Last week saw the demise of one of the longest running and most popular newspapers in Britain. The closure of the News of the World, following allegations of illegal phone hacking, has brought to light not only the influence of the Murdoch Empire, but also how much the UK Government has turned a ‘blind eye’ to the media’s previous abuses of power.
Conveniently coinciding with the premiere of the last of the Harry Potter film franchise, Rupert Murdoch has been likened to Harry’s arch nemesis Lord Voldemort, with the press labelling him the ‘dark lord media baron’ who is ‘yet to be vanquished’. Labour insiders have even tried to portray Ed Miliband as Labour’s answer to Harry Potter taking on Voldemort, in response to him being the first leader of the opposition to demand action.
Yet, although there is no justification for the story-grabbing tactics those at the News of the World have shown, is it really a simple case of good vs. evil? What about the police corruption, the failure to pursue previous hacking investigations, and the contrived relationships between a large number of politicians and the press? Surely, the bigger question here is how this was allowed to happen in the first place?
Although Murdoch’s business acumen and ruthless nature has a large part to play, the dominant factor seems to be that he has been allowed to get away with exerting such influence for so long. The close collusion of politicians and Murdoch’s empire has long been clear to see, what with Margaret Thatcher and Murdoch enjoying numerous Christmases together in the past, and David Cameron’s festive celebrations with News International’s chief executive Rebekah Brooks only six months ago.
The UK Government has shown signs of weakness, becoming almost governed by the press – a fact highlighted by the description of Murdoch as being the 24th member of the cabinet, as well as Cameron’s recent admission that the media’s corrupt ways were often ignored due to fear of what could be done to reprimand it.
It has taken almost six years of phone hacking investigations, the intolerable news that missing schoolgirl Milly Dowler’s phone was hacked and the subsequent public outrage, to finally give politicians the opportunity to take a stand. Maybe this time they will be able to liberate themselves from such dominant media moguls?
Whether this is realistic or not remains to be seen, but the independent inquiry into the hacking affair could be a good place to start.
Follow @HanT86 on Twitter as #hackgate continues to unfold.
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