I am indebted to Marbury for the following extract from the New York Times' account of recent events in the UK media world, but not only there.
Mr. Dacre, The Daily Mail editor, told his senior managers that he had received several reports from businesspeople, soccer stars and public relations agencies that the News International executives Will Lewis and Simon Greenberg had encouraged them to investigate whether their phones had been hacked by Daily Mail newspapers . “They thought it was unfair that all the focus was on The News of the World,” said one News International official with knowledge of the effort. The two men have told colleagues they did not make such calls, but two company officials disputed that.
Mr. Dacre confronted Ms. Brooks over breakfast at the plush Brown’s hotel. “You are trying to tear down the entire industry,” Mr. Dacre told her, according to an account he relayed to his management team. Ms. Brooks, whose tenacity is legendary, was not deterred. At a dinner party, Lady Claudia Rothermere, the wife of the billionaire owner of The Daily Mail, overheard Ms. Brooks saying that The Mail was just as culpable as The News of the World. “We didn’t break the law,” Lady Rothermere said, according to two sources with knowledge of the exchange. Ms. Brooks asked who Lady Rothermere thought she was, “Mother Teresa?”
Excellent stuff. I am not a fan of the late Mother Teresa, in fact I think she was a ghastly dictator-arse-kissing old bitch, but that is another matter.
What kind of a world would it be if there were no newspapers? *visions of lambs frolicking in sunlit fields of flowers, shiny happy people everywhere*
1 comment:
Entertaining stuff indeed. For the record, I have always been a fan of Paul Dacre and reckon he produces quite the best paper aorund. I would be displeased if he had broken the law. I will be extremely disappointed if The Daily Mail turns out to have been culpable.But we await events. It is a movable feast and who knows what the next development will be.
In terms of Rebekah Brooksisms ( I suspect there will be money in these, eventually!), Chris Bryant MP attended a Labour Party Conference bash shortly afetr NOW ( and Daily Mail) had splashed with the pic of him in his Y fronts on the gay dating site, Gaydar.
Mrs Brooks ( then Wade) , lurched in Bryant's direction , rather unsteady on her pins, as was often the case for Miss Rebekah once she had consuemd a couple ( or ten) glasses of champers. She pointed at Bryant and said 'Nice to see you Chris. I thought you would be hunting on Clapham Common!'
At which point, her then hubby, Ross Kemp yelled.
'Shut up you homophobic cow'.
Now being gay does not make you either a nice or a nasty person - just a person - and Chris Bryant was always patronising and nasty to me -- but -- I think he comes out of this skirmish with right on his side. For once. Likewise Mr Kemp.
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