God, those NoW journos were utter scum weren't they?

[headfairy]

apparently by deleting Milly's messages her family still had some hope that she might still be alive

Well, if you listen to Roger Alton, Brian, ^ upthread, then Mumsnet have the power to do it alone.

And, are we saying that the reason the government/s have never gone after NI or investigated too hard is because they were scared of being the target of NI stories for the next 3 years??

Lady I saw that last night, thought he was drunk

now ladies we have been told.can we stop messing about in mens business and get back to the kitchen - that shortbread doesn't make itself

Have just completed the MN Census. Figure that if MNHQ are in for some flack, it is important they have a good idea of who they have posting on here.

apologies if this has already been linked, I havent read all 64 pages of this thread, but here is Steve Coogan ripping into The News Of the World

5 millions copies of the last NOTW being printed, in anticipation of 'everyone' wanting a piece of the last ever edition. From a distribution of under 3million, we are suddenly getting more off the print, despite the revulsion over what NOTW did and stands for? Eh?

It will be interesting to see how many copies are bought.

It'll be a sell out. Guaranteed.

The public are a fickle lot aren't we? Not a soul admits to wanting to buy it this weekend due to the whole hacking murdered teenager's phone scandal, and now a few poor journalists are sacked, suddenly 'everyone' gets all nostalgic over the scum?

Here's hoping that it makes a nice bonfire when all the unsold copies are sent back.

Oh yawwwwwn hammybobs - a part of fleet street history is disappearing.

"a part of fleet street history is disappearing."

and thank fuck for that.

Of course it will be replaced by another peddlar of bullshit, but it's no reason to not happily wave goodbye to this one.

Am also a bit surprised at how gutter press can also claim to have suddenly a whole breed of brave investigative and principled journalist who will be losing their jobs. In any event it's called a free market, you know, the one that NI have been wishing to twist?

Fleet street fucked off years ago didnt it?

Remind me how that happened....

Steve Coogan had it about right didn't he, mummyabroad? All the news progs have been wheeling out Paul McMullen all week and that's the first time I'd seen anyone really challenge him. He just looked ridiculous.

I agree with you Hammybobs - all those poor decent journalists losing their jobs bollox. They'll all be working on the Sun within weeks. Good riddance to a crap rag I say.

I agree with Will Self. We have an insatiable appetite for this garbage in this country. We love tittle tattle and push the sources to the back of our minds. A 'source' and a 'friend' rarely are. Where do you think they get all this info if not from underhand sources. All this is playing right into Murdochs hands. There will definitely be other papers exposed and while all eyes are on them Bsky Bs share price has tanked and he will buy it at a vastly reduced £.

Apologies nancy if I'm keeping you awake. Have a coffee if it'll stifle those yawns

COogan was great. He was so clearly incandescent, his slight lack of articulacy can be overlooked.

Anybody got a link to Justine or Will Self?

I don't think Coogan was good at all. Incandesent yes, but it looked like an angry little school boy, hadn't prepared for this event and said nothing that any casual observer couldn't have said. Wasn't cutting enough about McMullen, (unlike Grant who advised him he should try journalism) and appeared to be there just to work out his own anger rather than grasping the position he had on behalf of everyone else.

I agree awesome I like Steve Coogan as a comedian but he came across terrible. Especially when the journo mentioned cocaine and cheating on your wife! He was out of his depth and squirming like an angry school bot y with plenty of ire but no real argument to back it up

Do you think that as NOTW has folded and has no share value and subsequently no £ (in legal terms) it can't be sued a la Sienna Miller etc? Because she got 100k and if all those hacked followed it would be a mighty bill

I think Coogan did a better job on McMullen than Greg Dyke did and indeed anyone else I've seen interviewed with him this week.

I also don't buy this line that we (the public) pushed and pushed for more salacious stories which meant these poor hardworking journalists had to look for ever more extreme sources. I've always been of the understanding that slebs plant many of these stories themselves, and a fair few who had been hacked seemed to be happy to settle out of court (and accept a job writing a column for these rags). But it never occurred to me that these lowlife journos would be hacking into the phones of murder victims and their families. I didn't create that market, the journos and their bosses did.

I think if people just wanted 'news' there are plenty of papers that are just that. But this country thrives on Hello Ok X factor Big Brother etc etc and has an insatiable appetite for this crap. I agree that the hacking of MDs phone is low but tbh once you have stooped to hacking I think its no holds barred in that world.

I don't think it works like that. IT was NI as the publisher that paid out, rather hthan the NOWT. The journos are sort of indemnified re prosecution - that's why they have a legal team reding stuff over.
I may be wrong here and someone will come along and tell me I am talknig a load of old bollocks and I really should be a tabloid reporter.