Thank You & Goodbye

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Jim Waterson tells the inside story of the collapse of the News of the World.

Ten years on from the collapse of the News of the World, the Guardian's media editor Jim Waterson reveals the inside story of the once mighty tabloid's final death throes.

Love or loathe it, once the News of the World bit the dust after 168 years in print — engulfed in phone-hacking scandals — it was clear that the British media would never be the same again. The paper's demise marked the end of big-budget, mega-selling tabloids that could demolish careers, ruin lives, or influence a nation.

How did the biggest selling English language newspaper in the world suddenly lose the ability to claim that they represented the public? Was the News of the World - for so long the financial engine room of Rupert Murdoch's News UK - ultimately doomed by the advent of online journalism, tightening privacy laws, and changing attitudes to the stories it specialised in? 

And in the wake of the Leveson Inquiry, has tabloid journalism learned its lesson?

Marking 10 years since the paper put out its final issue on 10th July 2011, The Guardian’s media editor Jim Waterson tells the inside story of the once mighty red top's final death throes. Speaking to those on the inside as well as those who brought the paper's illegal methods to light, Jim reveals how Britain's most scandalous tabloid was brought down and almost took part of the British establishment with it.

Presenter: Jim Waterson
Producer: Pippa Smith
Associate Producer: Tom Latchem
Executive Producers: Sean Glynn and Robbie MacInnes
Produced by Novel for BBC Radio 4

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