1. VladimirNitta-08206823
NEWS CORPORATION AND
NEWS OF THE WORLD
Global Marketing Ethics
And Culture
Ethical Issues Affecting News Corporation Due
To The News Of The World Scandal, Through
Academic Theory And Review Of Unethical
Issues
Name: Vladimir Nitta
Student Number: 08206823
Programme: 6BUS0401
Lecturer: Adrian Goodsall
Word Count:2095
2. VladimirNitta-08206823
1. Introduction:What WentWrong
NewsCorporationanditsUK subsidiaryNews
International hasbeenunderthe spotlightfor
the controversial unethical behaviourthat
theyare currentlyallegedforinregardsto
Newsof the World.It evenwentasfar as the
newspaperbeingcloseddownwhichhasput
majorimplicationsonthe global brandof Mr
Murdoch’scompany. Otheraspects such as
otherinvolvementsbythe companywill be
consideredtosee whatotherissues have
beenidentifiedotherthanthe phone hacking.
We can all ask whatwentwrong,eventhough
it isevidentthatthe phone hacking’sNewsof
the World hasbeenaccusedof,wentwell
past the moralsand ethicsof the company.
We mustunderstandthroughthe use of
ethical theory,the positionthatNews
CorporationandNewsInternationalisinand
howits brandis affected,the implicationsto
theirglobal brandand marketingandalsothe
global marketingstrategytheycanadoptnow
to regainsome trustin the brand.
2. Ethics,CSR And The PositionThe Company
CurrentlyFaces Due To Being Unethical:
Whenconsideringethicalfactorsrelevant
theorymustbe lookedat.Everycompany has
a Corporate Social Responsibility;accordingto
(Corporate Ethics andCorporate Governance,
WaltherCH. Zimmerlietal.Page 11)
“companies are responsible forsocial and
ecological side effectsof theireconomic
activities”.Consideringthatitisclearthat
companieshave aresponsibilitytomake sure
that theydo notaffect social or ecological
aspectswhilstdoingbusiness.Asfarassocial
aspectsgo, ethicsbecome involved.Ethics
couldbe good or bad thus;ethical and
unethical behaviourisbeingusedto
determine actsthata companymay commit.
As definedby(Hollensen,Global Marketing
page233) “in everyculture,be itnational,
industry,organisational orprofessionalaset
of moralsstandardsforbusinessbehaviour,
where a code of businessethics,is
established.”Thiswilltheninfluence all
decisionsandactionswithinthatcompany.
Alsoinanalysingthe unethical behaviourof
NewsCorp,KantsMoral Philosophy,
UtilitarianismandEgoismwillbe considered
whenlookingatwhatthe companydid. First
of all accordingto Kant, ethicsare established
on principlesof moral code;goodwill,moral
worthand duty,thisleadstothe way people
make decisions.(KantsMoral Philosophy,
Stanford2011) All these aspectsthenleadto
a duty to respectthe lawswhichgovernthe
countryor aspectsof whatyou do (Blackwell’s
guide toKants Ethics20-25),in thiscase it will
be a businessinthe formof NewsCorp.
WhenlookingatNewsCorporation,they
mentionthattheir“Boardof Directorsand
managersare committedtostrongcorporate
governance andsoundbusinesspractices.”
(NewsCorporation2011)Eventhoughthey
say that,it isstill clearthat theirNewsOf the
Worldpaperdid notbehave ina moral and
3. ethical wayinmeansof obtaining
information.
The unethical behaviourcomprisesof the way
informationwasgathered, throughmeansof
phone hacking,hence breachingpeople’s
humanrightsto privacy(Your Rights.org.uk
2011), and thusbreakingthe law.According
to The Telegraph(2011) the lawyerof the
victimsmentionedthatthe interceptionof
phone messagesisillegal andhowcertain
storieswere assumptionsoncertainpartsof
the message andthus creatingan inaccurate
article andacting ina morallywrongwayand
breakingthe law,inregardsto Kanttheywere
not followingtheirdutyandrespectingthe
lawthus leadingtoimmoral andunethical
behaviour.
These issueshave vastlyaffectedthe brandof
Mr Murdoch’sCompany asithas dissolved
whattrust there wasbetweennewspapers
and celebritiesandothervictimssuchas
familiesof Millie Dowler(Guardian2011)
whichbroughtmuch more distresstothe
familyand wentagainstutilitarianethics,
whichisdefinedby (Corporate Ethicsand
Corporate Governance, WaltherCH.
Zimmerlietal.Page245) as beingbasedonthe
outcome of actionsand “the preceptof the
greatestgood for the greatestnumberof
people”.
