Murdoch's World: The Last of the Old Media Empires
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Page 170 proved that Lord Jeffrey Archer . . . had perjured himself: “Archer Jailed for Perjury,” BBC News, July 19, 2001; personal biography, Neville Thurlbeck.com.
Page 170 Caught on video pleasuring himself: Peter Burden, “Neville ‘Onan the Barbarian’ Thurlbeck—Not Hard at Work,” www.peterburden.net/archives/900.
Page 170 blackmailed women who had taken part in a sex party: Neville Thurlbeck, testimony to Leveson Inquiry, December 12, 2011, morning session.
Page 170 John Lyndon of the Surrey police wrote in a private note: DCI John Macdonald, witness statement to Leveson Inquiry, quoting Lyndon’s contemporaneous notes from April 23, 2002.
Page 171 the Times of London reported police had been given evidence: Sean O’Neill and Roland Watson, “Hacking: Coulson Authorized Payments to Police for Stories,” Times of London, July 6, 2011.
Page 171 Sir Paul Stephenson . . . disclosed: Statement from Sir Paul Stephenson, Metropolitan Police Commissioner, July 6, 2011.
Page 171 members of Parliament bluntly questioned Hayman: Andy Hayman, testimony before House of Commons Select Committee on Home Affairs, July 12, 2011.
Page 172 real money never changed hands: Roy Greenslade, interview by author.
Page 173 After a review of the past inquiry: Statement by Assistant Commissioner John Yates, July 9, 2009.
Page 173 Andy Hayman chimed in with supportive columns: Andrew Hayman, “News of the World Investigation Was No Half-Hearted Affair,” Times of London, July 12, 2009; Hayman’s column also ran in News of the World.
Page 173 Prescott had been repeatedly told: “John Prescott on News of the World Phone Hacking Payout,” Hull Daily Mail, January 19, 2012.
Page 174 Yates clung to the justification: Nick Davies, “Phone Hacking: Met Police Put on Spot by Ignored Leads and Discreet Omissions,” Guardian, September 5, 2010.
Page 174 repeatedly dined with editors: Nick McDermott and Michael Seamark, “Time to Call In Those Bottles of Champagne,” Daily Mail, March 1, 2012.
Page 174 The News of the World felt it had an inside line: Lucy Panton, witness statement, Leveson Inquiry, April 3, 2012.
Page 175 “Bit of advice, plse”: “Investigation into the Involvement and Actions of Assistant Commissioner John Yates in the Recruitment Process of the Daughter of Neil Wallis,” Independent Police Complaints Commission, April 12, 2012.
Page 175 “stories that came from police force employees”: Paul McMullan, interview by author.
Page 176 the Sun’s black tie affair at the five-star Savoy Hotel: Jenna Sloan, “PM Told Me He Was Busy. I Said, ‘Do You Have to Shoot Off?’” Sun, July 9, 2011.
Page 176 Andy Coulson . . . was arrested on charges: Sandra Laville, “Andy Coulson Arrested over Phone Hacking Allegations,” Guardian, July 8, 2011.
Page 176 a luxury spa and retreat: Nick McDermott and Michael Seamark, “Time to Call In Those Bottles of Champagne,” Daily Mail, March 1, 2012.
Chapter 14
The history of the News of the World and the Sun under Murdoch set forth in this section is greatly informed by interviews with such former Murdoch editors as Ken Chandler, Roy Greenslade, Andrew Jaspan, Simon Jenkins, Kelvin MacKenzie, and Andrew Neil; by Leveson testimony from various past Murdoch editors; by statements by Rupert Murdoch in documentaries and other settings; and by such books as Shawcross, Murdoch; Wolff, The Man Who Owns the News; and Chippindale and Horrie, Stick It Up Your Punter!
Page 177 “David was in great form”: Leveson Inquiry, exhibit FM 13.
Page 177 Cameron saw Rupert Murdoch twice more: Leveson Inquiry, exhibit KRM 27.
Page 177 Rebekah Brooks had emailed Michel: Leveson Inquiry, exhibit FM 6.
Page 178 Michel was puffing up his role: An entire exhibit of evidence compared emails Michel sent quoting statements supposedly from culture minister Jeremy Hunt that had been conveyed in emails and text messages by his special adviser, Adam Smith. Leveson Inquiry, exhibit FM 1.
Page 178 Michel texted Hunt: Leveson Inquiry, exhibit FM 8.
Page 178 companies withdrew their ads: Laura Smith-Spark, “Firms Reconsider Ad Deals over Newspaper Hacking Scandal,” CNN.com, July 7, 2011; “Ad Pressure Eases as NOTW Calls It a Day,” Grocer, July 9, 2011.
Page 178 memo assuring staffers: “Full Text of Rebekah Brooks’ Email to News International Staff,” New Statesman, July 5, 2011.
