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Thursday 16 February 2012

Verity Murphy | 17:01 UK time, Thursday, 16 February 2012

Tonight we ask if newspapers have a future.

The Lords communications committee has said that the printed press is in "crisis", with local papers under particularly "severe" pressure. The committee suggested that ministers "think creatively" about offering tax breaks to newspapers to help them through a "difficult" time of falling sales and revenue.

The press has also come under extreme criticism in recent months, as a result of the phone-hacking scandal which led to the closure of the News of the World.

And now The Sun is embroiled in a crisis, with 10 current and former senior reporters and executives at The Sun arrested since November over alleged corrupt payments to public officials, prompting Rupert Murdoch to fly in tomorrow to take direct charge of the situation.

Peter Marshall reports and we debate in the studio with a former News International editor, a victim of hacking and a news website editor.

Also Mark Urban reports from Tripoli on the state of Libya on the eve of the first anniversary of the revolt that toppled Muammar Gaddafi.

And following the news that UK unemployment rose by 48,000 to 2.67 million in the three months to December, we look at the row over an advert on the Jobcentre Plus website, which said Tesco was looking for a permanent night shift worker in a store in East Anglia, paying just expenses and Jobseekers' Allowance.

Tesco has said that the advert was a mistake, and should have been for work experience, rather than a permanent job role.

However, the debate about jobseekers being made to work for major companies without pay or risk having benefits suspended rumbles on.

Comments

  • Comment number 1.

    Arbeit Mach Frei, UK becomming the 21st century equivalent of Nazi Germany ?

  • Comment number 2.

    "Tonight we ask if newspapers have a future."
    ++
    Looks like NN might have to 'up its game a bit' ?

  • Comment number 3.

    WHY SHOULD TESCO (OR ANYONE ELSE) NOT EXPLOIT THE WEAK? THEY MERELY FOLLOW THE WESTMINSTER PROTOCOL

    The intensity of dog-eat-dog, that is now met on a daily basis, is utterly dispiriting. By way of example: West Berks Council persist in fining entrapped motorists, even though a mass of evidence shows them to have been inept, to a high order, in signage, its illumination, and the road markings.

    If their intent is to bring local governance, and associated law-n-order, into disrepute, THEY ARE BRILLIANT. More to the point, THEY SEEM SYMPTOMATIC OF AN INSIDIOUS DECLINE IN ENGLAND.

  • Comment number 4.

  • Comment number 5.

    Its the pattern of 1930s Nazi Germany all over again, modified for the 21st century UK, same old idea, forced slave labour for the corporates again !

  • Comment number 6.

    AFTER DAVE'S PERFORMANCE TODAY I AM SCARED NOLLY (#5)

    Dave is even less competent than I realised; he has no idea how crass he comes over. He is getting like royalty. Ah - have I touched on something there? I bang on about immaturity, but when the PM behaves like a kid wearing his dad's tie and shoes, fear is an appropriate emotion.

    I thought we had seen it all with Tiny Tony, when it came to gnawing, unfulfilled need, but his natural heir, Desperate Dave, looks set to break all records.

    Help!

  • Comment number 7.

    I get the impression that what we are seeing with welfare policy now is all part of a stock market inspired plan to totally undermine the minimum wage, which has been festering ever since Tony Blair tried and theoretically failed to reform welfare in around 2000.

  • Comment number 8.

    'Tonight we ask if newspapers have a future.'

    Broadcast media's, presumably being bright, if a bit orange rather than in the red. Except those, of course, who have a more unique funding model, market forces, like FoI inquiries, exempt.

    No other media were hurt in the making of this programme. The Mirror & Guardian can breathe easier again.

    'we look at the row over an advert on the Jobcentre Plus website'

    An.. advert. Beats looking at some editorial on a major news medium which, evidently, was no mistake, despite offering opinions based on not bothering with checking facts.

    Luckily, when you control the edit suite, only certain questions get asked.

  • Comment number 9.

    ANOTHER ALLY - BARONESS KRAMER SAYS: "SPOIL PARTY GAMES"

    Baroness Kramer is not in favour of elected Police Commissioners, "as they will be politicised" aka PARTY ALIGNED! Next will she realise: if it is true for policing it is true for governing? Yeah right.

  • Comment number 10.

    This morning, not so much asked...

  • Comment number 11.

    Sydney experiencing its coldest summer on record

    can we have our carbon taxes back and punishment for those perpetuating warmist religion as fact and so extracting billions from the taxpayer?

