Thursday 30 September 2010

The part of the News of the World will be played by Professor Roy Greenslade...


Great line-up for a debate at City University on Tuesday on the subject of 'How far should a reporter go? The lessons of the News of the World phone-hacking story'.

Speakers include Nick Davies, who has covered much of the phone-hacking row for the Guardian; former News of the World reporter Paul McMullan who has gone public on how the paper investigates stories; solicitor Mark Lewis, who is acting for many alleged hacking victims; former director of public prosecutions, Ken Macdonald; and Max Mosley, the former Formula One chief who won a privacy action against the NoW after it revealed that he took part in sado-masochistic orgy.

So who is going to represent the NoW? Step forward City University's Professor of Journalism, Roy Greenslade (pictured).

Roy reveals on his MediaGuardian blog that all the NoW execs will be at the Tory party conference: "So I will be arguing the paper's case, not as a comic routine, but in complete seriousness. I will be the voice of the NoW throughout."

I am sure the NoW will be pleased. Roy's references to it as a "rogue newspaper" - even before the phone hacking scandal - so angered the high-ups at the Sunday red-top that they withdrew funding from City's journalism course.

Still, it sounds like fun. If Roy wins the debate against this line-up he'll deserve an Oscar.

No comments: