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Media Integrity > Published by Shamik Das, July 5th 2011 at 11:45 am

Why have none of the tabloids led on Milly phone hack scandal?

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Grubby newspaper investigators, clearly acting under orders of those above, hack into the voicemail of a missing schoolgirl - interfering in a criminal investigation - delete some messages, so they can listen to more, give the family of the missing schoolgirl false hope, then interview the parents of the schoolgirl, all so they can sell a few more copies of their rag.

A scandal, right? Worthy of coverage? Maybe even the chance for the paper’s stable mate and some of the other cheapsheets to say ‘sorry’ and take a long, hard, look at themselves?

Nope, not a bit of it…

Tabloid-front-pages-05-07-11-sans-Milly-Dowler-phone-hacking-scandal
It’s a story you definitely won’t read all about in any of this morning’s tabloids, who, in a risible, if totally expected conspiracy of silence, choose instead to lead on the relationship between a vain, vacuous ‘celebrity’ and a millionaire, (and the relationship between Ashley Cole and some singer), and, almost as an afterthought, the tragic death of a soldier in Afghanistan.

On last night’s Newsnight, Labour MP Tom Watson, who’s been leading the campaign for accountability for News International, said of the silence:

“Well, can you believe it… They were very happy to put the Dowler family on the front pages during the case.”

And of the wider scandal, he added:

“Well I think the PR people at News International have done quite a good job of persuading people this is just about celebrity tittle-tattle; that’s been disspelled tonight.

“Part of the problem is, I think many people in the country will just be learning this story because the other scandal about the scandal is newspapers of repute have refused to report the facts of the case as it’s been revealed through three parliamentary inquiries and three police inquiries.”

While looking ahead at the scandals yet to emerge, he revealed:

“A number of whistleblowers have talked to me, privately, and I think there is a very strong suspicion that at least one of the parents of the children that were murdered by Ian Huntley at Soham have also been a target of News of the World.”

Wider still, today’s Guardian reports that Colin Stagg, who was wrongly accused of murdering Rachel Nickell, is another victim of phone hacking.

Writing about the sheer magnitude of the scandal, and how press regulation can be reformed, Evgeny Lebedev says in The Guardian:

“This is one of the biggest scandals in public life for decades, and yet our response has been weak. The police have been slow to react, which may be linked to their close ties with those media companies. Sir Paul Stephenson, the commissioner of the Metropolitan police, recently said he would rather his men were investigating more serious crimes like robbery. But isn’t the theft of private information still theft?

“And if the Press Complaints Commission is fit for purpose, its recent conduct is not proof of that… I would like to take steps with other newspaper proprietors over the coming months to see if we can collectively improve things.

“Working with other owners, we can ensure that the regulations we have in place are more effective, that our laws catch up with the digital revolution, and that our journalists uphold the highest standards in ethical journalism. Nothing less than the reputation of Britain’s media is at stake.”

Writing in the Indy, meanwhile, Ian Burrell says Rebekah Brooks “has some explaining to do”:

“When Rebekah Brooks edited the News of the World, her time at the helm of Britain’s biggest tabloid was characterised by one issue above all others. The paper’s aggressive campaigning for a “Sarah’s Law”, designed to protect Britain’s young people from the clutches of predatory offenders, garnered international attention but provoked street riots as the public reacted to the tabloid’s policy of “naming and shaming” paedophiles.

“The campaign, which went to the heart of every parent’s greatest fear – the abduction of a child – was a response to the murder in 2000 of eight-year-old Sarah Payne by the serial offender Roy Whiting.

“But when another young girl, Milly Dowler, 13, went missing less than two years later it seems that the response of the News of the World was to hack into the voicemail of her mobile phone, almost certainly after Milly had been murdered by the serial killer Levi Bellfield. Those actions, including the deleting of messages, gave false hope to Milly’s parents that she was still alive and hampered the police’s investigation.”

And on the politics behind the scandal, Political Scrapbook reports that Brooks only survived as News of the World editor “after Cameron intervened with Murdoch”, while the BBC’s Business Editor Robert Peston says News Corporation may now face a “fit-and-proper test” which will determine whether it’s permitted to take control of BSkyB, an adjudication culture secretary Jeremy Hunt was due to make this week.

Much to report, many angles to pursue… are the tabloids so quiet because they’re complicit?

