News Corp. reporters received hacking lessons

[brooklynite]

Source: Crain's New York Business

(Bloomberg) - Journalists at News Corp.'s now-defunct News of the World tabloid were instructed on how to hack into mobile-phone voice mails by the company's former private investigator, a Guardian newspaper reporter told a U.K. inquiry into press ethics.

Nick Davies, whose stories exposed the extent of phone-hacking at the News of the World, told a judge-led inquiry into the media Tuesday that private investigator Glenn Mulcaire helped “one or more” News of the World reporters hack into the messages of murdered school girl Millie Dowler in 2002.

“Mr. Mulcaire facilitated the hacking by one or more News of the World journalists,” Mr. Davies said at Tuesday's hearing. The reporters then had to “delete the messages in order to enable more to come through.”

Read more: http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20111129/MEDIA_ENTERTAINMENT/111129911

---

The corporate phrase is "professional development"...

[muriel_volestrangler]

1. Brooks and Coulson 'scum of journalism'; Piers Morgan encouraged unethical practices at NOTW

Asked whether his NoW editors knews that voicemail messages were being intercepted, McMullan said: "Yes ... I could go a bit further than that. We did all these things for our editors, for Rebekah Brooks and for Andy Coulson. You only have to read Coulson's column in Bizarre ... it was blatant and obvious. I don't think anyone realised that anyone was committing a crime at the start."
...
He later said: "For 21 years you have a culture of illegality of phone hacking and fiddling your expenses and so on. What you have is a future prime minister cosying up and being moulded by the arch-criminal, Rebekah Brooks, the criminal-in-chief."
...
He later claimed that "privacy is for paedos". "In 21 years of invading people's privacy I've never actually come across anyone who's been doing any good. Privacy is the space bad people need to do bad things in. Privacy is for paedos. If there is a privacy law your secrets are going to be much more valuable than they were before," McMullan said.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/nov/29/rebekah-brooks-andy-coulson-leveson-inquiry?newsfeed=true

Giving his testimony to the Leveson Inquiry into phone hacking and media ethics, Mr McMullan made a succession of startling claims about the "at all costs" culture at the newspaper.

Mr McMullan pointed the finger at Mr Morgan, who became editor at the tabloid in 1994, who he alleged "set the trend" for untoward practices in the pursuit of the sales.

Mr McMullan said: "He was 'get that story at all costs' and 'I don't care what you have to do'.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/leveson-inquiry/8923487/Paul-McMullan-Piers-Morgan-encouraged-unethical-practices-at-NOTW.html

[dtexdem]

2. Oh, that's nice: on-the-job training programs.

Shows how they truly valued their criminals -- I mean employees. ;-)

[fascisthunter]

3. so, when we investigate Fox News?

as if they aren't doing the same shit here...

[KeepItReal]

4. News of the World reporter: Phone hacks 'perfectly acceptable'

Source: CNET

The latest evidence presented today by Paul McMullan, a former reporter for the paper, offered that phone hacking was a perfectly normal activity for a newspaper that was read by 5 million adults every Sunday.

The Telegraph reports that McMullan told the inquiry that it was Piers Morgan, currently a rather charming presence on CNN, who "set the trend" for an ethos in which the story had to be obtained by any means.

The AP reports that McMullan also claimed that reporters were routinely in possession of celebrities' phone numbers, traded them between each other and used factory-set passwords to enjoy intimate private conversations.

"Phone hacking is a perfectly acceptable tool given the sacrifices we make, if all we are trying to do is get to the truth," he declared.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-57333149-71/news-of-the-world-reporter-phone-hacks-perfectly-acceptable/?tag=TOCmoreStories.0

[ixion]

5. That's the same rational the government uses to enter your house without a warrant, etc

It's inexcusable no matter who is doing it, in any case.

[dballance]

6. Wow, How can he stand up in court with a straight face

How can he possibly stand up before a judge and make that argument? I guess if we hack HIS phone it will be okay then? We just really want the truth you know.

[SwissTony]

7. "Privacy is evil. Privacy is for paedos.

Privacy is the space where bad people do bad things".

Yes, he actually said that.

And they only hacked Millie Dowler's phone because they were trying to find her.

He was also proud that something he wrote caused a bit of a riot in which an innocent person was hurt.

Watch his testimony if you can. Have a bucket nearby.