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Dial M For Murdoch by Tom Watson and Martin Hickman
The Blurb On The Back:
”This book uncovers the inner workings of one of the most powerful companies in the world: how it came to exert a poisonous, secretive influence on public life in Britain, how it used its huge power to bully, intimidate and cover up, and how its exposure has changed the way we look at our politicians, our police service and our press.”
Rupert Murdoch’s newspapers had been hacking phones, blagging information and casually destroying people’s lives for years, but it was only after a trivial report about Prince William’s knee in 2005 that detectives stumbled on a criminal conspiracy. A five-year cover-up concealed and muddied the truth. Dial M For Murdoch gives the first connected account of the extraordinary lengths to which the Murdochs’ News Corporation went to “put the problem in a box” (in James Murdoch’s words), how its efforts to maintain and extend its power were aided by its political and police friends, and how it was finally exposed.
This book is full of details which have never been disclosed before, including the smears and threats against politicians, journalists and lawyers. It reveals the existence of brave insiders who pointed those pursuing the investigation towards pieces of secret information that cracked open the case.
By contrast, many of the main players in the book are unsavoury, but by the end of it you have a clear idea of what they did. Seeing the story whole, as it is presented here for the first time, allows the character of the organisation it portrays to emerge unmistakeably. You will hardly believe it.
Labour MP Tom Watson and The Independent’s journalist Martin Hickman’s book sets out the background to the phone hacking scandal perpetrated by News International and covers the process of exposure up until the end of the Leveson Enquiry. Published before Lord Leveson’s report was issued, this isn’t a complete guide to events but is a comprehensive timeline of events before and during the inquiry, and draws on a lot of the testimony made to Leveson. It’s particularly interesting to see just how unwilling the Information Commissioner, police and politicians were to do something about the known problem. The extent to which News International had effectively muzzled democratic institutions with threats of exposing dirty laundry (or just making it up) is depressing, as is the lack of backbone on the part of anyone in authority.
Murdoch’s painted as a Machiavellian operator who ingratiates and threatens with impunity. I was particularly interested in his links to the political parties (although it noticeably glosses over Labour connections post Blair) and there’s a lot on Rebekkah Brooks and her friendship with David Cameron whose questionable judgment is fully exposed here. The detail on the attempts by News International to cover up its misdeeds - whose laughable ineptness is matched only by the wilful blindness on the part of the police – is fascinating.
Watson (for me) overeggs his own contribution to events and there’s no introspection on the extent of Labour’s collusion with Murdoch’s papers. The authors overstretch when trying to damn the Murdochs and show a lack of understanding how big organisations work (e.g. James Murdoch probably didn’t fully read legal advice or email correspondence as directors typically don’t). The focus on Murdoch means that they miss the fact that other newspapers (including the Daily Mail) were doing it as well, so the wider ramifications go unanalysed. There’s also a certain amount of repetition in the text as the authors go over old ground several times in the text to make the same point. Finally, the publication date means that there’s no coverage of the aftermath of the report and the on-going discussion re media regulation and I’d be interested in reading an update that addresses this.
However the book digests complex facts in an easy, page-turning way and it’s impossible to read it without feeling outraged about the shameful situation.
The Verdict:
Labour MP Tom Watson and The Independent’s journalist Martin Hickman’s book sets out the background to the phone hacking scandal perpetrated by News International and covers the process of exposure up until the end of the Leveson Enquiry. Published before Lord Leveson’s report was issued, this isn’t a complete guide to events but is a comprehensive timeline of events before and during the inquiry, and draws on a lot of the testimony made to Leveson. There is a lot of interesting information here though on the links between Murdoch’s papers, the police and Britain’s politicians and although I think the authors overstress some areas and underplay others, it’s a page-turning read that digests the complex facts in an easy-to-understand manner and as such worth a read if you’re interested in the subject.
Thanks to Amazon Vine for the free copy of this book.
Rupert Murdoch’s newspapers had been hacking phones, blagging information and casually destroying people’s lives for years, but it was only after a trivial report about Prince William’s knee in 2005 that detectives stumbled on a criminal conspiracy. A five-year cover-up concealed and muddied the truth. Dial M For Murdoch gives the first connected account of the extraordinary lengths to which the Murdochs’ News Corporation went to “put the problem in a box” (in James Murdoch’s words), how its efforts to maintain and extend its power were aided by its political and police friends, and how it was finally exposed.
This book is full of details which have never been disclosed before, including the smears and threats against politicians, journalists and lawyers. It reveals the existence of brave insiders who pointed those pursuing the investigation towards pieces of secret information that cracked open the case.
By contrast, many of the main players in the book are unsavoury, but by the end of it you have a clear idea of what they did. Seeing the story whole, as it is presented here for the first time, allows the character of the organisation it portrays to emerge unmistakeably. You will hardly believe it.
Labour MP Tom Watson and The Independent’s journalist Martin Hickman’s book sets out the background to the phone hacking scandal perpetrated by News International and covers the process of exposure up until the end of the Leveson Enquiry. Published before Lord Leveson’s report was issued, this isn’t a complete guide to events but is a comprehensive timeline of events before and during the inquiry, and draws on a lot of the testimony made to Leveson. It’s particularly interesting to see just how unwilling the Information Commissioner, police and politicians were to do something about the known problem. The extent to which News International had effectively muzzled democratic institutions with threats of exposing dirty laundry (or just making it up) is depressing, as is the lack of backbone on the part of anyone in authority.
Murdoch’s painted as a Machiavellian operator who ingratiates and threatens with impunity. I was particularly interested in his links to the political parties (although it noticeably glosses over Labour connections post Blair) and there’s a lot on Rebekkah Brooks and her friendship with David Cameron whose questionable judgment is fully exposed here. The detail on the attempts by News International to cover up its misdeeds - whose laughable ineptness is matched only by the wilful blindness on the part of the police – is fascinating.
Watson (for me) overeggs his own contribution to events and there’s no introspection on the extent of Labour’s collusion with Murdoch’s papers. The authors overstretch when trying to damn the Murdochs and show a lack of understanding how big organisations work (e.g. James Murdoch probably didn’t fully read legal advice or email correspondence as directors typically don’t). The focus on Murdoch means that they miss the fact that other newspapers (including the Daily Mail) were doing it as well, so the wider ramifications go unanalysed. There’s also a certain amount of repetition in the text as the authors go over old ground several times in the text to make the same point. Finally, the publication date means that there’s no coverage of the aftermath of the report and the on-going discussion re media regulation and I’d be interested in reading an update that addresses this.
However the book digests complex facts in an easy, page-turning way and it’s impossible to read it without feeling outraged about the shameful situation.
The Verdict:
Labour MP Tom Watson and The Independent’s journalist Martin Hickman’s book sets out the background to the phone hacking scandal perpetrated by News International and covers the process of exposure up until the end of the Leveson Enquiry. Published before Lord Leveson’s report was issued, this isn’t a complete guide to events but is a comprehensive timeline of events before and during the inquiry, and draws on a lot of the testimony made to Leveson. There is a lot of interesting information here though on the links between Murdoch’s papers, the police and Britain’s politicians and although I think the authors overstress some areas and underplay others, it’s a page-turning read that digests the complex facts in an easy-to-understand manner and as such worth a read if you’re interested in the subject.
Thanks to Amazon Vine for the free copy of this book.