  • http://twitter.com/soisthesun/status/88198184643477504 soisthesun

    Why have none of the tabloids led on Milly phone hack scandal? http://bit.ly/kgRYvJ asks @ShamikDas #RebekahBrooksMustGo

  • http://twitter.com/shamikdas/status/88198667693064193 Shamik Das

    RT @leftfootfwd: Why have none of the tabloids led on Milly phone hack scandal? http://bit.ly/kgRYvJ asks @ShamikDas #RebekahBrooksMustGo

  • http://twitter.com/lefty_lisa/status/88198987772993536 Lisa

    #QTWTAIO RT @leftfootfwd: Why have none of the tabloids led on Milly phone hack scandal? http://bit.ly/kgRYvJ asks @ShamikDas

  • http://twitter.com/ruthfmaguire/status/88199453613367296 Ruth Maguire

    Why have none of the tabloids led on Milly phone hack scandal? http://bit.ly/kgRYvJ asks @ShamikDas #RebekahBrooksMustGo

  • http://twitter.com/c_a_jonestechno/status/88201846434443264 CAROLE JONES

    Why have none of the tabloids led on Milly phone hack scandal? http://bit.ly/kgRYvJ asks @ShamikDas #RebekahBrooksMustGo

  • http://twitter.com/double_karma/status/88201923471228928 Double.Karma

    Why have none of the tabloids led on Milly phone hack scandal? http://bit.ly/kgRYvJ asks @ShamikDas #RebekahBrooksMustGo

  • http://twitter.com/lucygreenwood/status/88202702353469440 Lucy Greenwood

    Why have none of the tabloids led on Milly phone hack scandal? http://t.co/CGA5lfx asks @ShamikDas #RebekahBrooksMustGo

  • http://twitter.com/luketnicholson/status/88204130761445378 Luke Nicholson

    RT @lucygreenwood: Why have none of the tabloids led on Milly phone hack scandal? http://bit.ly/kgRYvJ asks @ShamikDas #RebekahBrooksMustGo

  • http://twitter.com/natcatvincent/status/88204428942913536 Natalie Vincent

    Why have none of the tabloids led on Milly phone hack scandal?http://t.co/q5gs55U

  • http://twitter.com/adsharris/status/88205130452840448 Adam Nicky Harris

    Because they have all been at it? "RT @lucygreenwood: Why have none of the tabloids led on Milly phone hack scandal?" http://bit.ly/kgRYvJ

  • http://twitter.com/simonkillane/status/88209097035493376 Simon

    Why have none of the tabloids led on Milly phone hack scandal? http://t.co/sg5AaZ8

  • http://twitter.com/campbellletters/status/88209265784930304 Jim Campbell

    British tabloids. What an absolute fucking disgrace: http://j.mp/kpTvzi

  • http://twitter.com/drkmj/status/88210626798829568 DrKMJ

    RT @leftfootfwd: Why have none of the tabloids led on Milly phone hack scandal? http://bit.ly/kgRYvJ asks @ShamikDas #RebekahBrooksMustGo

  • http://twitter.com/freshwillwill/status/88218078869069824 Will fresh

    Why have none of the tabloids led on Milly phone hack scandal?: … of persuading people this is just about cele… http://bit.ly/iucxtS

  • http://twitter.com/gadstaa/status/88218323254386688 Gad Kuju

    Why have none of the tabloids led on Milly phone hack scandal? http://bit.ly/kgRYvJ asks @ShamikDas #RebekahBrooksMustGo

  • http://twitter.com/injculbard/status/88218874763415552 Ian Culbard

    No surprises here RT @CampbellLetters: British tabloids. What an absolute fucking disgrace: http://j.mp/kpTvzi

  • http://twitter.com/discordian1/status/88221133962350593 Discordian

    Why have none of the tabloids led on Milly phone hack scandal? http://t.co/EdvZhN7

  • http://twitter.com/avjax/status/88228349406748673 Andrew Jackson

    No surprises here RT @CampbellLetters: British tabloids. What an absolute fucking disgrace: http://j.mp/kpTvzi

  • http://twitter.com/jimboswellart/status/88229324674711552 Jim Boswell

    British tabloids. What an absolute fucking disgrace: http://j.mp/kpTvzi

  • http://twitter.com/wdjstraw/status/88231335860248577 Will Straw

    Despite leading BBC & all broadsheets, not a single tabloid has NOTW-Milly hack on their front page http://t.co/0IIZ1J9 #RebekahBrooksMustGo

