Yesterday afternoon in a powerful Guardian exclusive, investigative journalist Nick Davies reported that the Murdoch News Group papers paid £1m to ‘gag’ phone-hacking victims.
Rupert Murdoch, who owns News Group, recently argued he had little influence on his publications’ editorial content; it would be interesting to see how his other UK papers would treat the story about their sister title today.
Let’s see how each of the UK news websites is running the story [as around 9.30 – 10 am]. [News organisations owned by Murdoch are labelled (M).]
Note: Observations correct at time of writing; subject to updates.
- The BBC has headlined many of its bulletins across radio and TV with the story. Channel 4 ran with the story yesterday. Both news sites feature the story as the main article. Sky News (M) ran it last night and its main (breaking) story on its website is “Cameron: ‘Coulson’s Job Is Safe'”.
- Guardian: Top story with several supplementary features and stories
- Telegraph.co.uk: ‘Newspaper embroiled in alleged £1 million cover-up of phone tapping’ – front page
- TimesOnline (M): Run ‘Cameron told to dump aide over tapping claims’ – in ‘more news section’ on front page
- Financial Times: ‘Murdoch reporters accused over phone hacking’ – front page of main site
- Independent.co.uk: ‘Cameron aide faces phone hacking row’ – front page of main site
- Wall Street Journal Europe online: ‘British Tabloids Face Scrutiny By Government on Privacy Issues’ – front page
- Mirror.co.uk: ‘Tabloid bosses face phone taps quiz’ – Latest news section
- Daily Mail: In news headline section – ‘Prescott calls for police probe into claims journalists bugged his phone‘
- DailyStar.co.uk: Rupert’s £1m bill
- Express.co.uk: ‘News Group’s ‘1M Phone Tap Payouts’ – front page
- Sun.co.uk (M): Not running the story
- NewsoftheWorld.co.uk (M): Not running the story
The Murdoch empire (source: BBC website / News Corp)
NEWS CORP BUSINESSES
Australasia:
Daily Telegraph
Fiji Times
Gold Coast Bulletin
Herald Sun
Newsphotos
Newspix
Newstext
NT News
Post-Courier
Sunday Herald Sun
Sunday Mail
Sunday Tasmanian
Sunday Territorian
Sunday Times
The Advertiser
The Australian
The Courier-Mail
The Mercury
The Sunday Mail
The Sunday Telegraph
Weekly Times
As of 9 p.m. local time in Australia, the government-owned ABC and the Age, a newspaper owned by Murdoch rival Fairfax, were both headlining the story. No sign on the Murdoch tabloids, or on its prestige title, the Australian.
The news.com.au web site is running the story, but you have to read through to the second paragraph of the main story to realise that News is involved. Here is the news.com.au headline and story opening:
Paper paid ‘$2m to gag hacking victims’
From correspondents in London
Agence France-Presse
July 09, 2009 09:23am
Hacked … a newspaper group reportedly hired private investigators to access Elle McPherson’s private data / AP
* Papers pay alleged phone-hack victims
* Elle McPherson, football boss paid out
* Guardian: Read original report here
A BRITISH newspaper group has secretly paid £1 million ($2.04 million) to settle cases involving allegations its journalists were involved in illegal phone tapping, a report says.
News Group newspapers allegedly paid the money in out-of-court settlements …
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um the “fiji times” is not australian. the name is a clue.
d’oh. Amended to Australasia. Thanks.
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