News Corps Final Call?

The phone hacking scandal of Murdoch and co has gone viral. Its literally plastered all over the news- the stories of the journos that need to win over the public once more.

National newspapers are running a full-page advert with a signed apology from Rupert Murdoch over "serious wrongdoing" by the News of the World following the discovery of serious phone-hacking crimes and the end of News Corps big-money paper.

The advert put out by Murdoch states: "We are sorry for the serious wrongdoing that occurred." The printed apology expresses regret for not acting faster "to sort things out".

"I realise that simply apologising is not enough. Our business was founded on the idea that a free and open press should be a positive force in society. We need to live up to this.

"In the coming days, as we take further concrete steps to resolve these issues and make amends for the damage they have caused, you will hear more from us", says the statement, signed "sincerely, Rupert Murdoch".

The damage to Rupert Murdoch's multi-billion-dollar global media empire, News Corp, has already become much more extensive than most would have imagined only two weeks ago. The News of the World (NoW) - the UK's most read newspaper - has been shut down, pre-empting a boycott by advertisers and readers. Under pressure from the entire British political establishment, Mr Murdoch has also dropped plans to buy out the rest of B-Sky-B.

It seem News Corps final call isn't quite yet, with mass apologies yet to come from Murdoch he starts with a public apology to affected family of murdered school girl Milly Dowler. News Corporation chief Rupert Murdoch profusely apologized saying sorry several times holding his head in his hand, said Dowlers' lawyer Mark Lewis. A very different side to Murdoch it would seem he isnt quite the hard face media mogul most press has made out.

In other developments Rebekah Brooks, a former editor of the paper, and senior News Corporation executive Les Hinton both resigned on Friday over the phone-hacking scandal. Mrs Brooks is expected to appear alongside Rupert and James Murdoch in front of the Commons media select committee on Tuesday to answer MPs questions on the hacking scandal. She was editor of News of the World between 2000 and 2003, during which time the phone belonging to murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler was tampered with. Murdochs right hand man, Hinton, also resigned after spending his entire 52-year career at News Corp., most remembered for stabilizing the company financially he did, however, start out as a reporter for the company's now closed Adelaide News newspaper in Australia. On Friday, nearing his retirement, the 67-year-old resigned amid a scandal now shaking the media company to its core.

Downing Street also revealed that former News of the World editor Andy Coulson stayed at Mr Cameron's official residence Chequers in March, after he resigned from his job as Director of Communications in Downing Street. Mr Coulson was arrested last week as part of the police inquiry into phone-hacking. And a list of Mr Cameron's guests at his country retreat showed that he was visited there twice by Mrs Brooks, in June and August last year, as well as once in November by News International chairman James Murdoch and his wife Kathryn.Things dont look to good for you- PM!

Former deputy prime minister Lord Prescott says Rupert Murdoch is "desperately" trying to save his company, and "ditching everybody else in the process". He said his apology changed nothing and only came about because he is going to be asked questions about his record by MPs next week.

Now it seems everyone is jumping on the bandwagon including the acting world. The actor Jude Law is suing The Sun newspaper for alleged phone hacking. He's launched legal proceedings over four articles published in 2005 and 2006. A spokesperson for News International called the news "a deeply cynical and deliberately mischievous attempt to draw The Sun into the phone-hacking issue."

It also came to the light this week that Ulrika Jonsson was warned about phone hacking by a NOTW cheif exec. themself. The Swedish TV star told press "Someone told me not to leave voice mails. I felt immediately like my stomach was turning. I felt really scared - somebody's been watching or certainly somebody's been listening to my life."

But its not the final call for News Corp- not just yet.

Shortly before the closure of NoW was announced, Murdoch's UK newspaper business, News International, bought the internet domain name sunonsunday.co.uk. Assuming the hacking scandal does eventually blow over, publishing the Sun seven days of the week would be a logical move.

Murdoch's tabloid is already the UK's most read daily paper by a significant margin, and NoW was the leading Sunday paper before its demise. The Sun has an editorial team ready to step in, and News International is now actively seeking to hire back NoW staff.

Moreover, many argue that the importance of Murdoch's UK newspaper business - which also comprises the Times and Sunday Times - is not as a profit centre. Rather, it is as a source of influence over public opinion and politics. And from this standpoint, its value to News Corp may already have been destroyed by the phone hacking scandal.


So where does News Corp go from here? I guess we'll have to wait and see...


-ZB

Who wants to be a millionaire?

A couple from Falkirk have emerged as the winners of the £161m Euromillions jackpot.

Lottery operator Camelot has revealed their identity at 2:30pm this afternoon at a hotel in the couples home town.

