Usually, papers are done in by the business side

Or rather, done in by the lack of business.

This is the first instance I can think of in which a newspaper shut down over a scandal:

LONDON — The tabloid at the center of the British phone hacking is to be closed after a final, ad-free Sunday edition this weekend, according to a top official at News Corp., James Murdoch, in a sudden statement that underscored the devastating effect of allegations that targets included not only a 13-year-old murder victim but also relatives of fallen soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The statement was so sudden that the paper, News of the World, was still advertising a subscription deal on its Web site.

The new reports of stunning intrusions came a day after Britain’s Parliament collectively turned on Rupert Murdoch, the head of theNews Corporation, which owns The News of the World, and the tabloid culture he represents, using a debate about the widening phone hacking scandal to denounce reporting tactics by newspapers once seen as too politically influential to challenge.

Whether this is a precedent or not depends upon your definition of “newspaper,” of course.

9 thoughts on “Usually, papers are done in by the business side”

Brad July 7, 2011 at 6:15 pm

Apparently, the staff of News of the World was pretty horrified to find that THEY were losing their jobs, instead of just Rebekah Brooks.

They were in a bit of a state when then headed to the pub. They’re all probably half-cut by now, but no happier.

Hey, I’ve been there. Not the pub part (although I’ve been to a few of those as well). I mean the part where you think somebody else is about to be sacked, but it turns out to be you. It can be disconcerting.

Steve Gordy July 8, 2011 at 7:43 am

Couldn’t happen to a more deserving organization, although the staffers who lost their jobs have my condolences.

Brad July 8, 2011 at 10:34 am

Just read this on Twitter:

“RT @rognbrow: Rebekah Brooks is to address NOTW staff at 4PM, presumably from behind a bullet-proof screen”

That’s in 26 minutes. (We’re at minus 5 from Greenwich.)

Brave girl. With or without the screen.

Brad July 8, 2011 at 10:05 am

I’m not sure whether Rebekah Brooks actually IS the pivotal figure in this drama or not. It might just be that with that hair, the media consider her a striking figure. Showing a bit of leg helps, too. Much better pictures of her than ol’ Rupert, say I.

Journos love it when they can refer to the (apparent) villain of the piece as “flame-haired.”

Did you see the video where she acknowledged paying cops for info, then backtracked? That was a good bit.

Nick Nielsen July 9, 2011 at 11:05 pm

You DO know that News Corp also owns Fox News, don’t you?

Just sayin’…

bud July 11, 2011 at 2:03 pm

Brad, this is a terrific story but you missed the big point. Nick at least touched on it. This is Murdoch’s paper and as such is a very close cousin to Fox News. Fox News of course is little more than the propaganda wing of the Republican Party. It is responsible in part for the success of a party that has done nothing but destroy America over the last 20 years. Let’s get the emphassis right. It isn’t about a minor player at a Tabloid newspaper getting carried away. It’s much bigger than that. It’s about a very power propaganda machine using whatever tactics it can to entrench the wealthy and powerful in this country while throwing the rest of us under the bus. It’s class warfare of the worst sort. And it’s something that needs to be called out.