The Media Column

FROM HACKS TO HACKERS

07-12-2006

Last week the News of the World royal editor Clive Goodman pleaded guilty to conspiracy to tapping royal phones. The reaction? Barely a yawn, writes Paul Bradshaw

It seems it comes as no surprise that a profession that rummages through rubbish will also hack into voicemail. Experience of steaming open envelopes is part of the job description, and it's clear Goodman's is not an isolated case: the information commissioner recently reported that one private detective was doing this kind of work for 300 journalists. That's just one person - and assuming he's not got a monopoly on this trade, you can do your own sums.

Should we care? We seem content to treat celebrities, royalty and politicians as ‘fair game' in these circumstances. And in some cases, they are: they have power that needs to be monitored, even if that means breaking the law in the public interest. But when journalists exploit the rules of the game to allow them to report on meaningless diary items and celebrity gossip, they risk bringing the whole thing into disrepute.

Now the backlash has already begun. The information commissioner Richard Thomas has called for prison sentences of up to two years “for people who take part in this illegal trade in personal information." Sir Christopher Meyer, chairman of the Press Complaints Commission, has said they would review the journalists' code of practice in light of the case.

More journalists may yet face charges, while calls for a new privacy law can only be a matter of time. If journalists are to avoid such a crippling law they need to plough money back into investigative journalism that hacks into government computers, and not celebrity voicemail; they need to be the flea in Big Brother's ear, rather than standing on his shoulders for grainy pictures of Tom Cruise's wedding. Until they start chasing stories, and stop chasing readers, the outlook is not bright.

Useful links:

Ian Reeves: The story Goodman should have written

Media law: Appeals test scope of privacy

Clive Goodman's court case and journalists who use deception

This is a good time to strike at the monstrous power of the media

Caught hook, line and stinker

Paul Bradshaw lectures on the Journalism degree at UCE Birmingham media department. He writes a number of blogs including the Online Journalism Blog, Interactive PR and Web and New Media.