Europe's biggest-ever Lottery winners were unveiled by Camelot as husband and wife Colin and Chris Weir of Largs in Ayrshire.

Mr Weir, 64, worked as a televsion cameraman and studio manager for 23 years, while his wife, 55, is a trained psychiatric nurse. The pair have stepped into the ranks of the super rich a, netting a fortune of more than £161 million in the Euromillions draw.

The couples £161,653,000 prize was Europe's biggest-ever and was capped after a series of rollovers. It follows a £113m UK Euromillions win in October.

The winners matched all five main numbers and both Lucky Stars. The numbers were 17, 19, 38, 42 and 45, and the Lucky Stars were 9 and 10.

The couple said:

"All our lives we have lived within our means and been comfortable. We appreciated that this money brings about a whole new life for us and our family. We now have so many opportunities to explore but we don't want to rush it. For us it will be a gradual change with choices to be made."

Now the 22nd richest people in Scotland-the couple revealed that they are considering new homes and cars but are most excited by travel opportunities. Future seems secure for their 22 year old son Jamie and 24 year old daughter Carly.


Mr Weir said: "The kids are very down to earth and we are confident they will remain level headed. They have some great friends who we know will give them lots of support and of course they have a fantastic chance in life now to follow their dreams and do whatever they want."

Seems like a fairytale story!

UK winning streak

Before Tuesday's draw, the largest lottery winner in the UK was the player who claimed £113m in the EuroMillions last October and chose to remain anonymous.

Britons have banked the EuroMillions jackpot more than 14 times in the last two years.

Last year, two anonymous UK winners scooped £113m and £84m in the draw.

And Nigel and Justine Page, from Gloucestershire, won the £56m jackpot prize on EuroMillions in February 2010.

Camelot says that its draws have created about 2,400 lottery millionaires in the UK in the intervening 17 years. Unbelievable!

Congrats to Mr & Mrs Weir!

-ZB

168 years of 'News of the World.'

Lights go out all over the News of the World, and flicker fitfully over David Cameron, the Metropolitan Police, and Rupert Murdoch.

"Thank You and Goodbye" was the headline of Britain's News of the World on Sunday. After 168 years, amid an escalating scandal of phone hacking, the country's biggest selling newspaper published its last issue. With the final edition of the tabloid in hand, News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch descended on London today to face the growing scandal that prompted the paper's closure.

In Britain, devotees of the tabloid are wistful, the guilty pleasure paper will be no more. Lets take a look at some of the front pages of the NOTW over its 168 year reign.

On August 7th,1910, NOTW recorded the lead up to the arrest of Dr Hawley Harvey Crippen - as he tried to flee to the US with his lover .

On April 21st,1912, NOTW documented  the tragedy and terror of the affected crew and passengers of the Titanics Maiden Voyage. 

On September 10th,1939, NOTW documented that Britain had declared war on Nazi Germany and were preparing for a conflict of "three years or more." 

On August 11, 1963, just three days after one of the most famous robberies in British history, NOTW told just how the gang including Bruce Reynolds, Gordon Goody, Charlie Wilson and Ronald "Buster" Edwards - managed to nick £2.6million.

On February 24th, 1981, A special late edition of the News of the World told how the ground offensive in Gulf War One had dramatically begun with Allied tanks and troops surging into Kuwait. The hunt for Saddam Hussein began.

On August 31st,1997 shocked reporters of NOTW wrote about the passing of the People's Princess, aged just 36, in a car crash in Paris.

On June 4th, 2000, NOTW documented the Queen and Camillas first public meeting, where the queen gave the couple her blessing.

On July 23rd, 2000, following the murder of eight-year-old Sarah Payne by a convicted paedophile, the News of the World warned readers about the names and locations of child sex offenders in Britain .

On March 31st, 2002, NOTW documented the death of the Queen Mother, aged 101, with a special tribute edition devoted to 'Marathon Ma'am'.

On April 4th, 2004, in a headline that rocked the world, NOTW revealed that football golden balls-Beckham had been having a secret affair with Rebecca Loos.

On January 11th, 2009 the NOTW revealed a scandal on Prince Harry racially abusing Asian army comrades. The soldier prince called Ahmed Raza Khan a "paki" and labelled another "a raghead". 

On August 2nd, 2009- NOTW took scoops too far taking photos of where Michael Jackson had died- no time for grieving when NOTW are around.

On August 16th, 2009 NOTW celeb footage showed Katona hoovering up a line of coke in the bathroom of her Cheshire home while her kids played downstairs.

On June 5th, 2011 the extent of Ryan Giggs' betrayal of his wife Stacey and his brother Rhodri was revealed by NOTW. Giggs' eight- year affair with sister-in-law Natasha came to light after he tried to keep quiet his fling.

