back to article Hacking scandal starts to spread beyond News Corp

Trinity Mirror Group Plc – owner of the Daily Mirror, Daily Record and The People, is opening an internal investigation into ethics and editorial procedures. The company, which also owns 160 regional papers, has struggled to move its papers online and has watched its share price drop from 571 pence in 2007 to 43 pence today. …

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  1. Code Monkey

    No surprise there

    Most of the (non-Murdoch) UK papers were surprisingly quiet in the early days of the scandal. While The Graun and Indy were making a song and dance about it the reaction of the others struck me as a collective nervous shuffling of the feet.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Big Brother

      <insert title here>

      Indeed. In fact, I would not be surprised to find out that in addition to being guilty of it themselves, they knew it was common practice amongst their competitors.

      1. jake Silver badge

        @AC 12:45

        I suspect ThePlanet(sic) was fairly certain it was common practice.

        Only stands to reason, innit.

    2. Pete 2 Silver badge

      Journalistic churn

      Since there are only a small number of potential employers for a journalist from a national newspaper to go to when he/she/it changes job it seems to me that there is a huge potential for cross-corruption within the whole industry.

      Everybody has been bored by the new recruit who constantly compares working practices at their new job with how things were done "when I was at ... we did ...." so as soon as one maggot leaves one rotten apple and joins another (possibly not-so-rotten) you can bet that apple is on the way to a sludgy mess, too.

      I can't imagine that soon after an ex-NoTW journo joins another newspaper (and by newspaper, I really mean tabloid - who else would have them?) and starts bringing in "questionable" stories, the whole lot of them will be reading the Nokia users' guide, instructions for every answering machine known to man and eagerly asking their new "colleague" if they happen to know the names of any good private investigators who can help obtain some "difficult" information.

      Since they're all under the same pressure to produce stories, none of them would permit a newcomer to monopolise a particular technique; no matter how dubious/illegal - especially when t'management turn a blind eye to the practices and lap it up as eagerly as the readers do.

    3. gpg13.com
      Joke

      The real question is...

      did the Reg hack any phones for their stories. I don't see a denial anywhere!

      Dodgy!

  2. Chris Miller

    "never run stories based on phone hacking"

    Note the careful avoidance of the word 'blagging'. The fact that this activity (as well as 'hacking') has been widespread for many years is demonstrated by Piers Morgan's published diary - see entry for 10 April 2000, when he was at The Mirror.

  3. Kay Burley ate my hamster

    The Mail and Sun need investigating

    Their right-wing hate and scare stories piss me the hell off.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      The BBC and Guardian need investigating

      Their left-wing hate and scare stories piss me the hell off.

      <see what you did there?

  4. John Wilson
    Coat

    Where we're going, we don't need facts.

    "In other news the Daily Mail insisted it did not need to carry out an internal review to know that it had never run stories based on phone hacking."

    Surprisingly believable statement from the Daily Mail. You don't need to hack phones to find facts, if you never bother to base your "news" on facts...

  5. Dodgy Geezer Silver badge
    FAIL

    Does anyone seriously think...

    ...that ALL journalists aren't doing this ALL the time? Certainly all the 'private investigators' are, as are lots of schoolkids and anyone who has ever got hold of their girlfriend's phone....

    This is hardly big-time crime. It's about the same as searching through someone's dustbin for data (which is technically theft, and which PIs and journalists also do....

    Actually, the really big story is that, after years of Labour rule which resulted in database after database of all our data being set up, we now have institutional petty corruption in the NHS, DVLA, Social Security, the Police, Local Authorities, everywhere where interesting personal data is stored and £100 will buy a quick query on the database.

    Why are we going after the customers? We should be going after the dealers. Or, better still, close the whole filthy apparatus down and make them all redundant...

    1. Steve Evans

      Re: Does anyone seriously think...

      Actually there is a huge different between bin diving and phone "hacking".

      When you discard something, in the eyes of the law you are saying you no longer want it. It is then perfectly legal for someone else to pick it up and keep it. This is true in the US and UK.

