The U.S. got more from the British than a language and Victoria Beckham. We also got a wave of tabloid editors and paparazzi trained in a ruthless, hypercompetitive market — where at least one major newspaper routinely hacked celebrity voicemail.
On the heels of a California bill regulating paparazzi movement — the one that took into account that scary Kate Moss video — come several meditations and investigations on how gossip sausage is made. A New York Times Magazine investigation into widespread practices at the Murdoch-owned News Of The World shows that bum-rushing celebrities at airports isn’t the only way to stay afloat in a brutal media environment. There’s also accessing their mobile phones, which is absurdly simple:
Often, all it took was a standard four-digit security code, like 1111 or 4444, which many users did not bother to change after buying their mobile phones. If they did, the paper’s private investigators found ways to trick phone companies into revealing personal codes. Reporters called one method of hacking “double screwing” because it required two simultaneous calls to the same number. The first would engage the phone line, forcing the second call into voice mail. A reporter then punched in the code to hear messages, often deleting them to prevent access by rival papers. A dozen former reporters said in interviews that hacking was pervasive at News of the World. “Everyone knew,” one longtime reporter said. “The office cat knew.”
Their targets included the royal family — which is eventually what got Scotland Yard on the trail, although The New York Times says their investigation was half-assed because they were afraid of Murdoch — but also lesser known people like soccer executives and even the 19-year-old victim of a sexual assault (apparently by a famous person):