daytime planners of Sky News. Boss John Ryley is up before Leveson on Monday, and his staff are hardly going to pull away from those pictures. Then Wednesday and Thursday sees James and Rupert Murdoch. Can Rupert last a whole day in front of Robert Jay without losing his temper ? Rupe's current Tweets suggest he's already in a fairly dyspeptic mood...
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Magnanimous
The aching void at the heart of Sunday in Great Britain left by the closure of The News of The World (Staff: 200) has been filled by big-hearted Rupert Murdoch with the Sun on Sunday (Staff: David Wooding, plus casual work for Roy Keane, Katie Price, Toby Young and Nancy Dell'Olio).
The lead is based on an 'exclusive' Colin Robertson interview with Amanda Holden, about the difficult birth of her daughter, Hollie, headlined "I was moments from death". The online version, at just 225 words, ends with this warning.
I haven't done a line by line comparison, but I reckon you may not need to lash out 50p to read Amanda, "talking for the first time". Try this, at 1,000+ words in the world-beating Mail Online, and risk the wrath of gentle, caring, Rupert Murdoch's lawyers. Byline is Holly Thomas, and there's no mention of The Sun, On Sunday, or otherwise.
Meanwhile, there's a good editorial in the Sunday Sun today, published in the North-East and Cumbria since 1919. Matthew McKenzie, from his headquarters in the Groat Market, Newcastle, points to the value his readers have had from columnists like Mr Justice and Eddy Eats.
The lead is based on an 'exclusive' Colin Robertson interview with Amanda Holden, about the difficult birth of her daughter, Hollie, headlined "I was moments from death". The online version, at just 225 words, ends with this warning.
I haven't done a line by line comparison, but I reckon you may not need to lash out 50p to read Amanda, "talking for the first time". Try this, at 1,000+ words in the world-beating Mail Online, and risk the wrath of gentle, caring, Rupert Murdoch's lawyers. Byline is Holly Thomas, and there's no mention of The Sun, On Sunday, or otherwise.
Meanwhile, there's a good editorial in the Sunday Sun today, published in the North-East and Cumbria since 1919. Matthew McKenzie, from his headquarters in the Groat Market, Newcastle, points to the value his readers have had from columnists like Mr Justice and Eddy Eats.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Walking
A little update on Neville Thurlbeck, former Chief Reporter of the News of The World. The Guardian says he became "former" early this month - up until then, he was suspended but still being paid. He's apparently heading to the East London Employment Tribunal on Friday, to bring a case for unfair dismissal against News International, on the grounds that he was a "whistleblower". If this all stands up, it'll be interesting to find out in whose ear the whistle was being blown, and when.
As far back as 2000, Neville was acting an an unpaid police informer, with the code name George. Hertfordshire Police thought money was changing hands, and brought a court case against Thurlbeck and a Detective Constable from the National Criminal Intelligence Service. It was dismissed, and Neville later told the Press Gazette "The police were very impressed about the type of intelligence I was coming up with and that was revealed in court. The judge said it was a substantial volume of information that was extremely useful to police."
Meanwhile Neville has been spending some time raising nearly £1600 for Help for Heroes, with a sponsored walk around East Anglia. His supporters are not without a sense of humour. "Thank God we're not sponsoring you for a pub crawl !" and "There must be easier ways of impressing the CPS ! Good luck Nev. Top effort" are among the comments. Sponsors from the old days include Tom Crone and Maz Mahmood.
As far back as 2000, Neville was acting an an unpaid police informer, with the code name George. Hertfordshire Police thought money was changing hands, and brought a court case against Thurlbeck and a Detective Constable from the National Criminal Intelligence Service. It was dismissed, and Neville later told the Press Gazette "The police were very impressed about the type of intelligence I was coming up with and that was revealed in court. The judge said it was a substantial volume of information that was extremely useful to police."
