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‘Boycott News of the World’ says regional daily editor

A regional newspaper editor is urging people to boycott the News of the World in the wake of allegations that it hacked into the voicemail messages of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler.

Peter Barron editor of the Northern Echo, said he didn’t believe that senior executives at the Rupert Murdoch-owned title were unaware of what was going on and should be sacked.

In a blog post, he said boycotting the paper would send a strong message that people will not stand for what he called “flagrant abuse of privacy in the name of journalism.”

His call comes as a cross-party group of MPs, peers and senior journalists launches a campaign for a public inquiry into phone hacking ahead of an emergency Commons debate on the scandal this afternoon.

Wrote Peter:  “As an editor (albeit in the regional press) do I really believe that senior executives were blissfully unaware that this was going on at the News of the World? No, I don’t.

“If it came to light that journalists under my supervision were hacking into the phones of a missing teenager at the centre of a major police inquiry, would I expect to be sacked? Yes, I would.”

“What also saddens me is that it cements the public perception that journalists are a seedy, untrustworthy bunch who’d sell their grannies for a story.

“Urging people not to buy newspapers is not something I do lightly. But a public boycott of the News of the World would send a very strong message that people won’t stand for such flagrant abuse of privacy in the name of journalism.”

Peter went on to predict that Rebekah Brooks – News of the World editor at the time and now News International’s chief executive – will “find it hard to survive the fall-out” from the scandal.

Labour leader Ed Miliband has called on her to consider her position, although she insisted yesterday that she has no plans to leave the company.

Meanwhile the Press Complaints Commission issued a statement calling for its remit to be extended in the wake of what some are now seeing as British journalism’s equivalent of the MPs’ expenses scandal.

“It is right to use this terrible moment in British journalism as a catalyst to improve the reach and range of the PCC. We are committed to working with the industry, and politicians, to ensure that this can happen,” it said.

The  press watchdog said the Milly Dowler allegations will “appal and concern everybody in equal measure,” echoing views expressed by senior politicians including Prime Minister David Cameron.

Later its chairman Baroness Buscombe appeared on the BBC’s Daily Polictics show and claimed News International had lied to them during the watchdog’s own investigations into phone-hacking.

8 comments

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  • July 6, 2011 at 9:44 am
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    At last someone pointing out the difference between the regional and national (red top) press. If you guys aren’t very careful you will all get tarred by the same brush. This is just the start – make sure your readers are aware you do not wallow in the same standards.

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  • July 6, 2011 at 10:31 am
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    Ironic isn’t it? Heaven forbit anyone defend any disgusting tapping that MIGHT have been used.
    But everyone’s demanding this that and the other on phone-ins, blogs, tweets, tv, radio.
    Based solely on allegations (not charges).
    The jury is not so much out and not even in on this yet the verdict has been reached by the media and the public.
    Any sniff of double standards or not?

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  • July 6, 2011 at 12:22 pm
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    Completely agree with jumpingthe gun. And while I find the allegations completely disgusting, perhaps the Northern Echo should focus on getting its name on this website through postive achievements of its own rather than negative criticism of another newspaper.

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  • July 6, 2011 at 12:42 pm
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    The boycott should extend to all News International / News Corporation media. Rupert Murdoch has always taken a position of voluntary deaf, dumb and blindness to the methods that make his wealth. The whole organisation is corrupt, and everything that comes out of it is tainted – The Times, The sunday Times, The Sun and The News of the World.

    When the full truth comes out of how, for instance, the Dublin offices were used for out-of-jurisdiction tapping, and what David Cameron knew back in 2002, and how the hacks obtained the telephone numbers, it will become plain that the other parts of the organisation only differ in the degree to which they camouflage and re-source their illegally obtained material.

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  • July 6, 2011 at 12:58 pm
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    The Northern Echo has been campaigning on the things that matter for more than a century. It’s reputation is second-to-none in the regional press.

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  • July 6, 2011 at 2:36 pm
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    Of course none of this will stop Murdoch taking control of Sky. It’s a done deal, one which heaps shame on the regulatory authorities concerned.
    Both the Conservatives and Labour are so scared of the power that the ‘Dirty Digger’ has at his disposal that they will never criticise him too strongly, especialy Cameron who is on ‘nibbles round at my place’ terms with the Wade woman.
    John, posting here earlier, is absolutely right, everything with a News International connection should be boycotted. Some of us have been doing excatly that since the move to Wapping.
    All of which makes it strange that the Scum would appear to be the ‘paper pf choice’ of the man on the Clapham omnibus.

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  • July 6, 2011 at 3:05 pm
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    If you want to get your views heard at the top table, email Simon Greenberg, NOTW Director of Corporate Affairs.

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  • July 7, 2011 at 10:15 am
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    I weep for the simple, silly days of the NoW when Sex Change Vicar Elopes with Goat was more than enough to satisfy readers, editor and publisher. It’s all got so seedy!

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