Media

Jeremy Hunt: how much longer can the government hold out?

Samira Shackle — Fri, 25 May 2012 08:04:24 +0000

Hunt wrote to Cameron expressing his support for the BSkyB bid, a month before taking control of the decision.

Ever since last month’s revelations about the relationship between Jeremy Hunt’s office and News Corporation, the accepted wisdom has been that the reason the Culture Minister has remained in office is that David Cameron is using him as a human shield.

That shield was dented yesterday, after the Leveson Inquiry published a memo which showed that Cameron knew that Hunt was in favour of Rupert Murdoch’s £8bn bid to buy BSkyB. The memo was send on 19 November 2010, a month before Cameron handed Hunt the quasi-judicial power to rule on the bid. Although at that point, the decision was in the hands of the Business Secretary, Vince Cable, it makes very clear that Hunt was actively supporting the bid.

Here it is in full:

James Murdoch is pretty furious at Vince's referral to Ofcom. He doesn't think he will get a fair hearing from Ofcom.

I am privately concerned about this because News Corp are very litigious and we could end up in the wrong place in terms of media policy.

Essentially what James Murdoch wants to do is to repeat what his father did with the move to Wapping and create the world's first multi-platform media operator, available from paper to web to TV to iPhone to iPad. Isn't this what all media companies have to do ultimately? And if so,we must be very careful that any attempt to block it is done on genuine plurality grounds and not as a result of lobbying by competitors.

The UK has the chance to lead the way ... but if we block it our media sector will suffer for years. In the end I am sure sensible controls can be put into any merger to ensure there is plurality, but I think it would be totally wrong to cave in to the Mark Thomson/Channel 4/Guardian line that this represents a substantial change of control given that we all know Sky is controlled by News Corp now anyway.

What next? Ofcom will issue their report saying whether it needs to go to the Competition Commission by 31 December. It would be totally wrong for the government to get involved in a competition issue which has to be decided at arm's length. However I do think you, I, Vince and the DPM should meet to discuss the policy issues that are thrown up as a result.

The memo was sent four days after a phone call between Hunt and James Murdoch - a phone call that was necessary because Hunt's permanent secretary by his permanent secretary Jonathan Stephens.

It is pretty damning stuff. Downing Street’s response was simply to say that the memo does not contradict Hunt’s public statements, as he has always made it clear that in principle he had no problem with the bid.

However, let us remind ourselves of Hunt’s statement to the Commons last month:

I made absolutely no interventions seeking to influence a quasi-judicial decision that was at that time the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Business.

It is difficult to read the memo as anything other than an intervention. Failing to tell the truth to parliament is a breach of the ministerial code. Cameron refused to investigate potential breaches when the news first broke last month. Will he now continue to do so? As the evidence builds up thick and fast that Hunt was not acting in an impartial manner, it is difficult to see how the government will justify its continued refusal to act.

Hunt is due to appear in front of the inquiry on 31 May.

UPDATE 1.45pm

David Cameron has strongly defended Hunt during an interview with ITV's Daybreak. He told the show that the memo was not relevant:

The key thing was it wasn't what [Hunt] had said in the past, it was how he was going to do the job. And I think, if you look at how he did the job, he asked for independent advice at every stage and he took that independent advice and he did it in a thoroughly proper way.

Adam Smith, Frederic Michel at Leveson: 5 things we learned

Harriet Williams — Thu, 24 May 2012 16:54:09 +0000

Including 1000 texts between DCMS and News Corp.

David Cameron knew Jeremy Hunt was pro-BSkyB before he gave the Department of Culture, Media and Sport control of the bid, after taking it off Vince Cable because he was too biased.
Jeremy Hunt isn't a fan of the Guardian – he said in a memo to the Prime Minister that it would be "totally wrong to cave into the [BBC], Channel 4, Guardian line", who were opposing the BSkyB bid because it would create an enormous media conglomerate with huge amounts of power.
James Murdoch wanted to “repeat what his father did at Wapping”, over the BSkyB bid. In the 1980s, Rupert Murdoch was allowed to buy the Times and the Sunday Times after a secret meeting at Chequers with Margaret Thatcher. He then broke the print unions by moving his newspaper offices to Wapping, where staff crossed picket lines with the help of police.
Frédéric Michel makes very silly jokes in his texts. He apologised for his quip that receiving information from Jeremy Hunt's office was “absolutely illegal >!” saying “I apologise if my texts are too jokey sometimes”
Adam Smith is a keen texter - but only to some people. He sent 257 texts to Frederic Michel - of 1000 texts exchanged between the department of culture, media and sport and News Corporation - and none to competitors.

