CHANNEL 4 - NEWS CORP DENIES WIRETAP ALLEGATIONS

NEWS CORP DENIES WIRETAP ALLEGATIONS

News Corp on Friday denied allegations that its London tabloids, the Sun and the New of the World used illegal wiretaps to obtain personal information about actors, sports stars, politicians and other celebrities. The reports had appeared in the rival Guardian newspaper. In a statement, News Corp called the Guardian 's claims "irresponsible and unsubstantiated." However, it did not directly address the claim by the Guardian that it settled a lawsuit by Gordon Taylor, the head of a professional soccer union, for more than $1 million to keep him quiet about the alleged wiretapping. The Guardian did not back down, calling for News Corp to publish the legal briefs related to the lawsuit and asking police to release details of their investigation. Meanwhile, the New York Times on Saturday commented that "perhaps the most surprising thing about the accusations ... is how widespread, even accepted, such dubious journalistic methods are in Britain." It quoted Jon Snow, a news anchor on Britain's Channel 4 network as saying that British tabloid reporters "will go to any lengths to get material pretending to be someone they're not, dressing as the gasman to get into someone's home, paying neighbors, going through trash bins, convincing relatives that the person has given them permission to talk."

13/07/2009