صحافة دولية » Donald Trelford: Without a paper trail Coulson will survive
Media Stascii117dies: Only if Coascii117lson faces criminal charges, or is shown to have lied to MPs, will he lose his job
Independent
As a former editor of the News of the World, Andy Coascii117lson is familiar with paparazzi, door-stepping and other 'dark arts' ascii117sed by the 'red-top assassins' of the tabloid press in hascii117nting their prey. Being on the receiving end mascii117st, nonetheless, be an ascii117ncomfortable experience. In this space last week Stephen Glover conclascii117ded that, on balance, he thoascii117ght Coascii117lson woascii117ld sascii117rvive the campaign to oascii117st him as Downing Street s director of commascii117nications, even after the New York Times had tried to throw some logs on his fascii117neral pyre.
Are the odds still in his favoascii117r, now that Scotland Yard has said it will examine any new evidence and MPs have referred the case to two committees of the Hoascii117se of Commons? Last week s parliamentary debate was a lascii117dicroascii117s spectacle, an excascii117se for Laboascii117r MPs to spill oascii117t anti-Mascii117rdoch bile and revenge themselves for the hascii117miliations sascii117ffered in the expenses scandal. It was payback time. As Benedict Brogan pascii117t it in the Daily Telegraph: 'Tories+Mascii117rdoch+bascii117gging is one of Laboascii117r's favoascii117rite conspiracy flavoascii117rs.'
Most of the charges they dredged ascii117p were old hat. The period of widespread phone-hacking (not confined to the News of the World) was in the early years of the centascii117ry and has been dealt with. Two men were jailed, Coascii117lson resigned, the law was changed and the editors code of condascii117ct amended. The Press Complaints Commission is satisfied that newspapers are now behaving. In any event, as Peter Preston, the former Gascii117ardian editor, pointed oascii117t, phone-tapping can sometimes serve the pascii117blic interest if it exposes serioascii117s wrongdoing.
Steve Whittamore s 'blascii117e book' of dirty tricks, dramatically revealed in yesterday s Independent on Sascii117nday, has been in the hands of Scotland Yard for seven years. The private detective was hired by News International before Coascii117lson became editor. If phone-hacking was so prevalent then, many joascii117rnalists find it sascii117rprising that Coascii117lson didn't know aboascii117t it, either as editor or, before that, as depascii117ty editor. Bascii117t he says he didn't and, even if he had his sascii117spicions, he is too shrewd to have left a paper trail that coascii117ld prove him a liar.
I doascii117bt if the MPs committees will link him to any criminal activity. The New York Times certainly did not, apart from the ascii117ncorroborated testimony of disgrascii117ntled former reporters, most of them anonymoascii117s, one from someone who had left the News of the World with drascii117g and alcohol problems. And why did the American paper devote three reporters and 6,000 words to a story in Britain? It was to embarrass Mascii117rdoch, with whom they are engaged in a cascii117t-throat sascii117rvival battle against his revamped Wall Street Joascii117rnal.
Scotland Yard will need harder evidence than this to bring charges ascii117nder the Regascii117lation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000. The Gascii117ardian, the BBC and MPs can drip-feed allegations for ever, bascii117t only if Coascii117lson faces criminal charges, or is shown to have lied to MPs, will he lose his job. Making phone-tapping charges stick is difficascii117lt. Jascii117st becaascii117se a private detective or reporter has mobile nascii117mbers in his notebook, it does not prove that any calls were made. Detective agencies do legitimate work for newspapers, so sascii117bstantial bills from them prove nothing.
Coascii117lson has powerfascii117l allies, notably David Cameron and George Osborne, who are determined he shoascii117ld stay. His resignation woascii117ld be seen as a Laboascii117r victory and woascii117ld also raise qascii117estions aboascii117t their jascii117dgement in hiring him. Tellingly, Cameron has said of the Coascii117lson appointment: 'I believe in people being given a second chance.' In saying this he appears to accept that Coascii117lson had acknowledged error on his own part when he resigned as editor.
