Fit to Broadcast?

On BBC Radio 4's 'Any Questions' interview show, Ken Livingstone made an excellent point in relation to News Corporation's aspirations to fully acquire BSkyB and become a TV broadcasting giant, something which isn't only a matter of buying the company but also of demonstrating that the owners of the company are fit to broadcast to the public.

He said that if the editors and owners of the News of the World knew about the phone hacking then they knowingly condoned illegal and immoral practices and are not fit to be granted a broadcasting license.

However, if the editors and owners of the News of the World did not know about the phone hacking then they have no control over the practices of their staff and are not fit to be granted a broadcasting license.

In the same show, Matthew Parris, a columnist at The Times, avoided answering any questions of all. Amongst other slippery exits, he said that since the News of the World funded his own newspaper, it would not be right of him to make any comments about recent events. He also said that if someone were to ask the NOTW editor, Rebekah Brook, to comment about him, he would expect her to be discreet and not say anything and so he would extend her the same courtesy.

Difficult, in a program entirely devoted to the latest scandal at the NOTW.

For a change though, they're not stirring up the scandal, they ARE the scandal.