Re: News Of The World Folded Over Hacking
here are some answers of IMPORATANT QUESTIONS AROSE IN YOU MIND .... IF YOU DONT KNOW ABOUT THIS SCANDAL ....
SOURCE BBC NEWS WEBSITE .....
What has News International announced?
The company's chairman James Murdoch said: "This Sunday will be the last issue of the News of the World."
No commercial adverts would appear in the final edition, he said. Advertising space would be donated to "causes and charities that wish to expose their good works to our millions of readers" and all of the edition's revenue "will go to good causes".
He praised the paper's achievements but condemned the fact revealed this week that phone-hacking victims may have included murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler, bereaved military families and relatives of 7/7 bombing victims.
He said: "The good things the News of the World does have been sullied by behaviour that was wrong.
"Indeed, if recent allegations are true, it was inhuman and has no place in our company."
How has the government reacted?
A Downing Street source said of the move to close the News of the World - "it has to be the right decision."
The prime minister's office said it had had no role or involvement in the decision by News International to close the News of the World and no pressure was applied to News International or James Murdoch.
How did the scandal arise?
The News of the World (NoW) has been illicitly hacking into the voicemail messages of prominent people to find stories.
It admitted intercepting voicemails in April after years of rumours that the practice was widespread and amid intense pressure from those who believed they had been victims.
So far, one NoW journalist and a private investigator have been jailed for hacking.
It is not known how many phones were hacked but police are investigating. Those targeted are said to include celebrities, sport stars, politicians, victims of crime and dead British soldiers' relatives.
The government has promised an inquiry.
What is the News of the World?
A national tabloid newspaper published in the UK, famed for celebrity scoops. Its fondness for sex scandals gained it the nickname "News of the Screws".
Its sales average 2,812,005 copies per week.
The NoW is published by News Group Newspapers, part of News International, which is a subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation.
Who is alleged to have been hacked?
Royal aides, celebrities, sport stars, politicians and victims of crime.
Among them are actor Hugh Grant, publicist Max Clifford, actresses Sienna Miller and Gwyneth Paltrow, former MP George Galloway, Lord Prescott, London Mayor Boris Johnson, football pundit Andy Gray and ex-footballer Paul Gascoigne.
Murdered teenager Milly Dowler and the parents of murdered Soham schoolgirls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman were allegedly targeted. Relatives of dead UK soldiers may also have had their phones hacked.
Claims that Milly Dowler's phone was hacked were described as "truly dreadful" by the prime minister
So how many victims could there be?
In short, thousands.
How did the NoW hack phones?
Mobile phones used to come with a default four-digit Pin such as 1234, 0000 or 3333. Customers were expected to change their Pin, but very few did.
Tabloid journalists and private investigators could simply ring the number and if the caller didn't answer, enter the default Pin and access the person's messages.
Another ruse was to change the voicemail Pin from the default to prevent other journalists having access to it.
Why did the NoW hack phones?
For exclusive stories.
Competition is fierce among the national press and, under intense pressure, reporters can push at legal boundaries.
How do we know who was being hacked?
The NoW's royal editor Clive Goodman and private investigator Glenn Mulcaire were jailed for hacking in January 2007 after it was found they targeted Prince William's aides. It stemmed from a NoW story published in November 2005 about the prince suffering a knee injury.
Detectives recovered files from Mulcaire's home which referred to a long list of public figures and celebrities.
The Guardian newspaper then claimed in July 2009 that NoW journalists had hacked the phones of up to 3,000 celebrities, politicians and sports stars. Police confirmed suspected victims had been identified among royals, the government, police and the military. Police also released some of the names.
Sienna Miller is one of the hacking victims to have taken legal action
Why does phone hacking matter?
It is against the law. If NoW bosses authorised phone hacking then they could face charges.
But the scandal also goes to the very heart of the relationship between the government and police and the UK media.
It raises wider questions of ethics in the press and how the police have investigated hacking.
Police are also facing questions over the relationship between its officers and the papers. News International uncovered e-mails indicating tens of thousands of pounds were paid over the years to police. Celebrities and politicians whose phones may have been hacked have long criticised police for failing to properly investigate and for being too close to the media.
The relationship between politicians and Rupert Murdoch's newspaper empire is also under close scrutiny.
Media commentators have argued that for the past two decades no politician with any prospect of power has dared to attack his empire.
The appointment of Andy Coulson, the editor of the NoW at the time Goodman and Mulcaire were operating illegally, as David Cameron's director of communications has also thrown into question the prime minister's judgement.
And the phone hacking scandal could also dent Rupert Murdoch's ambitions to take control of BSkyB.
What are the victims doing about it?
Several cases have been settled in the courts. Sienna Miller won 100,000 damages and Andy Gray received 20,000. Max Clifford brought a private case and received a reported settlement of 700,000.
Other victims are awaiting the outcome of police investigations or have already launched legal action.
Former Deputy Prime Minister Lord Prescott has said he believes he was targeted by hackers
What is the status of the police investigation?
The Metropolitan Police have faced criticism for their initial inquiry in 2006 into phone hacking at the paper.
It saw Goodman and Mulcaire jailed but did not implicate anyone else.
In 2009 the Met chose not to relaunch their investigation despite claims in the Guardian that the NoW was involved in widespread phone hacking of several thousand celebrities, sports stars and politicians. John Yates, acting deputy commissioner at the Met, said where there had been evidence that people had been subjected to any form of phone hacking, they had been informed.
