After the three police investigations and thirty arrests that resulted from the News International scandal, the United Kingdom has begun a media ethics trial to investigate the influence and ethical issues surrounding the media. The previous criminal trial began after Murdoch’s tabloid “News of the World” hacked a kidnap-murder victim’s phone and the emails and phones of war veterans and their families.

The former British Prime Minister John Major – Conservative party premier from 1990 to 1997 – testified at the media ethics trial, known as the Leveson inquiry after Lord Justice Leveson was appointed to oversee the evidence.

Major claimed that Rupert tried to influence the government interactions with the European Union by asking Major at a private dinner to withdraw the United Kingdom from the European Union; Major refused.

Murdoch told the inquiry on 25 of April that he “[has] never asked a prime minister for anything.” Major responded that he assumes Murdoch meant, “he [Murdoch] has never asked for anything that would benefit him personally or his company…in my very limited contact with Mr. Murdoch his statement is on a strict interpretation literally true.”

Major went on to explain for what Murdoch seemed to ask. “Certainly he never asked for anything directly from me but he was not averse to pressing for policy changes. In the run-up to the 1997 general election in my third and last meeting with him on 2 February 1997 he made it clear that he disliked my European policies which he wished me to change.”

According to the former Prime Minister, Murdoch made the implication that if Major did not change his European policies the prime minister would lose the support of Murdoch’s media networks. Major stated, “so far as I recall he made no mention of editorial independence but referred to all his papers as ‘we’…Both Mr. Murdoch and I kept our word. I made no change in policy and Mr. Murdoch’s titles did indeed oppose the Conservative party. It came as no surprise to me when soon after our meeting the Sun newspaper announced its support for Labour.”

Shortly after the private dinner party where this conversation took place Murdoch’s two major papers backed Tony Blair in the 1997 general election; Blair won the election three months later.

News International, Murdoch’s news corporation, has since issued a statement in regards to Major’s comments. “News International titles did not act in unison in the 1997 election. The Sunday Times supported John Major, the Times was neutral, and the Sun and the News of the World supported Labour.”

Gordon Brown and Tony Blair have also testified at the inquiry about their relationship with the media mogul. Brown claimed that Murdoch’s papers undermined the British government’s efforts in Afghanistan.

Major made several comments about the influence of Murdoch and his media empire. “I do think parts of his press, parts of his media empire have lowered the general quality of the British media…I think the interaction that there has been with politicians has done no good either to the press or to the politicians.

“I think the sheer scale of the influence he is believed to [have] whether he exercises it or not, is an unattractive facet in British national life, and it does seem to me an oddity that in a nation which prides itself on one man, one vote, we should have one man, who can’t vote, with a large collection of newspapers and a large share of the electronic media outlets.”

Major claims that he has not talked about the conversation with Murdoch in the last fifteen years but since he was under oath at the inquiry he was bound by law and his word to talk about it.

Major and Murdoch also had meetings in 1992 and 1993 although neither party remembers what was discussed at those meetings. Murdoch claims that he does not remember the conversation at the private dinner with Major in 1997.

Before the meeting in 1993 Major’s press secretary, Sir Gus O’Donnell, sent out a memo stating that Murdoch has “made matters worse” and his papers “ceased to make rational criticisms of policy and are now simply anti-everything and [Major] in particular.”

Image Courtesy of  david_shankbone

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What would you expect someone to pay you for revealing your deepest, darkest secrets? At what point does journalism turn into harassment? These are issues being explored and debated in The Leveson Inquiry, an examination of the British media that has gripped the UK.

The explosive scandal hit the public’s TV screens over the summer when it was revealed that tabloid newspaper The News of the World had been gaining much of its ‘exclusive’ information by hacking into the phones of many celebrities, politicians and victims of crimes. Private investigators had even been tailing people embroiled in the most news-worthy stories.

In some cases, the phone hacking had led to email hacking and had even given journalists access to private passwords and PIN numbers. More and more victims of the hacking came forward, an outcry broke out, and the paper finally closed down on July 10 2011, publishing its last edition.

Many of its editors and employees, former editor Andy Coulson in particular, denied all knowledge of the phone hacking, and many were arrested. Founder and Chairman of News Corporation and owner of News of the World Rupert Murdoch was also put into a tricky situation, jeopardising his takeover of BSkyB.

So what is the outcome of this huge story? On July 13 2011, Prime Minister David Cameron announced a two-part inquiry chaired by Lord Justice Leveson to investigate the role of the press and police in the scandal. It will also examine the current culture, practices and ethics of the media and govern the future of press regulation.

The inquiry opened on Monday November 14, with an introduction from Lord Justice Leveson himself saying: “The press provides an essential check on all aspects of public life. That is why any failure within the media affects all of us. At the heart of this Inquiry, therefore, may be one simple question: who guards the guardians?”

Among the key hearings were: JK Rowling, Sienna Miller, Hugh Grant and Steve Coogan. Possibly the lowest of the low, parents of abducted children were targeted. When 13-year-old Milly Dowler was abducted and killed in 2002, her parents would continually call her phone, hoping for some response about their daughter’s disappearance.

Almost unbelievably, Milly’s phone was also hacked, voicemail messages deleted from her inbox. Mrs. Dowler recounted how elated she was when she realized something had changed: “I rang her phone. It clicked through onto her voicemail, so I heard her voice and it was just like, ‘she’s picked up her voicemail, she’s alive’.”

The inquiry also heard from young actress, Sienna Miller. She told of a closely-guarded secret being revealed, meaning she was led to accuse her family and closest friends after an anonymous journalist rang her saying he knew all about it.

Her run-ins with the paparazzi were possibly the most shocking: “I would often find myself — I was 21 — at midnight running down a dark street on my own with ten big men chasing me and the fact that they had cameras in their hands meant that that was legal, but if you take away the cameras, what have you got?”

Miss Miller’s statement raises a valid point – where is the line? Is Britain to maintain its freedom of the media, meaning tabloid journalists are able to hound celebrities to breaking point just for that photograph of them lashing out? Or will a new, stricter policy be put in place, meaning they can’t publish anything they want by any means necessary? And will this hinder freedom of speech if it is put in place?

Either way, it seems something must be done to prevent further incidents. JK Rowling highlighted: “The attitude seems to be…you’re famous, you’re asking for it.” Is this now an excuse that is wearing a little thin?

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