Among our favourite moments during the televised parliamentary inquiry into phone hacking at News International was when James Murdoch was asked if he was familiar with the legal term ‘wilful blindness’ (he answered he wasn’t). Here’s a New Statesman essay on the concept as it relates to mega-corporations like News Corp.
Now, news from the UK would suggest James Murdoch, among others, might not be guilty of wilful blindness after all, but of something more serious following the publication of a letter directly implicating senior News International management in the hacking. It seems News Corp is preparing for the scandal to traverse the Atlantic, if the firepower of their legal team is any measure.
One of the more fascinating aspects of the ongoing News International saga is how the story has been reported by Murdoch-owned mastheads. Yesterday’s Australian published a piece by Stephen Brook arguing that News Limited is not as dominant in the Australian market as is commonly thought.
“I believe it has become too easy, too simple and too convenient to blame Murdoch for all the ills of society,” wrote veteran News Limited journalist Mark Day, also in yesterday’s Australian. Day was writing, in part, about his experience as a Wheeler Centre guest last week for the event, ‘Taking Liberties with the Press’.
We love a review, especially when it’s from a participant, so we thought we’d link to it today to continue what was a fascinating conversation. You can watch our video of the session below or, if microblogging is more your speed, read all the tweets related to the event here - thanks to all those who tweeted on the night.
