You build an empire. You put in blood, sweat and toil. Hire the best and demand the best. You build an impregnable fortress. The world becomes your ocean. Suddenly, with a twitch of a finger, it’s all gone. When the stakes are that high, all it takes is one mistake.
Rupert Murdoch’s empire covered the continents. He was the toast of the town. Sought after by world leaders, celebrities, everything you can think of. His influence and access are second to none. Today, all that is at stake. A lifetime at a standstill.
That one newspaper, a Sunday tabloid, boasting three and a half million readers in 2006, led opinion in the UK by exposing everything that could be exposed. Ethics behind the coverage were always considered to be within the limit of public norms but the connections and the network kept it afloat. One can say in retrospect that this was bound to happen but the extent of the impact has rocked the world at large.
Not only is the paper no more but the aftermath is just beginning. The focus is now on the extent of the violations, the depth of which cannot even be imagined. And it isn’t governments or leaders that have the giant stumbling but the unethical coverage of a thirteen year old’s murder whereby messages from her cellphone were deleted by unauthorised hacking that mislead her parents into believing that she was still alive. It was the peoples’ revulsion that finally brought the News of the World to its knees.
Today, Murdoch is being summoned to parliament along with Rebekka Brooks, his CEO to be questioned not entertained as before. Its rare, almost unknown, to have a man of this station in the dock. Prime Minister Cameron has launched a high profile investigation into allegations that will undoubtedly embarrass the police, parliamentarians and governments that permitted the outrage for at least the last decade.
Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s phones were hacked too, it is now revealed. The medical records of his incapacitated young son were obtained unethically. All this while Brown enjoyed an excellent relationship with both Murdoch and Brooks and was often in their company. He was one among many, it is alleged.
Criminal charges, if any, that may come about as a result will have substantial repercussions. American Law, under which Murdoch’s News Corporation falls as it is registered in the US, states that if any US registered corporation is found guilty internationally of criminal violations, its executives are liable to prosecution in the United States. Jay Rockefeller has already asked the US government to investigate whether telephones of important dignitaries and also families of victims of 9/11 were hacked. Murdoch owns Fox News in the US.
Murdoch’s ever expanding empire has also been compelled to withdraw its bid to take over complete ownership of the satellite giant BSkyB, of which he is already has a significant share. In a nutshell, Murdoch is trapped in what now appears to be an inescapable quagmire.
Will the press at large be chastened? This is a question that still needs to be answered. That all of this has taken place in a country, or perhaps countries, where the rule of law is strongly implemented makes it all the more shocking. That it has continued unabated despite is even more so.
There are few doubts that the press has flagrantly tested the limits of propriety with increasing irresponsibility. Codes and norms are continuously violated with little or no repercussions simply because of its power to hold all and sundry to bay.
One must therefore stand in salute to a system that can bring to book a news empire that encompasses the world literally. Murdoch’s influence in the UK is immeasurable, perhaps to a lesser extent in the US where there are three hundred million people and multiple regional newspapers. Even on the East Coast, his New York Post competes with The NY Times and The Washington Post. But his access is enormous everywhere.
Certainly, this event will lead to introspection, or at least one hopes so. One fact is clear though. Malpractice in dispensation of news that will misdirect investigations and influence them negatively is highly deplorable. And it is clear that this can only be fought by the reaction of the public. High profile figures need the press for their projection and to use to their other multiple benefits. We cannot rely on them to curtail the activities unless they are cornered, such as now.
A decade of writing and media work has instilled in my vocabulary many words that I would ordinarily never have used. In covering any news, one has to portray the event as facts and state, of course adding your opinion, and according benefit of the doubt, if any. The exhilaration at exposing a scandal pumps an incredible amount of adrenalin. This is where one needs to stop and think. The damage one can cause is immense, sometimes irreparable. Peoples’ power has had a giant stumbling. It will walk again, disgraced albeit.
The writer can be contacted at imranmhusain@me.com