THE MAN HAS BITTEN THE DOG
By Chitranjan Sawant
Since the man has bitten the dog, it has made the news. A dog biting a man is common occurrence and anything that is common place makes no news. However, in this case we won't say that no news is good news. It was for gathering sensational news on a competitive basis that phones were hacked and law of the land broken.
BE ALL END ALL
News is the be-all and end-all of a journalist's life. His career depends on gathering news fast, gathering news that is authentic and gathering news that really makes news. The more earth shattering the event is, the larger readership it will attract. Of course, the style of presentation of news matters a lot. Thus a journo who wishes to make a name, rise high in the profession that is known for a cut-throat competition will be required to be in touch with people who make news and cultivate men and women who make decisions. Thus it will not only be news gathering but also analysing it threadbare and present it to the subscribers in a way that makes effortless reading. We know that a newspaper carries articles that is not literature but simple human interest stories presented in a simple form and readable Queen's English.
Rupert Murdoch's men and women were trained well to do their job and do it efficiently to attract attention and do it faster than anyone else in the competitive sphere. That was their brief. However, they exceeded their briefs and even crossed the line that lays the limit of doing this job within limits of law. The employees of the News Corporation owned by Rupert Murdoch crossed the limits of law and thus did everything that was unthinkable and unpardonable. They hacked telephones of the dead and the living to know what was happening and what part of the happening city really made news that would make their paper, The News of the World so saleable as to cross all boundaries of the past.
THE NEMESIS
Brilliant men and women employed by Rupert Murdoch perhaps were so career conscious that they did not realise that their act and omission was breaking law of the land. Further, being top notch journalists who had direct access to eminent ministers, even prime minister of Uk and other political personalities who mattered. This gave them a false sense of security from the prying eyes of rivals, detectives and other law enforcing agencies. That false sense of security of Murdoch's men and women ultimately proved to be their undoing. So much so that the top woman with flaming red hair who had the distinction of being the first woman editor of a British tabloid, was quizzed and later arrested. Other arrests of important colleagues and employees of Rupert Murdoch followed. The Empire of Rupert Murdoch that was towering over all competitors who looked like pygmies, collapsed like a house of cards. They reaped what they had sown. These journalists were guilty of violating law of the land that protected privacy. No one wants the privacy to be violated by anyone. Breach of privacy is like a breach of the fortress preserving and protecting secrets of state. The State cannot exist if its secrets are violated and codes are broken. Likewise the individual citizens do not want their privacy to be invaded by hacking telephones and emails.
The Law took its course… The ancient maxim of the Roman jurisprudence came into operation. It is:
However high one may ever be, the LAW is above you.
The maxim got Murdoch meat and proper. His goose was thus cooked.
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