Should the N.O.T.W. have been 'put down'?

[anotheoldgit]

http://www.dailymail....tish-institution.html

There should have been no need for the News of the World to close down after being a British institution for 168 years.

The name should have been saved just as a listed building would be saved, and the ones who are guilty of these criminal actions should first be suspended from their jobs and then sacked for illegal practices, if found guilty in a court of law.

I don't wish this thread to turn into another "who wants to read such tripe" and just for the record 'I don't', but there are plenty out there who do, just as there are plenty that will read such publications as the OK Magazine etc.

A newspaper is just pages of plain paper before anyone goes to unlawful lengths in the pursuance of getting their particular agenda printed on those blank sheets.

So it is those who should be 'put down' not the paper, after all 200 innocent people will lose their jobs, because of a criminal few.

[hc4361]

It's tactical. Murdoch will start a new Sunday paper before you can blink, and that woman has kept her job.

[jno]

it's a question of branding: the "News of the World" brand is so toxic right now that nobody will advertise in it - you'll notice they didn't close it until after advertisers pulled out - and even Cameron would be embarrassed to let Murdoch go ahead with buying Sky.

So they've done the opposite of what you suggest: instead of keeping the name but changing the paper, they're ditching the name but will be starting another paper which I suspect will be very similar, to recapture the NoW audience. (My first thought was that they would do this in a week or two, but I think public disgust is so strong that it will have to wait a while.)

[Ankou]

"A newspaper is just pages of plain paper"

so why save it ? good riddance i say.

[emmie]

as has been said, it's likely that it crop in another guise.

[anotheoldgit]

/// it's likely that it crop in another guise. ///

That's not the issue, it's the fact that we will be losing yet another icon of British life, after 168 years.

Just as some other British names who's product were nothing special, but their names are missed in some quarters.

Austin, Morris, Riley, Wolseley, Hillman, how would it be to lose the name Rolls Royce for example?

[Kromovaracun]

AOG, I appreciate the sentiment, but it's a little irrational, surely?

NotW might have been an 'institution', but it was evidently a bad one. You can't preserve institutions just for their own sake when they're rotten or, in less extreme cases, simply unprofitable/unsustainable. The fact that this 'icon' has been removed simply indicates that British life has changed - and for the better. Change isn't by any means a good thing in and of itself, but you really can't resist it when it's simply necessary.

[jno]

we have lost the name Rolls-Royce, they're made by BMW. The plane engines company is still British, but that probably wasn't what you were talking about?

[anotheoldgit]

jno

I was talking about RR as a whole, car and aero engine.

The car may be made by BMW, but the name of 'Rolls Royce' hasn't changed.

And it makes me proud to see the letters RR on the engines of the airliners that take me abroad.

[Ankou]

unless you go on qantas right ?

[anotheoldgit]

Kromovaracun

The name can still remain, but it's image could change.

Nothing is to be gained if for example the Sun takes on a Sunday position, it could still be a wolf in sheep's clothing.

[jno]

okay, I don't personally think the RR aero engines are a British icon, but fair enough. But as for the car, is it enough to keep the name when the Germans have got the car itself? Can you feel pride in a 'British' car that isn't? I couldn't; but then I think recent models look stupendously ugly anyway

http://www.newautomob...e-Phantom-Coupe-1.jpg

Jaguars, now, they're beautiful... but they're Indian.

[anotheoldgit]

/// unless you go on qantas right ? ///

Now how did I know that wouldn't be mentioned?

Any idea of how many Rolls Royce Merlins developed faults during WW2?

[DrFilth]

manchester city arab , manchester united american , liverpool american

think you will find a lot of british things are owned by people from other countries

[Ankou]

dunno, whens the last time a merlin was used on an airliner that took you abroad ?

[anotheoldgit]

I am specifically talking about British names, not who owns them.

After all the News of the World is owned by an Australian-American.

[ChuckFickens]

"Any idea of how many Rolls Royce Merlins developed faults during WW2?"

Early ones, loads they suffered from coolant leaks and cracked heads with alarming regularity.

[Ankou]

tate & lyle, there you go, stick that in your tea and drink it.

[LazyGun]

Seems overly sentimental to me. We spend far too much time looking back and resting on past laurels and achievements, and not enough time on looking forward and planning for the future.

What happens every time England plays Germany in the World Cup? - Virtually every tabloid reaches for the WWII allusions.

News of the World, like Rolls Royce, like Mini - all they are is brands. Why invest so much sentiment in them? Some, like Mini, achieve iconic status and still seem to retain their Britishness and cultural affection despite being owned by a German company.Others, like News of the World become exceptionally toxic, and need to be laid to rest.

I do agree with you though that those who pursued unlawful avenues in persuit of a story should definitely be the ones facing the full majesty of the law, and we should definitely have a rethink about granting the Digger more control over media outlets in the UK............

[anotheoldgit]

ChuckFickens

I was referring to those built during WW2 not the prototype versions circ.1935.

One always expects teething problems with new developments.

But after introducing the ethylene glycol liquid cooling system and also the "Ramp" cylinder heads,which had their inlet valves at a 45-degree angle to the cylinder, the coolant leaks and cracked heads problems were solved.

[anotheoldgit]

The Digger ????

Isn't that a touch racist?