But, in January 2011, amid continuing pressure, the Met reopened the investigation and launched Operation Weeting to look at "significant new information". On the same day the NoW sacked Ian Edmondson, one of its assistant editors, when four e-mails relating to phone hacking were allegedly found on the newspaper's systems.
In total, five people have been arrested and bailed by police as part of the new investigation - NoW chief reporter Neville Thurlbeck, Ian Edmondson, senior NoW journalist James Weatherup, freelance journalist Terenia Taras and Press Association journalist Laura Elston.
In May, former Deputy Prime Minister Lord Prescott, Labour MP Chris Bryant, ex-Scotland Yard commander Brian Paddick and journalist Brendan Montague won a High Court bid for a judicial review into the police inquiry.
Police are investigating the latest claims about phones belonging to members of the public being hacked.
How is hacking linked to alleged payments to police?
Commentators and victims accused the police of a lack of will to investigate hacking because officers were too close to the media.
At the beginning of July, News International handed over e-mails which were said to show payments were made to police in return for information, and they were authorised by Mr Coulson.
And in 2003, Rebekah Brooks, the company's chief executive, admitted to a Commons committee that journalists had paid police for information in the past. But she later said she had no knowledge of "any specific cases".
The Metropolitan Police are investigating and their chief has said any officer found to have received "inappropriate" payments from News International would be disciplined.
What has the government done?
On 7 July Prime Minister David Cameron promised an inquiry into phone hacking.
But the government, and the previous Labour administration, have been accused of being slow to react over the scandal.
After the Guardian's claims in 2009, the cross-party House of Commons Culture, Media and Sports Committee interviewed News International bosses, including Mr Coulson, over the newspaper's accusations.
Mr Coulson said he gave his reporters "freedom to do their job" but ordered them not to use subterfuge of any kind "unless there was a clear public interest in doing so".
In its report in February 2010, the committee accused the NoW of "collective amnesia". The MPs found no evidence that Mr Coulson had either approved of phone hacking by his reporters or was aware that phones were being hacked but said it was "inconceivable" that no-one else knew it was going on.
It was not until July 2011, following revelations that bereaved families may have been targeted, that the government pledged an inquiry.
The probe will not begin until the police investigation into hacking is complete.
How did News International initially respond?
News International initially denied phone hacking was widespread and put Goodman's conviction down to the work of one "rogue reporter". Editor Andy Coulson resigned but claimed no knowledge of hacking.
It was only after intense pressure from victims that it admitted, in April this year, that hacking was used. On 10 April an official apology was made on the NoW website and on page two of the newspaper for intercepting voicemails between 2004 and 2006. It said its past behaviour was a "matter of genuine regret".
News International instructed lawyers to set up a compensation fund of 20m to deal with "justifiable claims". It has made several payouts.
The company said it would be "horrified" if claims murder victims or bereaved soldiers' families were targeted are true.
News International has welcomed the prime minister's pledge for a wide-ranging inquiry into standards in the media. It also pledged to co-operate with the police inquiry.
What about Andy Coulson?
Andy Coulson blamed coverage of the phone-hacking story for his resignation
Mr Coulson was editor when Goodman and Mulcaire were convicted. He resigned, saying he took responsibility for something that had happened on his watch.
But in November 2010 detectives interviewed Mr Coulson as a witness - and two months later he quit his post at Downing Street, citing coverage of the scandal.
That led to questions about the judgement of PM David Cameron - but he said Mr Coulson had been "punished twice for the same offence".
It also emerged that News International had handed over e-mails showing that it had authorised payments to police officers for help with stories.
What about BSkyB?
Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation wants to take over broadcaster BSkyB.
News Corp already owns 39% of BSkyB, but last year signalled its intent to to take over the remainder of the company.
News Corp's bid had faced opposition from rivals in the media industry and some politicians, who objected on the grounds that it would own too much of the British media if the deal went through.
That opposition has increased as the phone-hacking scandal escalates, with critics claiming that it shows that News Corp is not "fit and proper" to own the broadcaster, as required by the media regulator Ofcom.
Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt is to delay his decision on whether to allow News Corp's bid for BSkyB after receiving 100,000 submissions on the issue.
Where does all this leave News International?
News International is co-operating with a police inquiry into hacking and is conducting its own investigation into the claims.
It also faces an inquiry into the allegations. There could even be two inquiries into phone hacking - one into the police handling of the original investigation in the middle of the last decade, and one into the actions of the media. Or there could be one all-encompassing inquiry, led by a judge. The inquiry will start only when the police investigation has concluded.
Calls have been made for Rebekah Brooks, editor of the News of the World at the time of the alleged hacking of Milly Dowler's phone, to resign from her current job as chief executive of News International. But Mrs Brooks has said she will not stand down.
The company faces further issues.
A string of businesses have suspended or cancelled advertising with the paper, pending the newspaper's investigation and response. Among them are Co-operative Group, Lloyds, Halifax, Vauxhall, Virgin Holidays, Sainsbury's, O2 and carmaker Ford. The government is also reviewing its advertising with the title.
The Royal British Legion has also cut its ties with the paper as its campaigning partner and is reviewing its advertising with News International.
Shares in News Corporation have also taken a hit.