Page 179 Cameron told MPs in the House of Commons: House of Commons, Oral Answers to Questions (Commonly called Prime Minister’s Questions), July 6, 2011.
Page 180 Tory MP Zac Goldsmith said: House of Commons Official Report, House of Commons debates, July 6, 2011.
Page 180 a dissonant vote of support: “Statement from Rupert Murdoch, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, News Corporation,” press release, July 6, 2011.
Page 180 “These were not the actions of a ‘rogue’”: Edward Miliband, in House of Commons, Oral Answers to Questions, July 6, 2011.
Page 181 Both Bertin and Michel ended their texts: Leveson Inquiry, exhibit FM 14, for this and subsequent texts between Fred Michel and Gabby Bertin.
Page 181 “Hey buddy. Are you guys still on for dinner”: Leveson Inquiry, exhibit FM 13, for this and subsequent texts between Fred Michel and Craig Oliver.
Page 181 “They’ve used their power”: Simon Kelner, interview by author.
Page 182 The Telegraph reported that the tabloid had hacked: Duncan Gardham, “News of the World: Bereaved Relatives of 7/7 Victims Had Phones Hacked,” Telegraph, July 5, 2011.
Page 182 he picked up a woman who had become a prostitute: Johnson, Hack, Kindle edition, Locations 2532–2771.
Page 183 his exposés largely created the scandals he revealed: Mahmood, Confessions of a Fake Sheik.
Page 183 he announced the company would kill the paper: “James Murdoch, Deputy Chief Operating Officer, News Corporation, and Chairman, News International, Statement on News of the World,” press release, July 7, 2011.
Page 183 the Telegraph headlined its front-page story: “Goodbye, Cruel World,” Telegraph, July 8, 2011.
Page 184 “We should see this for what it is”: Hugh Grant, BBC Question Time, July 7, 2011.
Page 184 “a straightforward commercial reason”: Author’s interview with Simon Jenkins.
Page 184 News Corp was swimming in debt: Shawcross, Murdoch, p. 360. Australian financial investigative journalist Neil Chenoweth provides a different gloss in his book Rupert Murdoch on pp. 83–86. Drawing in part on the work of another Australian newspaper reporter, he makes a strong circumstantial case that the loan Murdoch so coveted was not to cover the company’s debts but to pay off Murdoch family debt stemming from a private investment in a newspaper company in Queensland, Australia. If true, the mixture of corporate and personal ends that Chenoweth’s account strongly suggests reflects an early episode where the corporation’s fate hinged on decisions taken to benefit the family’s private interests.
Page 184 the company’s executives had to shift strategies: Author’s interviews with Andrew Neil and a former News Corp executive.
Chapter 15
Page 186 Brooks (then Rebekah Wade) was arrested: “Kemp’s Wife Wade Plays Down Row,” BBC News, November 4, 2005.
Page 186 befriended Blair, his wife, Cherie: Peter Oborne, “The Great Murdoch Conspiracy,” Telegraph, July 14, 2011.
Page 186 Rebekah soon took up: Roy Greenslade, “Rebekah’s World: Lunch in Venice, Dinner at Wiltons, Weekends with the Oxfordshire Set,” Guardian, June 5, 2009; Andy McSmith, “Behind Murdoch’s Throne: The Story of Rebekah Brooks,” Independent, July 6, 2011.
Page 187 Cameron flew on the private plane: Rupert Murdoch, testimony, Leveson Inquiry, April 25, 2012, afternoon session.
Page 187 “fast unpredictable and hard to control”: Simon Walters, “Cameron’s Horseplay Texts with Rebekah Brooks,” Mail on Sunday, November 3, 2012.
Page 187 “brilliant speech. I cried twice”: That and subsequent text message cited read as part of testimo
ny of Rebekah Brooks before the Leveson Inquiry, May 11, 2012, morning session.
Page 187 Colin Myler called in Neville Thurlbeck: Neville Thurlbeck, letter to John Whittingdale MP, November 11, 2011.
Page 187 no cause for concern . . . good enough for them: Two former News Corp executives, interview by author.
Page 188 she watched Cameron on a TV monitor: This scene is drawn from a visit to the Times of London newsroom by the author in December 2010.
Page 188 Rupert Murdoch had one overriding concern: Two people with contemporaneous knowledge of Murdoch’s intent, interview by author.
Page 189 a quiet anger: Three former News Corp officials, interview by author.
Page 189 the Post did not engage in the self-reflection: An associate of Rupert Murdoch, interview by author.
Page 189 multimillion-pound townhouse: Much of this passage is informed by Greg Farrell et al., “Dinner at Rupert’s,” Bloomberg Businessweek, February 9, 2012. It is supplemented by author’s interviews with two people having contemporaneous knowledge of the event and the company’s legal strategy.