Meanwhile Neville has been spending some time raising nearly £1600 for Help for Heroes, with a sponsored walk around East Anglia. His supporters are not without a sense of humour. "Thank God we're not sponsoring you for a pub crawl !" and "There must be easier ways of impressing the CPS ! Good luck Nev. Top effort" are among the comments. Sponsors from the old days include Tom Crone and Maz Mahmood.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Making inquiries
The Independent has been trawling through the files listing 17,000 searches for "information" carried out by private investigator Steve Whittamore at the behest of various newspapers. The Independent has "obtained" these files from the Operation Motorman investigation of 2003.
There's a number of "BBC" names in the lists. Jeremy Clarkson, in 1997, Jonathan Ross in 1999 (file marked "wife"), Peter Salmon in 2000 (file marked "Belair Beverly Hills Blag") , and undated inquiries about Jeremy Paxman and Mark Lawrenson. Mark's file shows three vehicle checks and a request to discover if he had business dealings with Lionel Blair.
Full story here.
There's a number of "BBC" names in the lists. Jeremy Clarkson, in 1997, Jonathan Ross in 1999 (file marked "wife"), Peter Salmon in 2000 (file marked "Belair Beverly Hills Blag") , and undated inquiries about Jeremy Paxman and Mark Lawrenson. Mark's file shows three vehicle checks and a request to discover if he had business dealings with Lionel Blair.
Full story here.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Dates, please
There's more than a little confusion about who did what when in the claims and counter-claims of Chancellor George Osborne and ex-dominatrix Natalie Rowe, who has today repeated her story that George used cocaine in her company.
George graduated in Modern History from Magdalen College, Oxford, in 1993. Somewhere along the line, he spent a "semester" as a Dean Rusk scholar at Davidson College, North Carolina. The Osborne biography at the Conservative Party says, after a short spell as a freelance journalist, he joined the Conservative Research Department in 1994. Other sources say before he joined the CRD, he spent some time as a data entry assistant in the NHS, recording death details for London; and worked at Selfridges; others say he "missed out on a position at a national newspaper" (despite having been joint editor of Isis at Oxford).
The photograph of Natalie and George together first emerged in October 2005; she'd sold it to the Sunday Mirror, but the same story spookily appeared in the News of The World (she now thinks her mobile phone may have been tapped by Glenn Mulcaire). George told the Mirror then "Twelve years ago a friend …went out with a woman called Natalie and they had a child together. I met them together occasionally in the autumn of 1993, and it soon became clear that my friend had started to use drugs. He became more and more addicted and I saw his life fall apart" In a later statement, George said "The allegations are completely untrue and dredging up a photo from when I was 22 years old is pretty desperate stuff. This is merely part of an absurd smear campaign". That would fix the photo between May 1993 and May 1994.
Natalie's story today says the photograph was from 1994, taken at a party to celebrate news of her pregnancy; the father to be was William "Sincs" Sinclair, a Bristol University graduate, who'd met Osborne through mutual friends. Natalie's child was born in September that year, which might put the date of the photo to January. Natalie's line today "I mean it’s been said in the newspapers that he [George] was at university. He wasn’t. At the time he was working for William Hague. I remember that vividly because he called William Hague insipid and I didn’t know what the word meant. I do now. So he definitely was in government by then but I think he was getting more and more of a high profile. So there was definitely, there was cocaine on that night on the table. George Osborne did take cocaine on that night. And not just on that night. He took it on a regular basis with me, with his friends".
This can't all be right. At the time of the photo George may have been working for the CRD, but he wasn't directly employed by William Hague until 1997, with the Tories in Opposition; in 1993/4 Hague was in junior roles at the Department of Social Security. It's possible, however, he was rude about Hague (another Magdalen graduate) en passant in Rowe's company.
George graduated in Modern History from Magdalen College, Oxford, in 1993. Somewhere along the line, he spent a "semester" as a Dean Rusk scholar at Davidson College, North Carolina. The Osborne biography at the Conservative Party says, after a short spell as a freelance journalist, he joined the Conservative Research Department in 1994. Other sources say before he joined the CRD, he spent some time as a data entry assistant in the NHS, recording death details for London; and worked at Selfridges; others say he "missed out on a position at a national newspaper" (despite having been joint editor of Isis at Oxford).