The phone hackingalsointerferedwiththe
police investigation atthe time.Thisledtothe
jailingof GlennMulcaire whowasa private
investigatoronbehalf of News of the World.
Continuingonthe subjectof private
investigatorsThe Guardian(2011) mentions
that NewsOf the Worldhiredinvestigatorsto
run surveillance onthe lawyersof victimsto
put pressure onthemandstop theirwork
whichyetagainshowsthembeingunethical
inregards to someone’sprivacyandactingin
the interestof theirowncompany,thiscanbe
considered asegoism.Egoismisdescribedby
(Corporate EthicsandCorporate Governance,
WaltherCH. Zimmerlietal.Page 26-27) as
“acting outof self interest,thuspartakingin
actionswhichbenefitthemselves”andis
completelyoppositetothe ethicsof
utilitarianism.
There isalso the issue of briberywhere News
of the Worldpaidbribesof £100,000 to
officersof the MetropolitanPolice (Guardian
2011) andpossible otherglobal bribesby
NewsCorp (Guardian2011). Thisis a formof
corruptionwhichisdefinedby(Lasserre 2003
page 398) as the abuse of publicoffice for
private gain thusbeinga part of Egoism.Also
consideringthatitisan illegal act,Kant’s
philosophycomesin,inregardstoa dutyto
follow lawswhichinthiscase theydidnot.
Thisjustshowsto what levelsof wrongand
unethical actionsthe tabloidtooktogather
informationtogeta story.Some of the most
recentallegationsof phone hacking andwhat
the tabloiddidtogather information, has
come from celebritiessuchasHughGrant,
Steve Coogan,J.K.Rowling,GerryMcCannand
manymore,who are givingstatements aspart
4. of the Levesoninquiry(Guardian2011), with
manynamesbeingadded tothat listevery
week.(LevesonInquiry2011)
To sum itup theiractionswere unethical in
the aspectthat theydidnot bringpeople
happiness,thusnotbeingutilitarianaccording
to JohnStuart Mill’sphilosophy which
emphasises“the goodorbadconsequencesof
actions.”(Corporate Ethics andCorporate
Governance,WaltherCH.Zimmerlietal.Page
36) AndIt didnot followKant’sdeontological
theoryas itdid notfollowmoral rulesand
broke the law (Blackwell’sguide toKants
Ethics20-25) and that theiractionsfollowed
an egoismapproachas theydidthese things
to benefitthe tabloidandgeta storyout
there that wouldmake themmoney.
3. Implicationsto the Global Brand and
Marketing:
Consideringwhathasoccurredandwhat is
actuallygoingonwiththe current Leveson
inquiry,there are obviouslyconsequencesand
implicationsonthe brandof the companyand
howtheywill marketthemselves.There are
numerousimplicationsandconsequencesthe
companyhas facedand couldface.To start of
as a consequence of the phone hacking
scandal JamesMurdoch has decidedtoclose
downthe Newsof the World paper(Guardian
2011), the implicationof doingso resultsin
the brand beingtarnishedwithsuchunethical
behaviourandthe financial losesNews
International andNewsCorporationwillface
by nothavingthispublication openany
longer.
Furthermore on the issuesconcerningJames
Murdoch, itwas reportedbythe BBC(2011)
that he steppeddownasdirectorof News
Group Limited butstill remainschairmanof
NewsInternationalandDeputyChief
OperatingOfficerOf NewsCorporation. This
couldpossiblybe due tothe situationthatthe
companyisfacing withbriberyandphone
hacking. Implicationsthatcouldaffectthem
concerningthese issuesmaybe thingssuchas
the damage to future businesspotential,
creditrestrictionsorblacklistingandloss of
reputationandthe global andUK
investigationintobribery.
Alsoif we considerhow thisscandal has
affectedNewsCorporation,itisvisible that
theirbidto buythe remaining60.9 percentof
BritishSky broadcastingisunderscrutinyby
Ofcomand the governmentdue tothe phone
hackingscandal, (Financial Times2011) which
thenledto the bidbeingwithdrawnbyNews
Corp.(BBC 2011)
5. There are otherissueswhichare affectingthe
global brandamidstthe scandals,issuessuch
as NewsCorplaunchinga$5billionsharesbuy
back to try and stabilise the value of the
companyand share holderssuingthe
companyfor failure toproperlyinvestigate
the issuesdescribedinthe scandal.(DailyMail
2011)
These implicationshave awiderrange of
affectsonNewsCorptheyhave losttrust and
respectsfromnumerousgroupsthattheyare
involved withandthe groupstheyinvolvedin
these scandals.Soto saythe leastthe Global
brand iscurrentlydamagedinthe aspect that
theycan not markettheirnewspapersina
waythat wouldmake them regaintrustat the
currentstage as theyhave tarnishedtheir
image throughunethical andillegal behaviour
and the newrevelationswhichare being
discussedinthe Levesoninquiry (Leveson
Inquiry2011). Sayingthat however,News
Corp hastriedto repairthe brand name by
publishingfull page apologiesacrossthe
range of newspapersthattheyhave aspart of
a marketingcampaigntotry and repairthe
damage that has beendone tothe brand.
