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BBC MUNDO RADIO
10:09pm UK, Saturday July 16, 2011
The handling of the News Of The World's phone hacking scandal has had a number of "very major strategic errors" in it, Tony Blair's former director of communications says.
There have been a series of retreats and U-turns by the paper's publisher News International (NI), the parent company of News Corporation, which has raised questions about how it has dealt with the crisis.
But only days earlier he had said his company had handled the crisis "extremely well" making just "minor mistakes", in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.
And last weekend, he described his under-pressure NI chief executive Rebekah Brooks as his first priority when he flew to London to take charge of the crisis in his media empire.
Calls for ex-News Of The World editor Mrs Brooks to quit were brushed off, with Mr Murdoch saying he would not "throw innocent people under a bus". But days later he accepted her resignation and that of his right-hand man Les Hinton.
Timeline: How Hacking Scandal Unfolded
Meanwhile, the embattled Sunday tabloid was closed before advertisers and readers could boycott it and News Corp withdrew its bid for BSkyB before the Competition Commission could consider it.
Mr Murdoch and his son James, chairman of NI, both said they were unavailable to appear before a Commons select committee over phone hacking.
However, just hours later, they were served with a summons and the pair then both confirmed they would join Mrs Brooks at the select committee on Tuesday.
"I think the problem is, the longer you go on not pursuing the right strategy, the harder it gets to get back to the right strategy," ex-Blair press chief Alastair Campbell told Sky's Boulton and Co programme.
"The right strategy is still to get right to the bottom of it and deal with all the wrongdoing.
"You now have a situation where there's Rebekah, who's gone - how are those journalists who [lost] their job at the News Of The World feeling?
"That was another tactical error that probably they didn't need to make. I thought Rupert's interview in the Wall Street Journal was just foolish.
"To talk about 'minor errors' when you're talking about the whole Milly Dowler thing and the revulsion that caused."
FT Journalist Philip Stephens on hacking
Philip Stephens, a columnist at the Financial Times said the Murdoch strategy had changed dramatically.
"What we have seen over the past 24 hours is a complete reversal of strategy by Rupert Murdoch," he told Sky News.
"Defiance has given way to contrition and the stubborn determination to hold on to Rebekah Brooks and Les Hinton has given way to a recognition they had to go.
"That's the strategy that Rupert Murdoch should have adopted 10 days ago. That's the strategy that the Rupert Murdoch of 10 years ago would have understood.
"He's been very slow off the mark."
Alastair CampbellI thought Rupert's interview in the Wall Street Journal was just foolish. To talk about 'minor errors' when you're talking about the whole Milly Dowler thing and the revulsion that caused.
It is believed News Corp has taken on outside PR firm Edelman to help it handle the crisis.
Jonathan Hemus, who runs a crisis management firm, said this was a useful move.
He told Sky News: "One of the challenges is when you are in the heart of the crisis to be objective and to see it from an alternative perspective.
"Getting outside advice, people who can perceive the situation more from the outside in can be very, very valuable in taking the appropriate steps.
"One of the biggest factors in whether reputations are preserved or damaged is the culture of the organisation.
"Is it a culture which encourages problems to be spotted and escalated through the organisation or is it a culture where there is secrecy and potentially even fear about whistle blowing?
"In one of James Murdoch's statements he talked about codifying standards of editorial conduct and that hints at a cultural change which ultimately will be the most powerful crisis communication step of all."
Some analysts think Rupert Murdoch's attachment to Rebekah Brooks was a problem
Earlier, PR expert Max Clifford told Sky News Online he believed NI had been caught out after being in denial.
"I believe they didn't recognise the problem. They didn't think the problem would emerge and so didn't put anything into plan.
He said the public outcry over the Milly Dowler case was the devastating turning point for the company.
"An ordinary member of the public was caught up in the most horrendous things."
He added: "First thing when Murdoch (senior) got off that plane, he should have gone and said sorry to the family.
"He has now, but that's much too little, too late."
Not everyone agrees that the company was caught out, with former BSkyB executive David Elstein telling Sky News he thought NI had been pushed to the limit.
"The problem is, whereas politicians are trained to jump on moving bandwagons with great speed, companies like News Corp just don't have those same reflexes," he said.
"So it constantly appears that everything that they do is a kind of, time delay.
"So, the dropping of the bid for BSkyB, the decision of whether or not to appear before the Commons select committee, letting Rebekah Brooks go, meeting the Milly Dowler family - it all feels as if they are driven by events rather than getting ahead of events.
"And you know what, that's not surprising. This is an incredibly fast-moving story. In two weeks it has taken on a life of its own.
Les Hinton (l) is the latest loyal lieutenant to go
And Raymond Snoddy, former media editor at The Times, told Sky News the appointment of Tom Mockridge, Mrs Brooks successor at News International, was a "strategic move".
"There's a sense that maybe, you would argue, belatedly, that Rupert Murdoch is starting to get a grip on the situation," he told Sky News.
"It's not just that Rebekah Brooks is gone, and they must have wondered whether her appearance before the Commons select committee as chief executive of News International would be a particularly good idea.
"But the really interesting thing is, he's brought in a very senior executive, Tom Mockridge.
"Mockridge has run major News Corporation businesses in Australia, New Zealand and now in charge of the broadcasting empire in Italy.
"I really think this is a strategic move and Murdoch has finally overcome his sense of loyalty to Rebekah Brooks and realised there's got to be a strategy going forward."
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