New York Journal: Destruction of the War Ship Maine was the work of an enemy. ibid.
When President Trump talks about fake news, which he has more or less constantly since being elected in 2016, what he means is real news that he doesn’t like. ibid.
The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion purports to reveal the detailed plans with which a Jewish elite will take over the world. ibid.
There are occasions where fake news has been undertaken with the full knowledge of the state and justified as being in the national interest. ibid.
Doesn’t lying make us as bad as the enemy? … Lies have unforeseeable consequences ibid.
I believe that there are potentially very real threats from fake news. ibid.
National Enquirer: Gene Pope was a force of nature … He knew what he wanted to do and it was that paper … Generoso Pope very cleverly identified a way to communicate with mass-market America. Storyville: Scandalous! The Tabloid that Changed America, comments, BBC 2020
His father became one of the most powerful guys in New York. He pretty much controlled the Italian vote. Along the way, he became a made man in the Mafia. ibid. journalist
We were Missy Smith of Kansas City. ibid.
In 1971 we moved to Florida. ibid.
Pope likes London journalists schooled in scandal. ibid.
There was no job security at the National Enquirer. ibid. journalist
Security would just come to a reporter’s desk, escort them out of the building and hand them a pay check on the way out. ibid.
I had a story about Bob Hope. And it was all of philandering and some of his mistresses … And Mr Pope killed the story. ibid.
For a long time we killed stories about Bill Cosby. ibid.
India’s caste system is over three thousand years old … Dalits are considered so impure, they are deemed ‘untouchable’. In Uttar Pradesh, in the north of India, violence against women is widespread. Dalit women suffer most, discriminated against because of their caste and their gender. In 2002, a group of Dalit women set up their own newspaper. They were expected to fail … but instead they stirred a revolution. Their newspaper, Khabar Kahariya or Waves of News, continues to be India’s only paper run entirely by women. Storyville: Writing with Fire, BBC 2022
Rupert Murdoch is an enigma. Owner of The Sun, The Times, The Sunday Times, Fox News and hundreds of other media outlets across the world. And yet his story is rarely told. The Rise of the Murdoch Dynasty I, BBC 2020
To some he is an extraordinary business man; to others, he is a dark force. For decades Murdoch has been a force in politics at the highest level. ibid.
‘The pollution of the British press is an important part of the pollution of British political life.’ ibid. Dennis Potter
‘There is only one Rupert that we know.’ ibid. Trump
Next, he wants to conquer the British market. And he uses the same plan, starting with the tabloids, the News of the World and The Sun. Next, he tries to buy The Times and The Sunday Times. ibid.
‘The price of Rupert Murdoch’s support for Tony Blair was that Blair promised he would not take us into the European currency without first having a referendum.’ ibid. Nigel Farage
By 2009 James Murdoch is busy running a huge part of his father’s empire and he seems favourite to succeed him. The other person who is doing well isn’t actually a family member – Rebekah Wade is about to be made CEO of News International, in charge of all his UK newspapers. The Rise of the Murdoch Dynasty II: The Rebel Alliance
‘These politicians literally gathered like locusts around Rupert desperate for his patronage, desperate to impress him, desperate for him to like them.’ ibid. Piers Morgan, re: Brooks’ wedding
Max Mosley became one of the very few people to have taken on the News of the World and won. ibid.
On 9th July 2009 the Guardian breaks the story on their front page: ‘Revealed: Murdoch’s £1m bill for hiding dirty tricks’. ibid.
When the police take no action the story goes cold … Above this battle it seems to be business as usual for Rupert Murdoch. ibid.
With Max Mosley’s millions as insurance, more and more people bring cases to court, and more evidence at what had been going on at the News of the World is brought into the public domain. But the Murdoch empire will pay hundreds of millions in damages to settle out of court. ibid.
‘Mr Murdoch, you must be the first Mafia boss in history that didn’t know he was running a criminal enterprise.’ ibid. Tom Watson to James Murdoch
Murdoch’s public shames leads to a public enquiry … Four of Britain’s living prime ministers are called to testify [Leveson Inquiry]. ibid.