Page 190 “I am satisfied that Rebekah”: “James Murdoch, Deputy Chief Operating Officer, News Corporation, and Chairman, News International, Statement on News of the World,” press release, July 7, 2011.
Page 190 “onslaught of attacks”: “Audio of Brooks Meeting NOTW Staff,” Sky News, July 9, 2011, serves as the source of her remarks, and those of reporters, at that session.
Page 192 Contrition proved the order of the day: “David Cameron’s Statement on Phone Hacking: The Full Text,” Guardian, July 8, 2011.
Page 192 eased Brooks from the role: News Corp executive, interview by author.
Page 192 to destroy millions of emails: Nick Davies and Amelia Hill, “Phone Hacking: Police Probe Suspected Deletion of Emails by NI Executive,” Guardian, July 8, 2011.
Page 192 Rupert Murdoch flew to London: “Thank You and Goodbye: Last Ever News of the World Goes to Print,” Daily Mail, July 10, 2011.
Page 192 “This one,” gesturing with his thumb: Lisa O’Carroll, “Rebekah Brooks: Where It All Went Wrong,” Guardian, July 15, 2011.
Page 193 News Corp . . . pulled its promise: “News Corporation Withdraws Proposed Undertakings in Lieu of Reference with Respect to Its Proposed Acquisition of BSkyB,” press release, July 11, 2011.
Page 193 Hunt referred the decision: Hunt’s decision as reproduced in Leveson Inquiry, exhibit KRM 17.
Page 193 the Murdochs blinked: “News Corporation Withdraws Proposed Offer for British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC,” press release, July 13, 2011.
Page 194 “root-and-branch”: Cameron, addressing House of Commons. As quoted in David Folkenflik, “Murdoch Withdraws Bid for BSkyB,” All Things Considered, July 13, 2011.
Page 194 Gordon Brown declared: “Gordon Brown Attacks News International Tactics,” BBCNews.com, July 12, 2011; “Gordon Brown Condemns NI ‘Lawbreakers,’” Independent, July 13, 2011.
Page 194 the Saudi prince Al Waleed bin Talal: “News Corp Major Shareholder Has No Plans to Sell Stake,” BBC News, July 14, 2011.
Page 194 seepage to the States: David Collins and Tom McTague, “She’s My No. 1,” Daily Mirror, July 11, 2011.
Page 195 King wrote to FBI director: “King Demands Investigation into Claims of Hacking of 9/11 Victims,” press release, July 13, 2011.
Page 195 lawyers for News Corp: Two News Corp officials and two lawyers familiar with the case, interview by author.
Page 196 Ted Kennedy inserted language . . . the Herald retaliated: Former Boston Herald publisher Ken Chandler and two former Kennedy aides, interview by author.
Page 196 the FCC gave Murdoch yet another waiver: David Andelman, “FCC Poised to Let Murdoch Buy Ch. 9,” New York Daily News, July 21, 2001; Andrew Jay Schwartzman, interview by author.
Page 196 the possibility of prosecution: This passage is informed by the insight on the Federal Corrupt Practices Act gained by author’s interviews with John Coffee, director of Columbia University law school’s Center on Corporate Governance; Alexandra Wrage, president of corporate compliance firm Trace; and Charles Elson, director of the University of Delaware’s Center for Corporate Governance, among others.
Page 197 an already planned stock buy-back program: “News Corporation Announces Stock Repurchase Program of $5 Billion,” News Corp press release, July 12, 2011.
Page 197 MPs . . . were angered again: Video of John Whittingdale MP statement to reporters, as reproduced at “John Whittingdale: ‘Rupert Murdoch Has Been Summoned,’” Telegraph.co.uk, July 14, 2011.
Page 198 Brooks and Hinton resigned: “A Message from Rebekah Brooks on Her Departure from News International,” News Corp press release, July 15, 2011; “A Message from James Murdoch on Issues at News International,” News Corp press release, July 15, 2011; “Les Hinton, Chief Executive Officer of Dow Jones & Company and Publisher of the Wall Street Journal, Resigns from Company,” News Corp press release, July 15, 2011; “A Note from Rupert Murdoch Regarding the Resignation of Les Hinton,” News Corp press release, July 15, 2011.
Page 198 “a joke within News Corp”: Former News Corp executive, interview by author.
Chapter 16
Page 200 Police arrested Rebekah Brooks: “Rebekah Brooks Arrested by Hacking Police,” BBC News, July 17, 2011; Helen Lewis, “The Intriguing Timing of Rebekah Brooks’ Arrest,” New Statesman, July 17, 2011.