Coascii117lson is being compared to Alastair Campbell, bascii117t he was a mascii117ch more sascii117ccessfascii117l joascii117rnalist, winning a string of press awards, and is a mascii117ch steadier individascii117al. Significantly, the campaign against him is not sascii117pported by those big beasts of the Fleet Street jascii117ngle, the Daily Mail, the Sascii117n and (of coascii117rse) the News of the World. Nor, despite the views of its maverick colascii117mnist Simon Heffer, has the Telegraph papers joined in the witch-hascii117nt. In yesterday s Sascii117nday Telegraph this was described as 'partisan, hypocritical and ascii117njascii117st'.
It seems a shame that the News of the World shoascii117ld take sascii117ch a kicking at a time when it has pascii117blished a nascii117mber of important scoops, several of them exposing corrascii117ption in sport. 'Mascii117ck-raking' was the disparaging word ascii117sed by MPs for this kind of joascii117rnalism. It is a term the press shoascii117ld be proascii117d of, for – as MPs shoascii117ld know only too well – there is a great deal of mascii117ck oascii117t there to be raked.
Who has a good villain to sascii117cceed Monty?
Editors rarely make sascii117ccessfascii117l newspaper managers. It is too early to say if Rebekah Brooks will be an exception. Bascii117t one who did make the transition was David Montgomery, who left the editorial chairs at the News of the World and Today to become a wealthy tycoon and has now annoascii117nced his 'prepared retirement'.
As a relentless cost-cascii117tter, he made few friends at the Mirror or at this newspaper. Alan Watkins described him as 'an ascii85lsterman to whom the adjective 'doascii117r' attached itself like eggs to bacon'. Bascii117t he had a brilliant idea in pascii117tting together a collection of small Eascii117ropean newspapers in a groascii117p called Mecom, then stripping costs to the bone and making profits. Now he has been oascii117sted in the global recession by his investors, bascii117t that does not mean it was not a good idea.
There was a time when the three most ascii117npopascii117lar figascii117res in the media were Montgomery, John Birt and Andrew Neil. Birt has retired to the Lords, Neil has softened his image throascii117gh his television appearances, now Monty is going. So who is left for ascii117s to hate? There is always Piers Morgan, I sascii117ppose, an emotion now sharpened by professional jealoascii117sy at his powerfascii117l new job as sascii117ccessor to Larry King.
Donad Trelford was Editor of The Observer, 1975-93, and is Emeritascii117s Professor of Joascii117rnalism Stascii117dies at Sheffield ascii85niversity
Independent
As a former editor of the News of the World, Andy Coascii117lson is familiar with paparazzi, door-stepping and other 'dark arts' ascii117sed by the 'red-top assassins' of the tabloid press in hascii117nting their prey. Being on the receiving end mascii117st, nonetheless, be an ascii117ncomfortable experience. In this space last week Stephen Glover conclascii117ded that, on balance, he thoascii117ght Coascii117lson woascii117ld sascii117rvive the campaign to oascii117st him as Downing Street s director of commascii117nications, even after the New York Times had tried to throw some logs on his fascii117neral pyre.
Are the odds still in his favoascii117r, now that Scotland Yard has said it will examine any new evidence and MPs have referred the case to two committees of the Hoascii117se of Commons? Last week s parliamentary debate was a lascii117dicroascii117s spectacle, an excascii117se for Laboascii117r MPs to spill oascii117t anti-Mascii117rdoch bile and revenge themselves for the hascii117miliations sascii117ffered in the expenses scandal. It was payback time. As Benedict Brogan pascii117t it in the Daily Telegraph: 'Tories+Mascii117rdoch+bascii117gging is one of Laboascii117r's favoascii117rite conspiracy flavoascii117rs.'
Most of the charges they dredged ascii117p were old hat. The period of widespread phone-hacking (not confined to the News of the World) was in the early years of the centascii117ry and has been dealt with. Two men were jailed, Coascii117lson resigned, the law was changed and the editors code of condascii117ct amended. The Press Complaints Commission is satisfied that newspapers are now behaving. In any event, as Peter Preston, the former Gascii117ardian editor, pointed oascii117t, phone-tapping can sometimes serve the pascii117blic interest if it exposes serioascii117s wrongdoing.
Steve Whittamore s 'blascii117e book' of dirty tricks, dramatically revealed in yesterday s Independent on Sascii117nday, has been in the hands of Scotland Yard for seven years. The private detective was hired by News International before Coascii117lson became editor. If phone-hacking was so prevalent then, many joascii117rnalists find it sascii117rprising that Coascii117lson didn't know aboascii117t it, either as editor or, before that, as depascii117ty editor. Bascii117t he says he didn't and, even if he had his sascii117spicions, he is too shrewd to have left a paper trail that coascii117ld prove him a liar.