Mail wins Huhne 'lesbian love triangle' stories legal fight

Dominic Ponsford — Thu, 24 May 2012 13:04:52 +0000

Judge orders Trimingham to pay the Mail's legal costs

The partner of MP Chris Huhne, Carina Trimingham, has had her claim for harassment and breach of privacy against the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday rejected by the High Court.

Trimingham had an affair with former Secretary of State Huhne which led to him leaving his wife of 26 years in June 2010 when the matter was made public. Trimingham sued over some 65 "highy unpleasant and hurtful" articles which appeared in the Mail which she said represented a "cataclysmic interference" in her private life.

Trimingham was particulary concerned that many of the articles made reference to her bisexuality.

Read more at Press Gazette

News Corp and Hunt’s office: in numbers

Samira Shackle — Thu, 24 May 2012 11:51:01 +0000

Leveson Inquiry hears that 1000 text messages were exchanged.

Frederic Michel has just given evidence to the Leveson Inquiry. Michel, who is News Corporation’s head of public affairs in Europe, was mainly asked about his cosy relationship with Jeremy Hunt’s office, in particular his adviser Adam Smith. When details of emails between Michel and Smith during the News Corp’s proposed takeover of BSkyB were published by the company earlier this month, Smith was forced to fall on his sword and resign. Hunt, who was supposed to be fulfilling a quasi-judicial role on the bid, has maintained that he acted properly.

Hunt would certainly like us to believe that Michel exaggerated his dealings with the Department for Media, Culture and Sport (DCMS). Asked by Robert Jay QC if this was the case, Michel replied: “No, I don’t agree with this. I didn’t need to [exaggerate]”.

This is certainly borne out by the numbers, which are the key fact to come out of this appearance. They show the the sheer scale of contact between Smith and Michel.

According to Jay, between November 2011 and July 2011, there were:

Over 1000 text messages exchanged (that was 799 from Michel to the DCMS – with around 90 per cent of those going to Smith – and 257 from Smith to Michel).

191 phone calls between Michel and the department

158 emails from Michel

So News Corp were certainly getting a whole lot of listening time. 1000 texts over nine months equals around three text messages a day, which is more than many of us exchange with close friends, let alone colleagues. When Smith resigned, he said that he had acted inappropriately and without Hunt’s permission. As Michel said in today’s evidence, special advisers always tend to represent the views of their boss, the secretary of state. Smith, up this afternoon, has some serious questions to answer about how much Hunt actually knew.

No charges for BSkyB in new Competition Commission decision

Harriet Williams — Wed, 23 May 2012 12:06:29 +0000

Netflix and LoveFilm weaken the monopoly.

The Competition Commission has ruled that BskyB will not face action over their monopoly of pay-TV film rights. The commission ruled that the existence of online film on demand companies such as LoveFilm was sufficient.

A provisional decision by the commission made in August last year that BSkyB's contracts with the major Hollywood studios were not competitive enough and needed to be weakened. Only in March this year did the commission allow that online companies should be taken into account. Netflix opened an UK based online film service in January.

LoveFilm, previously only providing films by post, launched a similar service. These moves provided greater choice for consumers, weakening the BskyB monopoly.

The commission said “Competition between providers of movie services on pay TV has changed materially and, as a result of these changes, consumers now have much greater choice.”

They said that although Sky had the rights to several major Hollywood studios, LoveFilm and Netflix have the rights to other studios, including those who produced The Hunger Games and the Twilight films.

“Both the range and recency of the content [Netflix and LoveFilm] offer will increase further as more movies become available under existing licensing agreements.”

The new findings are provisional, published to invite comments. Any comments will be considered before a final decision is reached. The Competition Commission will not at the moment propose any remedial action.

BSkyB is due to launch its own internet-based service this year, called Now TV, which will offer films without the need for a full BSkyB subscription.

The commission said that “we still believe that competition in the pay-TV retail market overall is ineffective” but that their investigation was limited to pay per view films and Sky had no material advantage in this area.

Virgin Media and BT said they were disappointed by the decision.

Vote of no confidence in Johnston management

Press Gazette — Wed, 23 May 2012 10:54:31 +0000

Executive Helen Oldfield criticised by the board.