Recently, so much of the power and influence he once enjoyed has gone. His reputation damaged by the phone hacking scandal. But Rupert is about to mastermind his comeback … The Rise of the Murdoch Dynasty III: The Comeback
The [Fox] primary [US] debate is the most watched in history … Trump’s candidacy no longer seems so far-fetched. ibid.
Going out with Mick Jagger’s ex-wife brings a new kind of attention. ibid.
He decides to sell almost all of his empire … Disney pays $71 billion for the majority. ibid.
The Royal Family and the tabloid press have a long and complicated relationship. Sometimes they’re friends, sometimes they’re not. This is the inside story of that fascinating relationship. Diana vs The Tabloids, Channel 5 2020
Over a light lunch in Diana’s private quarters she proposed a deal to the assembled press editors: she would feed them stories if in return if they took a more respectful approach to her privacy. ibid.
Charles’s new girlfriend was a tantalising prospect for the tabloids. ibid.
It was very clear that Diana sold, Charles didn’t. ibid.
To the ever watchful tabloid press, the cracks they had always suspected in the royal marriage were beginning to show. Charles was an old-fashioned country gent while Diana was a young cosmopolitan city girl. And it wasn’t long before press rumours were circulating about extra-marital affairs. ibid.
Camilla Tapes: Charles Rocked By Shock Camilla Tape. ibid. People headline
Dubbed Tampongate. ibid.
‘Effectively suggesting he would have liked to have been Camilla’s Tampax is probably the biggest low any member of the Royal Family has ever sunk to. ibid.
Turning against a money machine like the princess can damage sales. ibid.
Over time these acts of defiance became more public. ibid.
Just Di-Light-Ful … Daring Di: She’s All Things Bold & Beautiful … The Mouse That Roared. ibid. Sun headlines
When he was at his peak, he was one of the most powerful men in Fleet Street. Max Clifford: The Fall of a Tabloid King, Channel 4 2021
Max Clifford has been charged with eleven counts of indecent assault between 1966 and 1985. ibid. television news
I think Max loved power. It made him feel good. It made him feel he’d got somewhere in life. And he really liked being in the centre of things. ibid. Angela Levin, biographer
I learned earlier on that it was important to have as much control as possible. ibid. Clifford to Levin
On May 2nd 2014 Max Clifford was sentenced to 8 years in prison. On 8th December 2017 Max Clifford collapsed in prison. He died in hospital two days later. ibid. captions
Yesterday they ignored the warning of the stars and published a new newspaper. Yesterday The Sun was born under the sign of Virgo. World in Action: The Story of the Sun, ITV 1964
In place of the Herald they made another newspaper and they made it in twelve hours. ibid.
They agreed to sell out to [Cecil] King for £75,000. ibid.
‘It was poor. It was orthodox. It was Jewish. We were very poor.’ Inside Story: Maxwell: The Downfall, BBC 1996
Lonely, burdened by debts and facing exposure as a fraudulent bankrupt, Robert Maxwell retreated during his last days into memories of his childhood and origins. ibid.
His bid for the News of the World was defeated by Rupert Murdoch. ibid.
During his sale of Pergamon his financial accounts were found to be fraudulent and he was condemned by government inspectors as unfit to manage a publicly owned company. ibid.
Then he bought the Daily Mirror. Maxwell became a multi-millionaire overnight. Hailed as a saviour, he sought his revenge against Rupert Murdoch. ibid.
The reality was a man unable to repay his debts. The empire was tottering on the edge of bankruptcy. ibid.
Maxwell styled himself as an emperor spending money he could not afford. ibid.
Desperate for more money to repay his debts, Maxwell’s targets were the pension funds of his companies. ibid.
Maxwell sold 49% of the Mirror Group. ibid.
He bought the Daily News. Overnight he was an American star. ibid.
Robert Maxwell went overboard into the sea. ibid.