  • http://twitter.com/sergecartwright/status/88231784684339202 Serge Cartwright

    Despite leading BBC & all broadsheets, not a single tabloid has NOTW-Milly hack on their front page http://t.co/0IIZ1J9 #RebekahBrooksMustGo

  • http://twitter.com/bloggerheads/status/88231830054121472 Tim Ireland

    Despite leading BBC & all broadsheets, not a single tabloid has NOTW-Milly hack on their front page http://t.co/0IIZ1J9 #RebekahBrooksMustGo

  • http://twitter.com/oliver_gbg/status/88231899625029632 Luke

    Despite leading BBC & all broadsheets, not a single tabloid has NOTW-Milly hack on their front page http://t.co/0IIZ1J9 #RebekahBrooksMustGo

  • http://twitter.com/paul_burgin/status/88232057028878336 Paul Burgin

    Despite leading BBC & all broadsheets, not a single tabloid has NOTW-Milly hack on their front page http://t.co/0IIZ1J9 #RebekahBrooksMustGo

  • http://twitter.com/thegraftonian/status/88232067795652608 Chris Wiggan

    Despite leading BBC & all broadsheets, not a single tabloid has NOTW-Milly hack on their front page http://t.co/0IIZ1J9 #RebekahBrooksMustGo

  • http://twitter.com/matthewsdent/status/88232149462949888 Matthew S. Dent

    Despite leading BBC & all broadsheets, not a single tabloid has NOTW-Milly hack on their front page http://t.co/0IIZ1J9 #RebekahBrooksMustGo

  • http://twitter.com/rattlecans/status/88232175211786241 Ma

    Despite leading BBC & all broadsheets, not a single tabloid has NOTW-Milly hack on their front page http://t.co/0IIZ1J9 #RebekahBrooksMustGo

  • http://twitter.com/juanleahy/status/88232309240770561 Juan Leahy

    Despite leading BBC & all broadsheets, not a single tabloid has NOTW-Milly hack on their front page http://t.co/0IIZ1J9 #RebekahBrooksMustGo

  • http://twitter.com/djsage86/status/88232394640998400 Daniel Sage

    Despite leading BBC & all broadsheets, not a single tabloid has NOTW-Milly hack on their front page http://t.co/0IIZ1J9 #RebekahBrooksMustGo

  • http://twitter.com/celebritybeef/status/88232419538374656 Celebrity Beef

    Why have none of the tabloids led on Milly phone hack scandal? http://bit.ly/jOtNwm

  • http://twitter.com/benadrylbrownie/status/88232815082217473 Chris Gill

    Despite leading BBC & all broadsheets, not a single tabloid has NOTW-Milly hack on their front page http://t.co/0IIZ1J9 #RebekahBrooksMustGo

  • http://twitter.com/ijw968/status/88233935414374400 Ivan Wintringham

    RT @wdjstraw: Despite leading BBC & all broadsheets, not a single tabloid has NOTW-Milly hack on their front page http://t.co/0IIZ1J9

  • http://twitter.com/fincasey/status/88234371999481856 Fin Casey

    Despite leading BBC & all broadsheets, not a single tabloid has NOTW-Milly hack on their front page http://t.co/0IIZ1J9 #RebekahBrooksMustGo

  • http://twitter.com/jamiesw/status/88234634109927424 JamieSW

    Despite leading BBC & all broadsheets, not a single tabloid has NOTW-Milly hack on their front page http://t.co/0IIZ1J9 #RebekahBrooksMustGo

  • http://twitter.com/chrisplol/status/88234713604571136 Chris Paul

    Despite leading BBC & all broadsheets, not a single tabloid has NOTW-Milly hack on their front page http://t.co/0IIZ1J9 #RebekahBrooksMustGo

  • http://twitter.com/neurophysman/status/88238314221617152 Stuart Smith

    Despite leading BBC & all broadsheets, not a single tabloid has NOTW-Milly hack on their front page http://t.co/0IIZ1J9 #RebekahBrooksMustGo

  • http://twitter.com/brixtonmark/status/88239308330377217 Mark Edward Wilson

    Despite leading BBC & all broadsheets, not a single tabloid has NOTW-Milly hack on their front page http://t.co/0IIZ1J9 #RebekahBrooksMustGo

  • Paul

    The guardian article which you link to features a different front page for the Daily Mail, which does include the story, see:
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/gallery/2011/jul/05/phone-hacking-newspapers#/?picture=376487789&index=3
    Which one went actually went to press?