Journalists at the NUJ’s Yorkshire Weekly Newspaper Group chapel have passed a vote of no confidence in Johnston Press executive Helen Oldham.

It comes after the company told staff five jobs are to go across the Wakefield Express, Hemsworth and South Elmsall Express and Pontefract and Castleford Express.

The NUJ said the fact Helen Oldham, the managing director of West Yorkshire Publishing Unit, was not present for the announcement “shows a complete lack of compassion and disregard for the newspapers and staff involved”.

Read more at Press Gazette

Heat apologises for publishing Kate shopping pic

Dominic Ponsford — Wed, 23 May 2012 10:50:25 +0000

Lawyers made a complaint under the PCC code.

Heat Magazine has apologised to the Duchess of Cambridge after publishing a photo of her out shopping.

The PCC-brokered apology came about after lawyers for the princess made a complaint to the PCC under clause 3 of the Editors’ Code (privacy) and clause 4 (harassment).

The Duchess and her sister, Pippa Middleton, are both the subject of intense interest from press photographers.

Read more at Press Gazette

Former NI lawyer defends use of private investigators

Andrew Pugh — Wed, 23 May 2012 10:41:36 +0000

Julian Pike says the action was "justifiable"

Media lawyer Julian Pike has defended advising News International to place the lawyers of phone-hacking victims under surveillance.

He told the Home Affairs select committee yesterday that the practice was “justifiable” and he would “do it again tomorrow”.

Pike, head of media at Farrer & Co, had previously admitted advising the News of the World to carry out surveillance on lawyers Charlotte Harris and Mark Lewis, who between them have represented dozens of phone-hacking victims.

Read more at Press Gazette

Fake sheikh "ordered" surveillance on Tom Watson

Harriet Williams — Tue, 22 May 2012 11:02:25 +0000

Emails suggest that Mazher Mahmood commissioned surveillance of the MP.

The News of the World journalist known as the “Fake Sheikh”, Mazher Mahmood, employed a private detective to follow Tom Watson, according to the MP.

Watson, as part of a parliamentary committee, recently received a package of emails from News International's internal investigating group. These appear to show that Mahmood and two former News of the World executives commissioned surveillance on the MP in the hope of finding him having an affair.

Mahmood now works for the Sunday Times, where he was employed after the closure of the News of the World last year. The two other executives implicated were assistant editor Ian Edmondson and news editor James Mellor. Mellor is also employed by the Sunday Times, as deputy news editor.

The attempt began in September 2009 at the Labour party conference. Mahmood claimed in an email to Mellor, copied to Edmondson, that he had received a tip that married Watson was having an affair with a female politician. The allegations were unsubstantiated.

A private detective known as "Silent Shadow", the former police officer Derek Webb, was hired to stalk Watson through the conference. A substantiated story would have destroyed Watson's reputation and credibility.

Watson is a high profile critic of the News of the World and a key player in the parliamentary investigation of the hacking scandal. In the summer of 2009, he had been investigating phone hacking at the News of the World. He had discovered that James Murdoch authorised a secret payment to a hacking victim, Gordon Taylor, head of the Professional Footballers' Association.

Webb admitted following certain celebrities and politicians last year, but it had not been known who told him to do so.

Watson received an apology from Murdoch about this surveillance, and News International said the action was “inappropriate”, but the men are still employed by News International. Rhodri Davies QC pointed out at the Leveson inquiry that no other members of the select committee for culture, media and sport were followed, as the action was unrelated to Watson's position on the committee.

Watson is giving evidence to the Leveson inquiry today.

Jeremy Hunt to be investigated over donations

Samira Shackle — Mon, 21 May 2012 14:33:16 +0000

Culture Secretary accused of failing to declare donations from media companies while in opposition.

It has not been a good month for Jeremy Hunt. The Culture Secretary managed to hang onto his job despite revelations about the cosy relationship between his office and News Corporation during the company’s attempted takeover of BSkyB. However, it was announced today that he will be investigated by the parliamentary standards commissioner over claims that he failed to register donations from media companies while in opposition.

The inquiry is being launched in response to a complaint earlier this month from Labour MP Stephen McCabe. He raised concerns about a series of “networking events” involving eight media organisations, attended by Hunt and culture minister Ed Vaizey.