      Phone hacking falls more into the unauthorised access to a computer system or illegal wiretap classification. i.e. far more serious.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        No.

        Irrespective of whether you want it, you place the stuff in a refuse bin/bag for collection by whoever collects it.

        Ownership of the property is still yours, and taking same will be theft.

        Once the rubbish is picked-up, by whoever, ownership transfers to the company/council, and becomes theirs. Taking it is still theft.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Meh

      Yes, I think seriously.

      Were is your evidence? This is "big time crime". 'Bin diving' is an illegal activity in most, if not all, Western countries.

      If you're going to get partisan use the correct term. 'New Labour' under Blair/Brown/Madelson had far too close a relationship with the media 'industry'. This followed on from Thatcher and Major who also had their press secretaries and media friends so there is nothing actually new in that.

      You are quite right, however, in identifying the Civil Service's desire to incompetently acquire and expose the private details of HM Subjects. This is almost as bad as the incompetence associated with private industry in the form of Banks and insurance companies losing data

      The genie is out of the bottle now and, sadly, with Google, Apple, Facebook, et al, constantly demanding more and more information (in exchange for 'essential' services) that would have hither to been considered private we will not re-bottle him/her. It is a dire state of affairs when a subject can have little confidence in the privacy of information within the police services!

      The solution is serious jail time and fines for those found guilty and to make the judicial process for individuals less expensive and tortuous. With Cameron's crowd stuffed with the wealthy and Lawyers do you honestly expect anything to change in the near future?

  6. LPF

    Before the leftie posters get started

    Daily Mail 952 58

    Sunday People 802 50

    Daily Mirror 681 45

    Mail on Sunday 266 33

    News of the World 228 23

    Sunday Mirror 143 25

    Best Magazine 134 20

    Evening Standard 130 1

    The Observer 103 4

    Daily Sport 62 4

    The People 37 19

    Daily Express 36 7

    Weekend Magazine (Daily Mail) 30 4

    Sunday Express 29 8

    The Sun 24 4

    Mirror and People have more than any other group combined!! FACT NOTW only comes in 5th for the love of god, Jesus the sun comes in at Number 15, This enquiry goes the full length, the Labour party may have no papers left supporting them lol

    1. Arctic fox
      Terminator

      Hello?

      What on earth are you on? Please try to orbit around the same planet as the rest of us and speak English. We might then be able to understand what you are saying.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        @ Arctic fox et al.

        When someone titles their rant with "Before the leftie posters get started" you can be assured that they aren't speaking from any reality most people ascribe too but are about to spit some bile based on their belief that anyone perceived by them as right leaning are always correct and anyone left leaning is the evil spawn of Hitler and Stalin.

    2. Annihilator
      WTF?

      You're breaking up...

      What is your point caller?

      1. LPF

        @ Stuart Castle

        If you has of read the post , you would have seen that I pointed out that the Mirror and People used PI more than the others combined and then some!!! doh!

    3. Stuart Castle Silver badge

      RE: Before the leftie posters get started → #

      3 of the top 5 of the papers you named are (or were) Tory..

    4. Smallbrainfield

      I think you need to clarify what these figures represent.

      It's the number of transactions positvely identified between journos and private investigators. Or something.

    5. Paul Johnston
      Joke

      xml

      Now if your data was in xml we might have an idea of what on earth you are on about!

    6. Marky W
      WTF?

      LPF?

      LPF = Living on Planet Fruitbat?

    7. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Help! Help!

      A whole list of horrible numbers! Some a big! Some are small! And some Newspaper Names!

  7. Bluenose
    Thumb Down

    Who needs hacking....

    When most of your stories are made up and the rest are based on intrusive pictures taken of people most of whom do not really want to be photographed at the time.

  8. 5.antiago

    The PDF report isn't about hacking specifically

    It's about the more general trade in personal information gathered by ethically dubious methods.

    For me, the rankings table on page 9 is kind of like a general score of journalistic integrity. Unsurprising to see Daily Mail at the top.