The photograph of Natalie and George together first emerged in October 2005; she'd sold it to the Sunday Mirror, but the same story spookily appeared in the News of The World (she now thinks her mobile phone may have been tapped by Glenn Mulcaire). George told the Mirror then "Twelve years ago a friend …went out with a woman called Natalie and they had a child together. I met them together occasionally in the autumn of 1993, and it soon became clear that my friend had started to use drugs. He became more and more addicted and I saw his life fall apart" In a later statement, George said "The allegations are completely untrue and dredging up a photo from when I was 22 years old is pretty desperate stuff. This is merely part of an absurd smear campaign". That would fix the photo between May 1993 and May 1994.
Natalie's story today says the photograph was from 1994, taken at a party to celebrate news of her pregnancy; the father to be was William "Sincs" Sinclair, a Bristol University graduate, who'd met Osborne through mutual friends. Natalie's child was born in September that year, which might put the date of the photo to January. Natalie's line today "I mean it’s been said in the newspapers that he [George] was at university. He wasn’t. At the time he was working for William Hague. I remember that vividly because he called William Hague insipid and I didn’t know what the word meant. I do now. So he definitely was in government by then but I think he was getting more and more of a high profile. So there was definitely, there was cocaine on that night on the table. George Osborne did take cocaine on that night. And not just on that night. He took it on a regular basis with me, with his friends".
This can't all be right. At the time of the photo George may have been working for the CRD, but he wasn't directly employed by William Hague until 1997, with the Tories in Opposition; in 1993/4 Hague was in junior roles at the Department of Social Security. It's possible, however, he was rude about Hague (another Magdalen graduate) en passant in Rowe's company.
Monday, September 5, 2011
Fortress sale
The announcement from News International that it intends to sell the old Fortress Wapping site is another kick in the teeth for Little Jimmy Murdoch (I wonder who his godparents are ?); and must put a question-mark over
Amanda Levete's scheme for the core building, which won planning permission in 2009.
The spin is that the decant of staff which had been going on in readiness for the redevelopment will continue because the "temporary" accommodation in Land Securities' Thomas More Square development "provides the company with excellent facilities and flexibility".
Amanda Levete's scheme for the core building, which won planning permission in 2009.The spin is that the decant of staff which had been going on in readiness for the redevelopment will continue because the "temporary" accommodation in Land Securities' Thomas More Square development "provides the company with excellent facilities and flexibility".
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Ross Hall
The 15th person to be arrested in the News of The World phone-hacking investigation is the youngest. A 30-year-old man went to a North London police station by appointment on Friday, and was questioned about phone-hacking and perverting the course of justice, before being released on bail until at least January. He's reported to be Ross Hall aka Ross Hindley.
Ross is the nephew of former News of the World editor, Phil Hall. Uncle Phil took the big chair in 1995, and Ross followed a year later, working in school and college holidays, and quite often on Saturdays. He worked as a messenger, and sometimes on Saturdays, he covered the Editor's PA's phones when the PA had gone home. Phil moved on in 2000, making way for Rebekah Wade. Ross undertook some more formal training with the Archant group of newspapers in Essex - I was on a judging panel with Richard Kay and Antony Clavane that gave him a commendation in the Essex Young Journalist of the Year award in 2004 for stories in the Romford Recoder. He returned to the News of the World as a reporter in 2005.
He used the byline Ross Hindley until September 2006, reverting to his mother's maiden name when his parents divorced. Thenceforward he's won over 100 bylines until 2009, when he went travelling around the world with partner and Sunday Mirror reporter Lori Campbell. Lori's previous claim to fame was going to Portuguese police with concerns about the behaviour of ex-pat Robert Murat, after the disappearance of Madeleine McCann - eventually 11 British newspapers paid over £500k in damages to Murat. Ross and Lori both achieved a substantial number of bylines from the McCann story in Portugal. Lori is currently part of the team working for (Uncle) Phil Hall's pr company, PHA Media.
In June 2010, Ross got a job with Financial Dynamics, a PR firm based in Holborn, working on "special projects". At one stage, his website described his skills thus "Ross currently helps clients facing scrutiny. Using his deep understanding of tabloid investigative techniques, he advises on how to neutralise media attacks."