Page 200 a confrontation between Charlie Brooks and security guards: Amelia Hill, “Police Examine Bag in Bin Found Near Rebekah Brooks’ Home,” Guardian, July 18, 2011; Sam Greenhill, “Brooks and Mystery of Dumped Bag,” Daily Mail, July 19, 2011; Paul Sonne, “Brooks’ Husband’s Laptop Found in Garage,” Wall Street Journal, July 19, 2011; Martin Evans, “Phone Hacking: Brooks’ Husband Denies Cover Up After Bag Found Near Flat,” Telegraph, July 20, 2011.
Page 201 Rupert Murdoch had personally called Klein: Joel Klein, interview by author; David Folkenflik, “News Corp Education Tablet: For the Love of Learning?” Morning Edition, March 18, 2013.
Page 201 His compensation was worth: Klein’s compensation taken from News Corp filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Form 10-Q (Quarterly Report), filed May 5, 2011.
Page 202 he needed to salvage his career: Two former News Corp executives and former Sunday Times editor and Sky executive Andrew Neil, interviews by author.
Page 202 James Murdoch first attempted: Rupert Murdoch and James Murdoch, testimony, House of Commons Select Committee on Culture, Media, and Sport, July 19, 2011. Video: www.parliamentlive.tv/Main/Player.aspx?meetingId=8910&st=14:35:25. All subsequent quotations from the two Murdochs and the MPs questioning them at that hearing contained in this chapter can be found there as well.
Page 203 new team of crisis management experts: Ian Burrell, “Team Murdoch: The Men Coaching Rupert for his Date with MPs,” Independent, July 18, 2011; Paul Thomasch, “Murdoch Turns to PR Elite for Crisis Control,” Reuters, July 19, 2011.
Page 204 Louise Mensch was someone: Louise Mensch MP, interview by author.
Page 204 who came up in the Murdoch tabloids: David Folkenflik, “CNN’s Morgan Under Pressure Amid Hacking Scandal,” All Things Considered, August 5, 2011.
Page 205 Tom Watson emerged: Tom Watson MP, interview by author; Jon Bernstein, “The Politics Interview: Tom Watson,” New Statesman, September 28, 2011.
Page 205 a “Sun on Sunday” had been under consideration: Lara O’Reilly, “Sun on Sunday Set for Launch Following NOTW Closure,” Marketing Week, July 8, 2011.
Page 206 separate secret settlement: Nick Davies and Rob Evans, “Max Clifford Drops News of the World Phone Hacking Action in £1 Million Deal,” Guardian, March 9, 2010.
Page 207 middle school instructor: David Eimer, “Meet the Man Who Taught Wendi Deng the ‘Spike’ That Saved Husband Rupert Murdoch from a Foam Pie,” Telegraph, July 23, 2011.
Page 207 Deng Wen Ge (her given name): Eric Ellis, “Wendi Deng Murdoch,” The Monthl
y (Australia), June 2007.
Page 207 twenty-six-year-old stand-up comic: Mimi Turner, “Murdoch Pie Man Convicted: ‘Most Humble Day of My Life,’” Hollywood Reporter, July 29, 2011.
Page 208 News Corp moved swiftly: Patricia Hurtado and Tom Schoenberg, “News Corp Independent Directors Hire Debevoise Law Firm,” Bloomberg News, July 19, 2011; “Management and Standards Committee Publishes Terms of Reference,” News Corp press release, July 21, 2011.
Page 208 “pretty much assembled a dream team”: John Coffee, interview by author.
Page 208 Colin Myler, had seethed: Michael Rundle, “Watch: News of the World Editor Colin Myler Leads Out Staff After Final Edition Published,” Huffington Post, July 9, 2011.
Page 209 along with Tom Crone, Myler decided to make a public break: Lisa O’Carroll and Patrick Wintour, “James Murdoch Misled MPs, Say Former NOTW Editor and Lawyer,” Guardian, July 21, 2011.
Chapter 17
Chapters 17–18, which describe events that took place within the Wall Street Journal, are based on interviews conducted by the author with more than two dozen current and former Journal (and Dow Jones) executives, editors, and reporters as well as several people at competing newspapers. Many of those who chose to speak with me did so on condition that I not name them directly. A smaller number were interviewed on the record by name. Many who worked at the Journal said they could not speak by name because the Journal had not authorized them to do so. Others who now work elsewhere said they might have to work at the Journal or Dow Jones again in the future and did not want to poison relations with the Journal’s leadership. Their widely shared concern was a testament to their concern over retribution and their belief that, whatever their misgivings, Murdoch’s News Corp has provided a haven for reporters amid tumultuous financial times for the industry.
Richard Tofel’s Restless Genius provides invaluable insight into the paper’s storied past, while Sarah Ellison’s War at the Wall Street Journal offers a compelling account of the courtship that led to Murdoch’s acquisition of the paper. Wolff’s Man Who Owns the News is a particularly entertaining and revealing earlier look at the family and its dynamics by an author who had exceptional access to the Murdochs and their inner circle in the lead-up to the purchase of Dow Jones.