PHONE HACKING It Was The Sun Wot Dun It court told

Incredible that it's 7.5 YEARS since a panicked Murdoch closed the News of the World in the face of mainstream public fury over Milly Dowler and successful online campaigns to threaten advertisers with boycotts while they continued to place ads in the paper.

Murdoch was forced to put a humble face on, notably in his appearance before a parliamentary committee (when then wife Wendi Deng saved him from a custard pie!!!).

Nonetheless, as the issue has largely lost its heat, with advertisers free to finance the replacement Sun on Sunday without boycott threats and the Leveson proposals for a relatively mild toughening of press regulation largely defeated, with the support of the Tory government (and press!), and only the Labour opposition advocating following Leveson, it seems Murdoch has come through the crisis rather well.

He was forced by US shareholders to split the then toxic (and less profitable) print division from the film and TV wing, but this court case, which I'd bet will receive little if any coverage in the right-wing press (ie, most of it!) and therefore is less likely to become a broadcast (radio, TV) news agenda item either.

Phone hacking was widespread at the Sun, high court told https://www.theguardian.com/media/2019/jan/22/phone-hacking-was-widespread-at-the-sun-high-court-told?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Blogger

Again, I doubt rival right-wing papers will cover or give prominence to this news story, which is in the top ten news stories in the Guardian mobile app this morning (so TWO headline stories on Murdoch!), but here's a reminder of Murdoch's alleged removal of an Australian PM. At least the second one he's accused of successfully plotting to undemocratically remove!

Lachlan Murdoch denies father Rupert ever said Malcolm Turnbull has 'got to go'

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2019/jan/23/lachlan-murdoch-denies-father-tried-to-get-rid-of-malcolm-turnbull?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Copy_to_clipboard