The BBC summarises the query:

Mr Vaizey stated in his entry in the register of interests that he and Mr Hunt attended had attended eight sponsored events between July 2009 and March 2010.

Mr Vaizey registered the events as donations worth £27,000. These are not cash donations, but estimates from Mr Vaizey of the cost to the companies concerned of hosting the events.

However, Mr Hunt did not declare the meetings against his name in the register. He has subsequently claimed that he attended only three of the eight meetings.

His spokeswoman said he had amended his register entry since the complaint was raised and the discrepancy had arisen because of "miscommunication".

The office of the parliamentary standards commissioner, John Lyons, confirmed that an inquiry would be launched but declined to comment further. Hunt’s office also declined to comment.

Labour has already called for Hunt to resign over the News Corp revelations. His special adviser, Adam Smith, fell on his sword after emails were published showing his close relationship with a News Corp official during the bid. Hunt has maintained that he acted correctly and in a quasi-judicial manner.

In and of itself, the accusation that Hunt failed to declare the donations might not sound that monumental, particularly coming after the News Corp emails. What it shows is that Labour are not relinquishing the political pressure on Hunt. They know that if he goes, it will shift the pressure higher up the political chain.

From Boris to the Murdochs

Adam Bienkov — Mon, 21 May 2012 14:18:10 +0000

What can Guto Harri do for News International?

“He never struck me as that remarkable,” a former colleague of Guto Harri's told me as rumours spread that he was set to leave City Hall for News International. “But I guess he must have something going for him.”

The key thing that Harri has going for him is his close relationship with Boris Johnson, who Private Eye recently described as the man “fast becoming the Digger’s favourite politician”. Under Harri’s guidance, Johnson has remained consistently and vocally loyal to the Murdochs, despite most other political allies remaining quiet or deserting them altogether.

When the Guardian first reported on phone hacking at News International, the Mayor publicly dismissed the story as “a load of codswallop cooked up by the Labour party.” And as the Met began their investigations, his policing deputy repeatedly tried to persuade them to scale back their inquiries.

“The caravan should move on,” insisted Boris as yet more revelations emerged. “Real people are so apathetic about the Leveson business,” he repeated again in the Telegraph last week. “In all its lavish coverage of Murdoch, hacking and BSkyB, the BBC never properly explains the reasons why other media organisations – including the BBC – want to shaft a free-market competitor.”

As the election approached you might have expected Boris to keep his distance from NI. But just one day after Rebekah Brooks was arrested in a dawn raid, Boris met with the Sun's editors for lunch. Following their meeting, the paper lavished extensive coverage on the Mayor, describing him as fighting hard for “White Van Man”, a claim based on his policy of extending free parking on some London roads by ten minutes. His opponent Ken Livingstone meanwhile was described simply as a “villain”.

Harri too has remained loyal to his old contacts. “He is known to be in constant contact with Andy Coulson,” explains one biography (now outdated). Such constant contact seems to have paid off with Harri freely admitting that his new appointment will be seen as "part of an irresistible geometrical pattern" between the Conservatives and News International. But what does Harri have to offer the company, aside from his loyalty?

His time as Director of Communications at City Hall will chiefly be remembered for his policy of limiting access to the mayor to all but the most unquestioning members of the media. Shortly after Boris’s election, Guto cancelled the regular City Hall press conferences. Out went the dry reports and question and answer sessions of the Livingstone years and in came an endless series of celebrity-backed ribbon-cutting events where the likes of Kelly Brook, Barbara Windsor and Peter Andre all posed grinning with the Mayor.

Questions from journalists were strictly limited at these events and Harri has consistently kept Boris away from any interviewer who cannot be relied upon to play nice. Chief among the “awkward squad” is BBC London’s political editor Tim Donovan who has repeatedly been refused interviews with the Mayor on the channel's weekend politics show. When Donovan dared to report on Boris’s links with News International, he earned a sweary on-air rant from the mayor. Boris has since gone on to attack BBC London as his “chief opponent" during the election campaign.

Other journalists have been submitted to more underhand attacks. When Boris’s former colleague Sonia Purnell set out to write his biography, “sources close to the Mayor” privately briefed that Purnell was a spurned and embittered admirer of Johnson, a smear that was hinted at in much of the coverage of her excellent book.