Ross is the nephew of former News of the World editor, Phil Hall. Uncle Phil took the big chair in 1995, and Ross followed a year later, working in school and college holidays, and quite often on Saturdays. He worked as a messenger, and sometimes on Saturdays, he covered the Editor's PA's phones when the PA had gone home. Phil moved on in 2000, making way for Rebekah Wade. Ross undertook some more formal training with the Archant group of newspapers in Essex - I was on a judging panel with Richard Kay and Antony Clavane that gave him a commendation in the Essex Young Journalist of the Year award in 2004 for stories in the Romford Recoder. He returned to the News of the World as a reporter in 2005.
He used the byline Ross Hindley until September 2006, reverting to his mother's maiden name when his parents divorced. Thenceforward he's won over 100 bylines until 2009, when he went travelling around the world with partner and Sunday Mirror reporter Lori Campbell. Lori's previous claim to fame was going to Portuguese police with concerns about the behaviour of ex-pat Robert Murat, after the disappearance of Madeleine McCann - eventually 11 British newspapers paid over £500k in damages to Murat. Ross and Lori both achieved a substantial number of bylines from the McCann story in Portugal. Lori is currently part of the team working for (Uncle) Phil Hall's pr company, PHA Media.
In June 2010, Ross got a job with Financial Dynamics, a PR firm based in Holborn, working on "special projects". At one stage, his website described his skills thus "Ross currently helps clients facing scrutiny. Using his deep understanding of tabloid investigative techniques, he advises on how to neutralise media attacks."
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Coulson's car
I have no idea whether the current Coulson motor - a Lexus RX400h - is the company car he left with from News International - but it has a January 2007 numberplate.
On the road price in 2007 estimated at £40k; Jeremy Clarkson's review ? "Mad as a bag of sandals".
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Thursday, August 18, 2011
James Desborough
38-year-old James Desborough's twitter monica is Jamesisinla; however yesterday he was very much in a south London police station, arrested and helping with inquiries into phone-hacking at the News of The World. He was hired by the paper in 2005, when Andy Coulson was editor.
In April 2009, under Colin Myler's editorship, he was declared "Showbiz writer of the year" at the British Press Awards, "for stories about Fern Britten's gastric band, Peaches Geldof's divorce and Heather McCartney which were all published in the face of strong official denials". He told Press Gazette at the time: "A lot of deals are done these days between PRs and papers - but these stories were all old-fashioned journalism where we said: 'We know this to be true, would you like to comment?" He added: "It's a very difficult time for the whole tabloid market - but we are a big team at the News of the World, we really get on like a house on fire and I hope that comes across in the paper."
In June 2009, James was on his way to LA as "The News of The World's U.S Editor". There don't seem to be any other staff from the paper based in America. Since that time, he's brought us important stories such as "Tiger had me in the rough", and "Jacko had cocaine in his pants". He's appeared on the E Entertainment Network as a royal expert for the wedding of William and Kate.
His journalism career prior to joining News International in 2005 is sketchy. He was, for a time, a news editor with a London-based agency called World Entertainment News Network. He seems to have resigned after doubts about his role in "quotes" from Sir George Martin about George Harrison's death.
More recently James' byline was on a January 2010 story "Pitts all over", which said that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were consulting lawyers about a divorce settlement. Their lawyer Keith Schilling brought an action claiming misuse of private information and breach of the 1998 Data Protection Act. The News of the World initially argued that it had acted in good faith, but in the end agreed their story was "false and intrusive" in July 2010, apologised, and paid undisclosed damages.
In April 2009, under Colin Myler's editorship, he was declared "Showbiz writer of the year" at the British Press Awards, "for stories about Fern Britten's gastric band, Peaches Geldof's divorce and Heather McCartney which were all published in the face of strong official denials". He told Press Gazette at the time: "A lot of deals are done these days between PRs and papers - but these stories were all old-fashioned journalism where we said: 'We know this to be true, would you like to comment?" He added: "It's a very difficult time for the whole tabloid market - but we are a big team at the News of the World, we really get on like a house on fire and I hope that comes across in the paper."
