News of the World 95
admitted of using material and information on Jennifer Elliot,32 daughter of actor Denholm Elliot, to publish news about her, which was obtained by brining police offi cers. These articles were very deroga- tory and in the words of Paul McMullan were to some extent responsible for Jennifer Elliot’s suicide as well.
Defamation Actions
NoTW was dragged to court in 2005 for defamation damages by England footballer David Beck-
ham33 and his spouse for a misleading article claiming that their marriage was in trouble. The case was later settled out of the court in 2006.
In April 2006, NoTW had to pay £100,000 as compensation to England footballer Wayne Rooney
for publishing false news that claimed Rooney had slapped Coleen (then his fi ancée and now his wife).34
In 2006, England footballer Ashley Cole received £100,000 as damages from NoTW and The Sun
(sister paper of NoTW) for a libel news article against him, which alleged Cole of using cell phone in place of gay sex toy and this news was published a week before his marriage to pop star Cheryl Tweedy.35
A “privacy invasion” case was fi led against NoTW by Max Mosley, President of the Fédération
Internationale de l’Automobile, alleging him of being involved in sadomasochistic sex with various prostitutes by NoTW. The result was declared in favor of Mosley and he was awarded approxi- mately £60,000 in damages.36
In June 2011, Pakistani cricketer Yasir Hameed was declared victorious by the UK Press Com-
plaint Commission (PCC) and NoTW was ordered to remove articles from its website related to match-fi xing allegations on Hameed.37
Also in 2011, NoTW had to settle a law suit fi led against them by footballer Artur Boruc, who
charged the newspaper of untrue allegations of him being unfaithful to his girlfriend. He was awarded £70,000 in damages.38
Many questions have been raised about the ethical practices followed by media companies after the phone-hacking scandal of NoTW. A lot of fi ngers have been raised at the world of journalism about the practices by print journalists.
The very same readers of the NoTW asked uncomfortable questions about substituting responsible journalism with gossip and sensationalism. They said that NoTW used to manufacture controversy.
At one end, everyone accused Murdoch of building a dishonest and corrupt media empire by hav- ing the kinds of NoTW under his ownership and at the other end there are newspapers such as the New York Post and The Wall Street Journal, which are known for their responsible journalism (he owns these too).
Murdoch has been criticized for favoring politicians and promoting his political and fi nancial inter- ests by using his publications as aide. The phone-hacking episode, which was done on a large scale, portrays a very dismal picture of the entire print industry. Murdoch is known for establishing such culture in the newsroom. He believed in doing whatever it takes to destroy the competition. The ends seemed to justify the means for him.
Journalistic approach of such newspapers suggests that there has been a shift from the traditional ethics of journalism. Serious questions have been raised about privacy, confi dentiality and freedom of speech. The old journalistic maxim of “Get it fi rst. But fi rst, get it right” speaks for accurate and com- petitive reporting. But it fails to address the situation where information is obtained in an unethical way or by illegal means.
Post the closure of his scandal-laden tabloid, as Murdoch fi ghts for his reputation, it is hard to believe that he also owns Zondervan, the world’s largest publisher of Bibles39 (HarperCollins Publishers, owned by News Corp.).
The whole world of journalism is tainted when we stoop to such unlawful tactics. Traditional values like honesty, compassion and striving to provide readers with credible information should be cherished.
Many employees of NoTW lost their jobs at the expense of actions of a few people higher in the leader- ship ladder.
Media companies deserve to make money, but they also deserve to serve their readers, listeners or viewers in a legal way that allows them to make informed choices.
Some Sense Prevails – A New Manifesto for Media Ethics
After the scandal, the entire print and media industry was being looked down upon. To put to rest any further doubts, David Cameron promised an investigation into media ethics.40
He chalked out a comprehensive plan for an independent investigation into media ethics and stan- dards. This step has set off alarm bells regarding the impact of imposition of state regulation on the free press.
If we talk about “ethics,” we have to talk about the paradigm of right and wrong and not just about standards. The most important question is – “Where to draw the line?”
39 http://blackchristiannews.com/news/2011/07/media-man-rupert-murdoch-also-owns-zondervan-the-worlds- largest-publisher-of-bibles.html
40 http://www.mippin.com/mip/plus/story.jsp?&id=42027&c=1&s=5&pv=0&sid=348348595&cat=News&chec k=1&z=1@1315757583739236
News of the World 97
EXHIBIT I: The first edition of the News of the World published on 1 October 1843
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/gallery/2011/jul/08/history-news-of-the-world
EXHIBIT II: The last edition of the NoTW published on 10 July 2011
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/jul/09/news-of-the-world-thank-you-and-goodbye
8_News ot the World.indd 97
8_News ot the World.indd 97 6/5/2012 5:53:35 PM6/5/2012 5:53:35 PM
EXHIBIT III: Sales figures (approx.) of NoTW
Continuosly Increasing Sales
Times Sales/week
At Launch 12000 (approx.)
1880s 30000 (approx.)
Early 1910s 2 million (approx.) Early 1920s 3 million (approx.) Late 1930s 4 million (approx.)
By 1950 8.4 million (approx.)
Compiled by the authors from various published secondary sources
EXHIBIT IV: Dropping sales figures
5
Circulation(millions)
4
3
2
1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
6 7
News of the World circulation
Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/phone-hacking/8624228/Phone-hacking-a-brief- history-of-the-News-of-the-World.html
News of the World 99
EXHIBIT V: Companies owned by News Corp.
Source: http://www.huffi ngtonpost.com/magda-abufadil/murdoch-targets-abu-dhabi_b_498396.html
EXHIBIT VI: News Corp.’s global presence
Source: http://readyfortheshift.com/category/disclosure/rupert-murdoch/
8_News ot the World.indd 99
8_News ot the World.indd 99 6/5/2012 5:53:36 PM6/5/2012 5:53:36 PM
EXHIBIT VII: Key figures in the saga
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/07/08/world/europe/20110708-key-players-in-the- phone-hacking-scandal.html
The corporate governance committee did not bother to have a discussion with me while considering the issues that were originally raised by me. I am in a minority when it comes to issues like corporate governance, transparency as well as rewarding shareholders.
–Anil Dhirubhai Ambani
INTRODUCTION
Dhirubhai H. Ambani in 1932 founded Reliance, and today it is one of the largest conglomerates in the private sector. It initially started as a textile company and today, with the aid of backward vertical integration, it has entered into polyester, fi bres, plastics, petrochemicals, petroleum refi ning and oil and gas exploration and production, etc.