The Times editorial hints they are going to point the finger…

“Before seeking to question the conduct of others, News International needed to demonstrate that this lesson had been comprehensively learnt.”

Back in September 2010 Guido produced, with the help of the Information Commissioner’s Office, this “blagging” chart. The idea that this crisis is only about News International is fanciful. Look who had the most recorded offences:

From the Information Commissioner’s report one can infer that at least 140 Mirror Group journalists could be looking at criminal charges. The Operation Motorman investigation was based on a group of blaggers used frequently by Mirror and Mail journalists to obtain information. Missing from this chart is The Telegraph, who according to a Guido source paid a private detective to hold a seminar at their Canary Wharf offices on how to hack phones back in 2000. The bribing of staff at HMRC, the DVLA, BT, the Land Registry, banks and  in the police has been endemic for decades. That is where the news you read is sourced.

In short every major newsroom in the land has used illegal techniques to obtain information. We are on the verge of criminalising hundreds of journalists.

We mocked George Monbiot this week for saying “this is our Berlin Wall moment“. On reflection there is a similarity, the Stasi HQ spied on the ordinary citizenry with all the paraphernalia of a police state. In Britain newspaper HQs spied on celebrities and the famous to entertain ordinary citizens. As readers we rewarded them by buying their papers.

Most of the hacking hacks will get suspended sentences and conditional discharges. Will they still be fit and proper journalists? Without the infotainment aspect of newspapers how will popular investigative journalism be financed? We are in danger of either killing off popular journalism or heading towards a French style subsidised newspaper sector, emasculated and servile to the rich and powerful…

This week 157,926 visitors made 458,517 visits to view 702,085 pages. A big traffic week. The top  stories  in order of popularity were:

• Piers Morgan Knew Award Winning Scoop Was Hacked
• Source for Cystic Fibrosis Story was “Mundane”
• Johann Hari Suspended Pending Investigation
• Piers Morgan: Britain’s Got Hacking
• Hari Lifted Orwell Prize Piece From Spiegel
• And on the Seventh Day Murdoch Created
• Guardian Says Sorry to Sun

Guido’s review of the week, and what another intense week it was, will be going out to Guidogram subscribers tomorrow. You can subscribe for free by clicking the link.

You’re either in front of Guido, or you are behind…