A sad day

IT was a sad days for newspapers on Friday when Rupert Murdoch decided to terminate one of Britain´s most famous and popular newspapers, the News of the World. It was an odd decision because closing the paper will resolve little; the law suits will continue and the phone hacking investigation will continue. It wasn´t the newspaper which was at fault, it was those staff members who carried out alleged illegal acts, such as phone hacking.

Murdoch decided to sacrifice the newspaper rather than some of his senior executives. What I find amazing is how editors and senior staff members have denied any knowledge of alleged phone hacking. They work in the communications industry but they do not know what is going on in their own offices? Incredible.

Bribes were allegedly paid to police officers in return for information, well someone within the media organisation must have known where this money was going? Didn´t anyone ask the source of news stories which allegedly came from phone hacking? It is all very strange, especially when you take into account that newspapers are not enormous organsations - the News of the World had a staff of 280 people, and that includes many non-journalists. As I have said it was a sad day. I suspect that the News of the World will return in the not too distant future with a new name. But I think the Murdoch organisation has been deeply hit and I sincerely doubt now, that its BSkyB deal, will go ahead.