On July 10th, 2011 the final issue of NOTW is published. In an article entitled "Old the page" the first front page is re-published, the issue also includes a list of 250 crooks and paedos caught out by NOTW. The issue includes a piece called "Thankyou all- remember the times we did you proud" and a sport nostalgia called "simply the best." The final words are "Goodbye to our millions of readers- you've been world class too!"

While the circumstances have left NOTW slated by recent circumstance- it is still a sad end of an era. The clear outline from the front pages shows a decent from hard-hitting news to celeb scandal- which unfortunately took hold of NOTW. Never-the-less it is a sad fair-well to the guilty pleasure paper.

Goodbye News of the World!

-ZB

When Queen B Runs The World...

 

If you’re looking for Sasha Fierce, don’t bother: She’s gone.

Well, not entirely–she’s still there twerking her hips above the militant beat of “Run The World (Girls)” and the frenzied horn-filled club bounce of “Countdown,” but for the most part, the divalicious alter ego of one of the world’s greatest divas has stepped a stiletto to the side for the majority of her fourth studio album, 4–allowing the record to remain a decidedly Beyoncé experience- it is both sexy, gritty and a powerhouse of intense B vocals.

Trouble came quickly for Beyoncé this year when a demo of the lead single from 4, “Run The World (Girls),” sprung an early leak to a not so widely accepted critique. However I found Run the World as catchy and ass-shaking as any other Beyonce track. So the launch of Bs fourth album (accurately and simply titled '4') was quickly downloaded and ready to play-- and let me tell you it has been played everyday for the last 2 weeks.

This is fact. As the listener, escaping the emotional punch of this album is futile. You can get trapped, unable to breathe and simply in awe of her range. Her vocals can give you goosebumps and send shivers down your spine, all at the same time, especially on tracks like “1 (Plus) 1″ the opening song. The lyrics are pretty simple (1+1 = 2) but Beyonces beautiful voice really opens this album and sets the rest of the album flying with a whirlwind of vocals to make even Mariah Carey jealous. 

Her second number "I care" picks the tempo straight back up with a foot tapping Beyonce beat and a chorus where you simply have to join in with the 'la-la-la-la-la-la-las". As the album progresses into tracks “I Miss You” and “Best Thing I Never Had,” we find Queen B struggling to come terms with a lover. “I miss you, I wanna be with you…” she coos. However, on the following track, “what goes around comes back around” is her anthem cry. I am in love with this song- I don't know if its the catchy "what goes around comes back around..hey my baby" or if its the flawless performance in Glastonbury that this song helps provoke my reminiscing- but this song is without a doubt my favourite of the album. 

Just when you think B won’t dabble in the club-ready beats, you get smacked in the face with a “Party.” While this track is slower and the phrasing seems a little odd aswell as old, it still stands as great album filler, and with the right remix, it could be banging. "Rather Die Young” is one of the several highlights on the track listing with some tender, throwback vocals. For some reason, I feel like I’m reliving the heyday of R&B with this song. That is never a bad thing. Instead the inspiration of ’90s R&B plays as an underlying them, if anything, in this album.

"Start over" is worth a listen or two but you can easily skip this track to get to "Love on Top,” with a nice 1990′s Janet Jackson vibe, only Beyonce does Janet better than Janet herself, with this easily being one of my top songs on the entire collection. The album continues to escalate from there, giving a sweet nectar to buzzing ears. The instrumentation throughout each song is wholly unique to what proceeded it, for example, to contrast between “Love on Top,”  and “Countdown” that follows with its leathery techno feel. It’s sharp, and the phrasing is quite remarkable- its not all my taste but packs a punch to its hip-hop feel. 

The song "end of time" is my second favourite song- B has managed to combine her most outrageous vocals with an insane drum beat. This song has you dancing like B around your bedroom (only when your alone) and the section with fast lyrics transending into the slower vocals leaves you with hairbrush in hand acting like your Sasha Fierce. Again "I was here" is worth a listen but quickly you get bored and the finale of "run the world" is all the more enticing. 

Apart from being overloaded with a steady stream of slower tunes–B offers up other tracks with a pacing for dance-ready feet – 4 is a sexy, solid album experience that pays proper tribute to a slice of R&B history without artificially stealing an artist’s signature sound.

While the album is nearly guaranteed to go down as the first major misfire in Beyoncé’s otherwise unshakable track record (as other reviews I've read don't seem to see beyond a thumping beat and a music video where B is shaking junk) it is as much of a guarantee that future listeners will re-visit this record in time to discover that it is, in fact, a gem.

-ZB