Along the way Harri has gathered a number of critics on the right. Rather than being a straightforward Murdoch appeaser, they accuse him of actually spending far too much time trying to win over people who will not support the mayor no matter what happens. Despite Boris’s public grumbles about the left-wing media, Harri invited over a hundred journalists from the BBC and the Guardian to the Mayor’s media reception at City Hall last year. The Sun, by contrast, received just six invites.

What Harri understands is that in a left-leaning city, Boris needs to appeal well beyond his own party. Under his guidance, Johnson has fought against Labour’s stereotype of him as a swivel-eyed Tory, backing measures such as the Living Wage and an immigrant amnesty.

Harri yesterday accused Boris’s campaign manager Lynton Crosby of nearly wrecking his re-election by only appealing to core voters: “That was almost the danger of the campaign, that he became more Tory at a time when being Tory seemed to be more of a liability than an asset.”

Despite his unassuming and amiable exterior, Harri is an effective and formidable operator. In four years he has transformed Boris Johnson’s image from national joke to a serious contender for the Tory leadership and Number Ten. This is a remarkable feat.

Transforming the image of News International and the Murdochs will be a far harder task, but if anyone can do it, then perhaps Guto Harri can.

News International appoints Boris Johnson's aide

Harriet Williams — Mon, 21 May 2012 10:26:53 +0000

Guto Harri will be head of communications at the company.

Boris Johnson's former aide, Guto Harri, has been appointed as head of communications at News International.

He will try to rebuild the company's reputation after the hacking scandal. Harri stepped down as Johnson's director of external affairs on 8 May, after he won a second term as Mayor of London. He replaces Andrew Honnor who was holding the job in an interim position.

He said he was “delighted” to take the job, and aimed to correct some of the prejudice against the company in the media. In an interview with the Guardian, he said:

"Not every politician is corrupt, not every banker gets an enormous bonus and doesn't think they give a monkey's for anything, and not everyone who works at News International was involved in phone hacking

"I would not be joining this company myself if I thought that they condoned, and were actively involved in any of the practices that they have rightly been condemned for”

Harri was a journalist for 18 years, working as a BBC political correspondent, before a brief stint in PR, followed by four years as director of external affairs and spokesman for the Mayor of London.

The Telegraph reported that he turned down an offer from Downing Street to take the job for Rupert Murdoch. Andy Coulson confirmed at the Leveson inquiry earlier this month that Harri had been a possibility for the role in 2007.

Rebranded press trade body claims 2m readership boost

Dominic Ponsford — Mon, 21 May 2012 09:56:22 +0000

Newsworks releases statistics on advertising value.

The Newspaper Marketing Agency has today relaunched itself as Newsworks in a bid to reflect the increasingly digital nature of national newspapers.

The NMA, or Newsworks as it is now called, is funded by the main national press titles to promote the value of advertising with them.

As part of its relaunch, Newsworks today released a flurry of statistics about the value of advertising with national press brands.

Read more at Press Gazette

Murdoch: No plans to sell News International

Press Gazette — Mon, 21 May 2012 09:46:12 +0000

Weekend reports denied by chairman.

News Corp chairman Rupert Murdoch issued a statement insisting his company had no plans to spin off its UK newspaper arm following claims made over the weekend.

Both The Daily Telegraph and the Financial Times ran reports alleging Murdoch was considering plans to offload News International.

The Telegraph said options being considered included “creating a trust to manage the UK newspaper assets, going into a joint venture with a media partner or a direct sale to private equity”.

Read more at Press Gazette

Police speak to Sky News over Ched Evans rape tweet

Press Gazette — Fri, 18 May 2012 14:10:49 +0000

The broadcaster investigated after inadvertently publishing name of raped teenager.

Police have met staff at Sky News after the broadcaster inadvertently published the name of the teenager raped by Sheffield United footballer Ched Evans.

Officers from North Wales Police conducted a formal interview with staff in London as part of their continuing investigation.

The case will be referred to the Crown Prosecution Service and the Attorney General's office.

Detective Chief Inspector Steve Williams, of North Wales police, confirmed that Sky News has fully co-operated with the investigation.

Sheffield United and Wales striker Evans was jailed for five years at Caernarfon Crown Court on April 20 for raping a 19-year-old woman in a hotel room.

He denied the allegation and plans to appeal against the verdict.

Following the conclusion of the trial, the victim of the rape was allegedly named and subjected to abuse on Twitter and other websites.

Sky News reportedly broadcast the name by accident in an image taken from Twitter.

To read more, visit Press Gazette.