Week 9 - In response to News of the World shut down

Week 9

In one of the biggest news story and surprise move by a news organisation, News of the World recently shut down its operations on 6 July in the midst of phone hacking scandals surrounding the newspaper. News of the World was Britain's biggest selling newspaper and is owned by James Murdoch, a member of the Murdoch dynasty. News of the world had been in existence for 168 years and this move came as a surprise to many. It is widely reported that the investigators working for the newspaper hacked into the mobile phones of victims of 7/7 and murder victims. In addition, they are alleged to have bribed several police officers. Even British politicians have long called for the newspaper and the personnel responsible to be dealt with.


Of course, the Murdoch family vehemently denies most of these allegations and the shut down is seen as a move to put a stop to the scandals. However, I believe the trust has already been lost. Several critics said that innocent employees of News of the World will be without job, whereas the top executives indirectly responsible for these allegations are let off the hook or simply move to its sister newspaper, The Sun.


Behaviours such as phone hacking and bribery are unethical and should never be condoned. As stated in my previous blog post, no matter the circumstances, it is unjustifiable for a journalist to commit a crime to expose another crime. In my opinion, the result of such scandal arise due to commercialisation and media ownership. For monetary purposes and in order to gain readership in the midst of high competition, journalists are sourcing out 'juicy' news that would entice readers. This is why private information are highly sought after to beat fellow competition from other newspapers. When we trace back to the origin of newspaper and the media as a fourth estate, we see how this principle has shifted and is seldom followed by huge media corporations. This is a comment posted in The Telegraph which I found it interesting to reflect on:


"The News of the Whirled was a failing commodity long before the scandal.  Every thing the Rupert Murdoch touches is corrupted.  He gobbles up media in an attempt to influence and distort the people's perception of society, offering up an unrealistic and alternate universe.  Murdoch is a dangerous man who appeals to the weak minded and the perverse.  He must be censured."
(The Telegraph, 2011)




Reference
The Telegraph, 2011, News of the World shut down in bid to end phone hacking scandal, Viewed 19 July 2011,http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/phone-hacking/8624421/News-of-the-World-shut-down-in-bid-to-end-phone-hacking-scandal.html 

Week 8

Week 8- Moral Minefields: Legal and Ethical Dilemma

Week 8’s presentation was by Josephine and Yale. They covered the topic on moral and ethic issues surrounding journalism. Yale kick-started the presentation by mentioning how CAR (computer-assisted reporting) has affected the laws governing journalism. CAR is in essence the use of computers to gather and analyse information for writing a news report, for example through the use of email interviews and sharing database in the internet. As such, the legal line have blurred as the world of internet is a tough sphere to control and monitor.

Yale stated that it is necessary for journalists nowadays to familiarise themselves and develop a broad understanding of the legal aspects of their job. For example, journalist should be cautious in avoiding asking defamatory questions or comments even in email interviews as this act is sufficient for one to be charged.  I agree with Yale that it is highly crucial for journalists to keep themselves up-to-date. At the end of the day journalists are humans and not superheroes; we need to learn how to protect and defend ourselves.

Josephine carried on explaining the ethical dilemma journalist face. In her own words, ‘there is no distinct line to differentiate (ethic principles), it is dependent on one’s upbringing and moral values; Legal doesn’t mean that it is moral’. Josephine then gave a couple of examples of journalists who stood by their moral ethics but subsequently paid the price, some even with their lives.

According to Josephine, it is unfair that journalists who ‘break the law’ to obtain secret information and then expose these information ‘for a greater good’ gets punished. However, in my opinion, to consciously commit a crime to expose another crime, regardless of the severity of it, is in itself unjustifiable. We can argue that these journalists have noble motivations and ‘greater purposes’ behind their unlawful act, but at the end of the day, the law must remain consistent throughout all circumstances. Otherwise, its effectiveness will be reduced tremendously over time when exceptions are made.

-Andy Wang