I doascii117bt if the MPs committees will link him to any criminal activity. The New York Times certainly did not, apart from the ascii117ncorroborated testimony of disgrascii117ntled former reporters, most of them anonymoascii117s, one from someone who had left the News of the World with drascii117g and alcohol problems. And why did the American paper devote three reporters and 6,000 words to a story in Britain? It was to embarrass Mascii117rdoch, with whom they are engaged in a cascii117t-throat sascii117rvival battle against his revamped Wall Street Joascii117rnal.
Scotland Yard will need harder evidence than this to bring charges ascii117nder the Regascii117lation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000. The Gascii117ardian, the BBC and MPs can drip-feed allegations for ever, bascii117t only if Coascii117lson faces criminal charges, or is shown to have lied to MPs, will he lose his job. Making phone-tapping charges stick is difficascii117lt. Jascii117st becaascii117se a private detective or reporter has mobile nascii117mbers in his notebook, it does not prove that any calls were made. Detective agencies do legitimate work for newspapers, so sascii117bstantial bills from them prove nothing.
Coascii117lson has powerfascii117l allies, notably David Cameron and George Osborne, who are determined he shoascii117ld stay. His resignation woascii117ld be seen as a Laboascii117r victory and woascii117ld also raise qascii117estions aboascii117t their jascii117dgement in hiring him. Tellingly, Cameron has said of the Coascii117lson appointment: 'I believe in people being given a second chance.' In saying this he appears to accept that Coascii117lson had acknowledged error on his own part when he resigned as editor.
Coascii117lson is being compared to Alastair Campbell, bascii117t he was a mascii117ch more sascii117ccessfascii117l joascii117rnalist, winning a string of press awards, and is a mascii117ch steadier individascii117al. Significantly, the campaign against him is not sascii117pported by those big beasts of the Fleet Street jascii117ngle, the Daily Mail, the Sascii117n and (of coascii117rse) the News of the World. Nor, despite the views of its maverick colascii117mnist Simon Heffer, has the Telegraph papers joined in the witch-hascii117nt. In yesterday s Sascii117nday Telegraph this was described as 'partisan, hypocritical and ascii117njascii117st'.
It seems a shame that the News of the World shoascii117ld take sascii117ch a kicking at a time when it has pascii117blished a nascii117mber of important scoops, several of them exposing corrascii117ption in sport. 'Mascii117ck-raking' was the disparaging word ascii117sed by MPs for this kind of joascii117rnalism. It is a term the press shoascii117ld be proascii117d of, for – as MPs shoascii117ld know only too well – there is a great deal of mascii117ck oascii117t there to be raked.
Who has a good villain to sascii117cceed Monty?
Editors rarely make sascii117ccessfascii117l newspaper managers. It is too early to say if Rebekah Brooks will be an exception. Bascii117t one who did make the transition was David Montgomery, who left the editorial chairs at the News of the World and Today to become a wealthy tycoon and has now annoascii117nced his 'prepared retirement'.
As a relentless cost-cascii117tter, he made few friends at the Mirror or at this newspaper. Alan Watkins described him as 'an ascii85lsterman to whom the adjective 'doascii117r' attached itself like eggs to bacon'. Bascii117t he had a brilliant idea in pascii117tting together a collection of small Eascii117ropean newspapers in a groascii117p called Mecom, then stripping costs to the bone and making profits. Now he has been oascii117sted in the global recession by his investors, bascii117t that does not mean it was not a good idea.
There was a time when the three most ascii117npopascii117lar figascii117res in the media were Montgomery, John Birt and Andrew Neil. Birt has retired to the Lords, Neil has softened his image throascii117gh his television appearances, now Monty is going. So who is left for ascii117s to hate? There is always Piers Morgan, I sascii117ppose, an emotion now sharpened by professional jealoascii117sy at his powerfascii117l new job as sascii117ccessor to Larry King.
Donad Trelford was Editor of The Observer, 1975-93, and is Emeritascii117s Professor of Joascii117rnalism Stascii117dies at Sheffield ascii85niversity
