Arrests, escalating civil actions and a public apology sent the News of the World phone-hackling scandal nuclear last month.
In the May edition of Press Gazette we take a closer look at allegations of corruption involving cops and journalists and ask whether jailing more ordinary hacks is the best way to deal with issues raised by the phone-hacking scandal.
Includes Nick Davies from The Guardian:
“At the moment the blame has been pushed half-way up the ladder.”
And Spiked editor Brendan O’Neill:
“We should think very hard before allowing this liberal, metropolitan enactment of vengeance against Murdoch take journalistic freedom down with it.”
Alastair Morgan writes about the challenges of dealing with the press over the 24 years since his brother Daniel was killed with an axe in one of the most notorious unsolved murders in the history of the Met Police.
“Most of the time the media were scarily uninterested in the case.”
Press Gazette goes for a pint with cartooning giants Steve Bell of The Guardian and Matt Pritchett of the Daily Telegraph:
Matt: “I discovered recently the only person I can caricature is Gaddafi, so I’m very keen for him to stay in power.”
Steve: “My stuff may be a warped and distorted sense of my own opinions but I’m trying to get at the truth, even if it’s my entirely skewed version of the truth.”
Former head of news at Five Chris Shaw gives his first in-depth interview since taking redundancy following the Richard Desmond take-over:
“It was good that there was someone out there who thought ‘I can make some money out of this’ and came in. By all accounts it’s an extremely exciting place to be at the moment.”
Grey Cardigan embraces Twitter…yes, really.
Launch editor of Chat Lori Miles on IPC’s plan to merge the editorial teams of Chat and Pick Me Up:
“Magazines are not just tins of beans with different labels. Each one carries a different personality, a different character to be presented visually, and the editor needs a watch on each sector of the market and the world their readers inhabit.”
PLUS
Alex Thomson on broadcasting..Peter Kirwan on signs the Times paywall strategy may be paying off…David Banks reveals his hacked phone messages…Simon Hoggart gives a masterclass on political sketch writing…Kevin Marsh…Bill Hagerty…David Loyn…Axegrinder…and much more…
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