(MarketingWeek2011)
But as mentionedabove wasthatenough
consideringthatthe investigationintophone
hackingisstill goingon? Andto what extent
didthismarketingcampaignhelpthemregain
trust fromthe public,andcouldthisleadto
tighterregulationsonthe pressinthe future,
to make sure such thingsdonot happen
again.
Consideringall those aspectsthe company’s
national brandisextremelydamagedasthere
isa police investigationintothe scandal and
the publictrustof the tabloidsunderthe
companyisunderscrutiny,due to the legality
and moralityof the ethicstheybreachedin
gettinginformation.
4. WhatGlobal Marketing Strategy Should
They Adopt Now?
Afterlookingatthe unethical issuesandhow
theyhave affectedNewsCorp,theymayneed
a new approach to the currentmarketwitha
new marketingstrategy, totryand rebuild
trust intheirconsumersandany stakeholder
the companymay have.
Theycan do many things;forstartersthey
couldhelpthe police investigationand give
theminformationthat couldbe beneficial to
the case. Thiscan resultinthe publicand
governmentstartingtoregaintrustas it
showsthat the companyisbeingcooperative
and wantsto helpcome to a conclusionon
the matter currentlybeinginvestigated.Also
the quickerthisinvestigationcloses,the
quickerthe companywill be outof the
negative coverage concerningthisstory.This
will thenenable themtoconcentrate on
tryingto restore theirpublicimage through
apologycampaigns,undergoing ethicstraining
for all theirstaff andworkingcloserwith
celebritieswhenwritingstoriesaboutthem.
Thiscouldhelpthemrebuildtheirbrandasit
will show thattheyhave accepted
responsibilityandhave beencooperative in
resolvingthe matter.Asaresulttrust maybe
regainedinthe companyandthiscouldlead
to cooperationfromgroupswhoare involved
ina story.
Anotherstrategytheycanconsider which
wouldreallybe the lastresort,wouldbe to
cut theirrisksand sell of theirUKtabloids.
Thiscouldbe beneficial forthemastheywill
no longerbe underthe spotlightforowninga
companythat has behavedinsuchan
unethical way.Bydoingthistheycan lookat
theirportfolioof companies,whichaccording
to Kotleret.al (PrinciplesOf Marketing2005,
60) can helpinidentifyingwhatcompanies
are doingwell andwhatto investmore
moneyin.Consideringthataspectitisclear
6. that NewsCorpsmainprofitsare beingmade
by theirtelevisionbusinessinthe US,whichis
mentionedbyThe Telegraph(2011).This
couldbe both goodethicallyandfinancially
because if theydonot ownthe tabloid
companies,theycannotbe blamedfor
possible future unethical behaviourandthey
can learnfromthe mistakessufferedbyNews
of the Worldand applymeasurestomake
sure it doesnothappenwithanyof their
othercompanies.
On the otherhand theycan combine both
strategiestorepairtheirbrandinthe UK
throughbeingcooperative inthe investigation
and apologisingfurtheronthe eventsthat
occurredand thenanalyzingwhetheritwould
be financiallysoundtosell the UKtabloids
and focuson theirprofitablebusinesses. This
will benefittheminthe aspectthatthe image
will be inthe processof beingrepairedand
that theycan use the gainedfinance fromthe
sale of the UK subsidiarytoworkon
improvingtheirotherservicesandincreasing
future profitsintheirtelevisioncompaniesin
the US.
5. Conclusion:
In conclusionNewsCorphave beenunethical
by notfollowingaUtilitarianapproachintheir
actions,beingacompanythat concentrated
itsown intereststhroughEgoismanddidnot
followslawsandmoralsunderKant's
philosophy, inobtaininginformationthrough
phone hackingandbribery.The implications
that thishas causedhave alsobeen
mentioned,asthe companyisunder
investigationthroughthe Levesoninquiryand
otherinvestigationsintobribery,andlossof
trustsfrom the publicandgovernment. How
brand couldbe repairedhasalsobeen
consideredbyapossible sale of their
newspapersandpossible cooperationinthe
currentinvestigations whichcouldleadtoa
regainintrust fromthe public,Government
and otheraffectedgroupsinthiswhole
scandal.
