Post date: Jul 10, 2011 2:27:1 PM
News of the World staff cheer their editor as they leave the building en masse for the last time. The last ever copies of the tabloid Sunday paper are snapped up within hours of coming off the printing presses.
WALTHAM CROSS, ENGLAND, UK (JULY 9, 2011) UK POOL - In a moment of celebration tinged with sorrow and no little anger, the staff of Britain's best-selling News of the World tabloid cheered as they left their offices on Saturday (July 9) for the last time.Reporters, editors and production staff walked out of the building in east London en masse, and lined up before the world's cameras waiting to capture a piece of media history.
The headline of the last edition was simple and unusually low key. It read: "THANK YOU & GOODBYE" and underneath in smaller print added: "After 168 years, we finally say a sad but very proud farewell to our 7.5 million loyal readers."
The words appeared over a montage of some of the paper's most famous front pages, most of them involving celebrities, members of the royal family and politicians.
The owners of News of the World made the shock decision to close the title on Thursday in the face of mounting criticism of its newsgathering techniques.
Claims of illegal hacking into the voicemails of stars, royals, families of soldiers killed in combat and a kidnapped girl later found to be murdered have engulfed parent company News Corp in scandal.
Rupert Murdoch, head of News Corp which also owns the Sun, Times and Sunday Times newspapers, flies to London this weekend to try to contain the fallout, fearing it could jeopardise his bid to buy British broadcaster BSkyB.
Staff at News of the World, where some 200 people are losing their jobs, have voiced anger and disbelief at the sudden move to shut it down, believing they were ruthlessly sacrificed to save the prized BSkyB deal.
The collapse in advertising in the wake of the latest hacking allegations may also have played a part in the decision.
Colin Myler, the outgoing editor, addressed the media gathered outside his offices, watched by his staff who cheered him loudly.
"It's actually our 8,674th edition after 168 proud years," he said, holding aloft a copy of the front and back pages of the closing edition.
"I want to pay tribute to this wonderful team of people here who after a really difficult day have produced in a brilliantly professional way a wonderful newspaper," he said. "And now, in the best traditions of Fleet Street, we're going to the pub."
At the Cape pub nearby, some employees shed tears, others were hell bent on drowning their sorrows.
"The last day was pretty emotional for everybody naturally and understandably, but what was really sweet was that everybody treated it like another Saturday, in as much as they were very very professional. Emotionally charged, but very very professional," said Hardeep Takhar.
Galling for many employees was the fact that Rebekah Brooks, a key Murdoch executive and editor of News of the World when an investigator working for the paper hacked into the voicemail of missing schoolgirl Milly Dowler, remained in her post. She has denied any knowledge of the Dowler hacking case which has repulsed the British public.
"I think a lot of people think she didn't fight. I know the paper is seen as toxic now, but who knows whether she fought enough to keep the paper," said Nazia Khaadabux.
The print run for the last News of the World has been bumped up to five million copies, nearly double the normal number, in anticipation of a spike in demand for the historic edition.
Just before midnight on Saturday lots of people were buying the last edition of the News of the World from a newstand. Most for the historical interest, even if they were disgusted by the phone hacking scandals.
"It's 168 years old, so it's a bit sad that it's going out of circulation, even though obviously there's been a lot of problems recently and a lot of people don't want to buy the newspaper anymore, so just for that reason really, to read the last ever copy of it," said one man.
But not everyone is a fan.
One man with a copy under his arm said he'd only bought it: "Because my wife wants it. I think it's poison."
Another said: "I hope this paper is going to be dead and never come back."
Rival titles in the cut-throat world of British tabloid journalism will be looking to exploit the demise of the market leader, with the Mail on Sunday and Sunday Mirror seen as most likely to benefit in the short term.
In the longer term, many News of the World journalists expect a new title to replace the closed newspaper, possibly a Sunday version of the daily Sun.