‘Rupert Murdoch’s arrogant empire must be reined in’ – The Observer
One of a number of pieces about the News of the World phone hacking scandal in The Guardian’s sister paper today. Campaigning journalist Henry Porter draws our attention to the ‘bigger picture’, reminding us that this story is about much more than one high profile individual. It is about more than celebrities having their phones hacked too; ordinary people routinely suffer far worse, as Christopher Jefferies can testify. And it is now emerging that more papers could be sued by people whose privacy has been trampled over. This story is not going away any time soon.
‘Au Revoir Andy Coulson’ – Adam Boulton
Sky News’ political heavyweight Boulton pays tribute to Coulson on his blog (which is on the broadcaster’s website). He says he found Andy Coulson ‘one of the most straight-dealing, effective and constructive’ communications chiefs he had worked with in Downing Street. He also makes the point: “Two important sectors of our society now feel under a great deal of pressure, beset by plunging fortunes and public esteem: newspapers and politicians. As they go down they are turning in on each other with increasing viciousness – politician against journalist, politician against polititian [sic], journalist against journalist.
“Dog eat dog.”
After Coulson, Downing Street should make four strategic shifts in communications strategy – ConservativeHome
Conservative blogger Tim Montgomerie outlines the key communication priorities for the Government. His first is contains the most interesting call to action: “Downing Street needs a communications unit that has three or four big goals and works each and every day to achieve those goals – using beautiful images in the broadcast media, working with newspaper commentators, running internet-based campaigns and building relationships with the fifty most important third party actors in the subject area. Is a journalist, whose professional horizon is never much longer than 24 hours, the right person to deliver this communications strategy? Possibly but probably not.”