Payouts Bad News for 'News of the World' in Hacking Scandal

Image via WikipediaThe defunct Rupert Murdoch-owned News of the World has settled 19 civil suits arising from its phone-hacking scandal, the Press Gazette reports.

England's High Court said among those plaintiffs receiving payouts in resolution of their lawsuits were actor Jude Law, who received 130,000 pounds ($200,949), singer Sadie Frost, who received 50,000 pounds ($77,288) and Welsh rugby star Gavin Henson, who settled for 40,000 pounds ($61,819).
The Press Gazette reports that 36 claims to date have been settled by News Group Newspapers subsidiary News International.

Blimey! Scotland Yard Pinches Murdoch Journos for Hacking & Wiretapping

Image by Getty Images via @daylifeThe Guardian's online edition (guardian.co.uk) reports today that the naughty tabloid News of the World ("NoW") (www.newsoftheworld.co.uk), which is owned by News Group Newspapers, Ltd., a subsidiary of media mogul Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., has seen one of its principal reporters and a former news editor who NoW fired in January arrested by Scotland Yard for allegedly intercepting mobile phone voice messages.

Ian Edmondson, 50, and 42-year-old Neville Thurlbeck were arrested by Scotland Yard on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications (Sec. 1(1) of Criminal Law Act 1977) and unlawfully intercepting voicemail messages (Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000). Both Edmondson and Thurlbeck have denied criminal wrongdoing.

Brangelina Settle Privacy Claim Against Murdoch London Tabloid

Image by Daniel Semper via Flickr

On the day that her action flick Salt debuts, 35-year-old actress Angelina Jolie and her hunky companion Brad Pitt, 46, settled their prviacy suit against News Corp.-owned  London tabloid News of the World, pouring salt in Rupert Murdoch's wound.

The undisclosed settlement amount and court costs, which the Hollywood couple will donate to their charitable foundation, resolves a suit filed in the London High Court after the tabloid published two articles in January 2010, one of which appeared on the front page, alleging attorneys for Brangelina, who aren't married, were assisting the purportedly separating actors in deciding how to divide their $313 million marital assets and work out custody of  six children, three of whom they adopted together.

The suit, which was prompted by the tabloid's failure to apologize to Jolie & Pitt and retract the story, ended with the newspaper conceding the stories were false and agreeing to pay damages.  Under English libel law, unlike its U.S. counterpart, the media defendant carries the burden of proving the truth of what it published and the plaintiff need not prove it was damaged by the allegedly false statements.

The crack staff of "TUOL" admits the case is not precedent-setting, but couldn't otherwise justify running the above photo.

Rapist Sues Irish Media for Lower Profile

Image via Wikipedia

According to an article in The Irish Times, a convicted serial rapist is seeking a permanent injunction against a handful of newspapers to prevent their continued reporting of his address and publication of his photo.

Michael Murray served 13 years of an 18-year sentence for raping four women and sexually asssaulting two others during a six-day reign of terror in 1995 before his release last July. Since Murray's return to society,  according to his attorney, stories have appeared in The Star and The Star on Sunday, including: "Serial Sex Beast Is Free to Roam the Streets" and  "Monster in Our Midst.," as well as The Evening Herald, which ran a photo under the headline "A Danger to Women," and other stories in News of the World and The Sun that refer to Murray as "this beast." Murray's attorney alleges the onslaught of publicity hinders Murray in his efforts to retain employment and causes him to move frequently.

The high court in Dublin must consider Murray's privacy rights, the news media's freedom of speech, and the public's interest in knowing the whereabouts and identity of dangerous individuals. Case law in the U.S. tends to side with the news media in such privacy cases, provided news stories about crimes and convicted felons are reported accurately. If Murray is camera shy and averse to the limelight, it probably would have behooved him not to rape women and terrorize the community, because such conduct tends to generate media attention.