In June 2009, James was on his way to LA as "The News of The World's U.S Editor". There don't seem to be any other staff from the paper based in America. Since that time, he's brought us important stories such as "Tiger had me in the rough", and "Jacko had cocaine in his pants". He's appeared on the E Entertainment Network as a royal expert for the wedding of William and Kate.
His journalism career prior to joining News International in 2005 is sketchy. He was, for a time, a news editor with a London-based agency called World Entertainment News Network. He seems to have resigned after doubts about his role in "quotes" from Sir George Martin about George Harrison's death.
More recently James' byline was on a January 2010 story "Pitts all over", which said that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were consulting lawyers about a divorce settlement. Their lawyer Keith Schilling brought an action claiming misuse of private information and breach of the 1998 Data Protection Act. The News of the World initially argued that it had acted in good faith, but in the end agreed their story was "false and intrusive" in July 2010, apologised, and paid undisclosed damages.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Fee structure failure
If the Daily Telegraph's figures are right, solicitors Harbottle and Lewis may be pleased to have parted company with former partner Lawrence Abramson. In May 2007, he reviewed 2,500 emails at the request of News International, taking hard copies of 300 of them. He then signed a note which said he "did not find anything … which appeared to us to be reasonable evidence that Clive Goodman’s illegal actions were known about and supported by both or either of Andy Coulson, the editor, and Neil Wallis, the deputy editor, and/or that Ian Edmondson, the news editor, and others were carrying out similar procedures".
It was a narrow tranche of emails (only those mentioning Goodman over a specific period of time, in specific email folders). The Telegraph says the fee was "around" £10,000. So that's either £100 for a clean bill of health per printed email. Or £2.50 per email read. Hardly top dollar fee charging, Mr Abramson.
It was a narrow tranche of emails (only those mentioning Goodman over a specific period of time, in specific email folders). The Telegraph says the fee was "around" £10,000. So that's either £100 for a clean bill of health per printed email. Or £2.50 per email read. Hardly top dollar fee charging, Mr Abramson.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Stuart Kuttner
Stuart Kuttner has been around the block in Fleet Street. During his time as a reporter and news editor with both the Evening Standard and Evening News in London, he developed his investigative approach. In 1975, for the Standard, he secured a big interview with Prince Charles, then just 27. He was on the Evening News in 1977 when Andrew "Gino" Newton came out of prison (for offences associated with shooting Norman Scott's dog, Rinka) and had the inside track when Jeremy Thorpe went on trial for conspiracy and incitement to murder Scott the following year. Thorpe was cleared.
Private Eye took against Kuttner in 1980, describing him as "sinister and serpentine". They said he had "an obsession with the exposure of sexual deviants". And, when he left the Evening News for the News of The World that year, they talked about his "Pandora's box of bugging devices". Mobile phones as we know them didn't hit the UK until 1985.
Kuttner has always been fiercely loyal. This a quote from a feature in Press Gazette, in 2005, when the News of the World had won Newspaper of The Year, under Andy Coulson. "Popular journalism is at the very heart of our society. Snooty, sneering editors with circulations they should be ashamed of could learn a great deal from the News of the World. I have spent much of my life in Fleet Street. Of course we are not perfect, but the team which comprises this newspaper is in my view the most skilled, tenacious and professional band in the whole of the industry."
Private Eye took against Kuttner in 1980, describing him as "sinister and serpentine". They said he had "an obsession with the exposure of sexual deviants". And, when he left the Evening News for the News of The World that year, they talked about his "Pandora's box of bugging devices". Mobile phones as we know them didn't hit the UK until 1985.
Kuttner has always been fiercely loyal. This a quote from a feature in Press Gazette, in 2005, when the News of the World had won Newspaper of The Year, under Andy Coulson. "Popular journalism is at the very heart of our society. Snooty, sneering editors with circulations they should be ashamed of could learn a great deal from the News of the World. I have spent much of my life in Fleet Street. Of course we are not perfect, but the team which comprises this newspaper is in my view the most skilled, tenacious and professional band in the whole of the industry."
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