 |
Carl
Bernstein gestures during an interview in his apartment in
New York June 1, 2007. (Credit: Reuters/Shannon Stapleton) |
(Reuters) -
The phone hacking scandal that engulfed Rupert Murdoch's media empire could
turn out to be Britain's "Watergate" with fallout that lasts for
decades, former Washington Post reporter Carl Bernstein said on Thursday.
The
American journalist, who helped win his newspaper a Pulitzer Prize for his work
on the 1970s crisis that brought down U.S. President Richard Nixon, said there
were "striking" parallels between the two cases.
They both
involved allegations of corruption at the highest levels and have fueled the
public's loss of trust in national institutions, particularly the government,
he said.
"The
parallels are really striking. Both are shattering cultural moments of huge consequence
that are going to be with us for generations," he told a debate in London
organized by the Guardian newspaper.
Bernstein
said he had always resisted the temptation to compare other important events to
the Watergate scandal since he reported on the 1972 burglaries at the
Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington.
"But
this is for real and the parallels are remarkable," he added. "It is
about a sensibility that corrupted a free institution and the consequences of
that are so far-reaching."
News Corp
has been rocked by the scandal since July when it was revealed that people
employed by one of its British newspapers had hacked into the mobile phone
messages of murder victims as well as celebrities and politicians.
The events
have exposed awkward links between the media and senior politicians and police.
British Prime Minister David Cameron has spoken of the need for a new
relationship between politicians and media owners and the country's most senior
policeman has resigned.
However,
while Nixon became the first serving U.S. president to resign and a number of
his officials were prosecuted, Cameron has so far emerged largely unscathed
from the crisis.
The
Conservative leader has been criticized for hiring a former Murdoch newspaper editor
as his media chief, but Cameron has apologized for that decision and has
rejected suggestions that his judgment is flawed.
Bernstein
said the hacking scandal had damaged the reputation of Britain's politicians,
regulators and media. The same pattern has been repeated in other countries,
although often for different reasons.
"Our
institutions have lost the trust of the people," he said.
"If
there is a single thing going on today, from the Middle East to New York to
Greece, Britain, all over the world, it's a loss of trust in our
institutions."
(Editing by Michael Roddy)
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.