  • Comment number 12.

    "..we look at the row over an advert on the Jobcentre Plus website.."

    I think that should read "we create a row.........."

  • Comment number 13.

    12. At 09:07 17th Feb 2012, MaggieL

    These days, when I see 'questions are beings asked..' 'critics are saying...' or the now infamous 'a row is brewing over..', I tend to check back a few steps, and find, more often than not, the hot water is usually being poured into that stirring pot by none other than the editorial depts. of the media trying to create a story out of sod all.

  • Comment number 14.

    10.
    At 07:13 17th Feb 2012, JunkkMale wrote:


    This morning, not so much asked...



    ++
    Has anyone else ever tried getting hold of a Whitehall 'brodie-crat' on a Friday after 11am

    That's the day many of them drive in with their foreign import exec cars paid for as an expense on their freelancing tax dodge fiddles - as a need to get out & do some miles & claim those miles as 'business'.

    There's more than a few there that need more than investigating - they'll be needing to do some 'porridge'

  • Comment number 15.

    AN ODD THING ABOUT THE "RULE OF LAW" IN ENGLAND (#11)

    Apparently: 'paying up', is YOUR admission that the money was lawfully taken SO YOU DON'T GET IT BACK! I know this because West Berkshire Council, whose BRIDGE FINES SCAM has entrapped thousands, NOW KNOW IT WAS ENTRAPMENT, just like the Carbon Con, but say they will PAY NOTHING BACK. They only cancelled my fine to avoid INSPECTION in court. Oh to be in England.

    Someone should warn Johnnie Immigrator what it's really like . . .

    D MOCK CRASS Y

  • Comment number 16.

    '14. At 09:31 17th Feb 2012, nautonier -
    Has anyone else ever tried getting hold of a Whitehall 'brodie-crat' on a Friday after 11am'


    Or a senior ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ type over the school hols?

    TGIF - Taxpayers Gouged Into Funding

  • Comment number 17.

    '15. At 09:45 17th Feb 2012, barriesingleton - They only cancelled my fine to avoid INSPECTION in court.'

    It's not about revenue generation or milking the law-abiding; it is about JUSTICE!!!!

    That's why, when one queries the evidence that has lead to the threat of a fine, or worse, each time sees the computer notch it up a level.

    Eventually you get human who will try not to blink... and notch up the fine further.

    Then an Ombudsman. Ditto.

    If you hold firm and call their bluff.. they simply drop the extortion attempt. No escalating penalties back their way fro vexatious behaviour.

    The Mob, at least, might leave you something in bed that a stew could be made out of.

  • Comment number 18.

    THE £60 FINE MONEY NOW GOES TO CHARITY - I KEEP MY WORD (#17)

    I have just arranged for local radio to witness my donation. At the outset, I suggested to the Council buffoon that we back away from the dog's breakfast, and I pay the amount (then £30) to charity. He said no, and killed the concession for early payment.

    Notice to Johnnie Immigrator: DON'T COME!

  • Comment number 19.

    IS DODGY DAVE WAVING BADBUY TO WIND?

    Dave is doing a bit of arm-patting with Sarko, they say it’s a nuke deal. Would that be over flat-pack nukes to replace our failed wind? Both are ruinously subsidised, so a shoo-in is "de rigueur" (haw he haw).

  • Comment number 20.

    NEW 'MR NICE-GUY' CAMPBELL GOES IN SEARCH OF HIDDEN ALCOHOLICS.

    Might he then root out escaped WAR CRIMINALS? Or SYCOPHANTIC BULLIES?

    Nuff sed

  • Comment number 21.

    Public Support of news?

    So what was the bbc for? How much investigative journalism is it doing?

    ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ is about executive lifestyles and pay with a huge back office of social engineering compliance.

  • Comment number 22.

    IS DAVE HEIR TO BROWN?

    ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ says the nuke deal has just been announced for the SECOND TIME.

    No more boom and bust Dave?

  • Comment number 23.

    Papers

    No , I see no reason why there should be special tax rates for local papers.
    News providers should not be dependent on politicians good will, ie. tax payers money.

    Employment Figures

    A loose talk on the figures, I suggest, before breaking into a criticism of the coalitions back to work programme.

    I then watched News Night Scotland. Somewhat more relevant to Thursdays news headlines, in my opinion.

  • Comment number 24.

    Today's release of ONS stats :

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