    Also, if the Guardian is correct, your claim that you won’t read about the story in these tabloids is wrong in two more of the papers you show. According to The Guardian The Mirror features the story on page 6, and the Express does so on page 8. Yeah, it’s shameful that the story isn’t on the front page of all of these papers. But it’s also shameful that you are wrong about half of the six papers you mention.

  • Shamik Das

    It should have been on all the front pages, and it’s incredible that it wasn’t – and that it appears ther are some papers in which it isn’t mentioned at all. That, as Tom Watson says, is equally scandalous, and shameful.

  • Piers

    To be fair to the Metro, they’re owned by the Evening Standard and they’ll probably want to run something about the story tonight.

  • http://twitter.com/scrumpymoet/status/88249506738614273 Andrew Breading

    Despite leading BBC & all broadsheets, not a single tabloid has NOTW-Milly hack on their front page http://t.co/0IIZ1J9 #RebekahBrooksMustGo

  • http://twitter.com/hannah_claire_l/status/88253915891638273 Hannah lawrence

    Why have none of the tabloids led on Milly phone hack scandal? http://bit.ly/kgRYvJ asks @ShamikDas #RebekahBrooksMustGo

  • http://twitter.com/ninjathunder/status/88261664331399168 David Robinson

    Despite leading BBC & all broadsheets, not a single tabloid has NOTW-Milly hack on their front page http://t.co/0IIZ1J9 #RebekahBrooksMustGo

  • http://twitter.com/topheechrisp/status/88262854024773632 Chris Clarke

    Despite leading BBC & all broadsheets, not a single tabloid has NOTW-Milly hack on their front page http://t.co/0IIZ1J9 #RebekahBrooksMustGo

  • http://twitter.com/crosbietweets/status/88271426011938817 Paul Davies

    Despite leading BBC & all broadsheets, not a single tabloid has NOTW-Milly hack on their front page http://t.co/0IIZ1J9 #RebekahBrooksMustGo

  • http://twitter.com/meleeho/status/88283849712349184 Michelle Ho

    Despite leading BBC & all broadsheets, not a single tabloid has NOTW-Milly hack on their front page http://t.co/0IIZ1J9 #RebekahBrooksMustGo

  • http://twitter.com/blarti/status/88286376419794944 Blarty

    Despite leading BBC & all broadsheets, not a single tabloid has NOTW-Milly hack on their front page http://t.co/0IIZ1J9 #RebekahBrooksMustGo

  • http://twitter.com/meleeho/status/88297678366191616 Michelle Ho

    RT @leftfootfwd: Why have none of the tabloids led on Milly phone hack scandal? http://t.co/07zdSj5

  • http://twitter.com/joshualloyd85/status/88302744288501760 Joshua Lloyd

    @leftfootfwd. Tabloid coverage of Milly Dowler #phonehacking bombshell. Tom Watson does well. http://t.co/LtVq3Dh
    #notw

  • http://www.leftfootforward.org/2011/07/political-public-and-economic-screw-being-turned-on-notw/ Political, public and economic screw being turned on NotW | Left Foot Forward

    [...] pressure on the News of the World, News International and Rebekah Brooks over the phone hacking scandal will be ramped up today with the launch of a campaign for a public inquiry into phone [...]

  • http://twitter.com/gabrielapomeroy/status/88525096066621440 gabriela

    RT @leftfootfwd: Why have none of the tabloids led on Milly phone hack scandal? http://t.co/6zvtrWr

  • http://twitter.com/shamikdas/status/89103222303756288 Shamik Das

    Yep, as Michael Portillo said on #BBCtw, NONE of the tabloids led on the Milly phone hack scandal on Tuesday: http://bit.ly/kgRYvJ #NotW

  • http://www.leftfootforward.org/2011/07/the-sun-gordon-brown-invasion-of-privacy-rebekah-brooks-rupert-murdoch/ Yet again, the discredited Sun fails to report the main story | Left Foot Forward

    [...] all last week at the Sun, which failed to report the original Milly Dowler phone hack scandal last Tuesday, and didn’t report the phone hacking story on its front page at all till Friday, when it splashed [...]

  • http://twitter.com/yorkierosie/status/164716539159912448 #pressreform

    @DrEvanHarris http://t.co/uThZYFaX – and this?