    Interesting to see that even Maire Claire makes the list. Just what the hell is wrong with our media?!?!

  9. LPF
    Pirate

    Further edit to my pervious post...

    Heading got left out

    Publication Number of Number of transactions positively journalists/clientsidentified using services

    Daily Mail 952 58

    Sunday People 802 50

    Daily Mirror 681 45

    Mail on Sunday 266 33

    News of the World 228 23

    Sunday Mirror 143 25

    Best Magazine 134 20

    Evening Standard 130 1

    The Observer 103 4

    Daily Sport 62 4

    The People 37 19

    Daily Express 36 7

    Weekend Magazine (Daily Mail) 30 4

    Sunday Express 29 8

    The Sun 24 4

    1. nyelvmark

      @LPF - could you please

      ...get someone who speaks English to 1) explain what the numbers mean, and 2) cite the source.

      Thank you.

      1. Mark Aggleton
        Pint

        I think

        LPF has used Google Translate from English to Urdu to English

    2. Danny 14
      Devil

      aha

      maybe its "419 emails received" vs "clueless staff responding to said promises of riches"

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Go

      Oh I've got it!

      It's a secret message to start the next revolution

      The things about left wing was just to get the attention of the communist revolutionaries

      It works like this

      The second number of each line refers to the page no.

      The first number refers to the number of word on the page counting from top left hand corner

      By referring to each publication I have come up with the following sinister message:-

      Europe seduces Balls without hacking my celebrity Boris gardening house. People meet at trouser-press 38DD

      You have been warned.

    4. Someone Else Silver badge
      Holmes

      Oh, I see...

      That clarifies it, then.

      (Do I really need the <sarcasm> tag?)

  10. Anonymous Coward
    WTF?

    Not just phone hacking

    Pre-mobile phone hacking I'm quite sure that some insiders at phone companies were supplying the press with landline details - not the numbers - but the list of numbers that were called by certain lines. The press could then call the numbers to see if there's a story in it...

  11. Giles Jones Gold badge

    Diversion

    Nice diversion from Bankers and MP's expenses.

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Amy Winehouse on crack

    Did the Murdoch owned Sun hack into Amy Winehouses webcam to get shots of her smoking from a glass pipe. If so who did it, how did they do it and has such methods been practiced on other celebrities.

    http://edition.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/07/26/willis.winehouse.tabloids/

    http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article87838.ece

  13. John Smith 19 Gold badge
    Joke

    I doubt El Reg has *ever* hacked anyone's voice mail

    But I'm not *entirely* sure about that.

    As for the rest . .

  14. Anonymous Coward
    Pint

    "Daily Mirror" .ne. "left wing"

    Not any more, anyway. Certainly not since Morgan was in charge. Insider trading's more his style; go read about his shenanigans (and court case) with Viglen.

    e.g. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2005/nov/04/pressandpublishing.mirror

    Sugar and Morgan. What a combination.

  15. Will Godfrey Silver badge
    Unhappy

    @5.antiago

    What is wrong is that it's not 'our' media.

  16. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    Daily Fail

    When the Heil leads with the Greek economy rather than Murdoch, you know there's something fishy going on. Since when did the Hatemail give a flying fuck about FOREIGNS?

    OTOH when everyone else was leading with the Norwegian Nutter or the DETH of Amy Offlicence, the Express had pensions one day and house prices the next. The "editor" of the Express wants badly to be hunted down by wild dogs.

  17. Anonymous Coward
    Joke

    Further controversy!

    Rupert Murdoch says he is touched by all the kind messages left on Amy Winehouse's voicemail.

  18. Dave Rickmers
    Pirate

    Now I see why Pauly in Goodfellas never used the phone

    Bin Laden, too. On the other hand, if you knew "they" were listening you could feed them "disinformation" and send them in pursuit of "at liberty" geese.

  19. Bob. Hitchen

    Why do people expect any communication media to be secure

    If I want to talk about something privately I do not use a phone or email. It's so bloody obvious that all media stuff or even records are openly available to the vermin on Fleet street.

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