General News about the Danish Royal Family Part 2: January 2013 - November 2015

[Muhler]

Originally Posted by FasterB

That´s right, I forgot the independence.

I´m looking forward to what happens in this case. Will S&H be shut down or will they continue?

Well, that's what happened in Britain. And if half the reporters end up in court and lose their press credentials and if the editor end up in prison, there is hardly any point in maintaining the magazine. - So I guess Her & Nu will fill in that niche instead.

[FasterB]

Originally Posted by Muhler

Well, that's what happened in Britain. And if half the reporters end up in court and lose their press credentials and if the editor end up in prison, there is hardly any point in maintaining the magazine. - So I guess Her & Nu will fill in that niche instead.

And/or "Kig Ind"

The former editor of S&H Henrik Qvortrup has resigned as political commenter at TV2.

Henrik Qvortrup forlader sit job hos TV2 | Nyheder | DR

[Muhler]

Originally Posted by FasterB

The former editor of S&H Henrik Qvortrup has resigned as political commenter at TV2.

Henrik Qvortrup forlader sit job hos TV2 | Nyheder | DR

The first head has rolled...

Wonder if he resigned voluntarily (yeah, I believe in Santa Claus as well...) or whether he was "resigned"?

The second head is rolling: Nordea sender mistænkt Se og Hør-spion hjem - Danmark | www.bt.dk

The source is now working for the Bank, Nordea. The bank has send him home, I.e. he has been suspended.

And to be on the safe side, the bank will now have their systems checked.

Follow up:

BT writes that Se & Hør in Norway used similar methods a few years ago. In this case they allegedly bribed various people who could get access to the finances of well known people and they also bribed others who could supply intimate informations about well known people, including the NRF.
Aller har gjort det før: Norsk Se og Hør brugte også ulovlige spionmetoder - Krimi | www.bt.dk
Märtha-Louise and Ari Behn were apparantly warned and advised to only to use cash on their honeymoon as a consequence of Se & Hør's actions in Norway.
Vidste de var overvåget af Se og Hør: Prinsesse droppede kreditkort på bryllupsrejse - Krimi | www.bt.dk

Se & Hør Norway got off the hook due to lack of evidence.

However, in this case the leak has been identified, people have stood forward and there is a half admission of guilt from a former editor-in-chief.

- As the current Minster for Culture here in DK is beginning to talk about tightning the guidelines for the press and the next PM is hopping mad, there may be a limit to the politicians patience with the press. - That alone will mean that the rest of the media will be even more keen to gang up on Se & Hør.
It will be interesting to see if heads will roll in the senior management within Aller Press itself. They are after all ultimately responsible for the behaviour of the magazines.

[FasterB]

Originally Posted by Muhler

The first head has rolled...

Wonder if he resigned voluntarily (yeah, I believe in Santa Claus as well...) or whether he was "resigned"?

My best guess is that he was "resigned"

Originally Posted by Muhler

The second head is rolling: Nordea sender mistænkt Se og Hør-spion hjem - Danmark | www.bt.dk

The source is now working for the Bank, Nordea. The bank has send him home, I.e. he has been suspended.

And to be on the safe side, the bank will now have their systems checked.

Wow, it´s going fast and then again not.

[Muhler]

Well, the top manager for Aller Press, Pål Thore Krosby, called the former editor for S&H, Henrik Qvortrup, to a meeting in 2007, to ensure that methods used by the Norwegian S&H would not take place in DK.
Henrik Qvortrup reassured him that no such thing took place...

Aller-boss: Qvortrup lovede at afstå fra ufine metoder - Indland

If this is correct, then Qvortrup is going to swing for this! This is incredibly damaging for Aller Press, not to mention the civil lawsuits that will follow and that S&H may end up being closed.
Or alternatively the senior management are beginning to distance themselves from their editors, in which case the editors will take the blame - and swing for it...!

The scandal is now so confirmed that it warrents a thread of it's own, so as not to take up space in the thread about general DRF news.

Avis: Hemmelig kilde til fest med Se og Hør i lørdags - Danmark | www.bt.dk
The newspaper Berlingske has revealed that the source at Nets, who leaked to info to Se & Hør, attended an event Saturday along with employees at S&H.
Two days before the news broke, and two days before three current and former editors-in-chief denied any particular knowledge of the source.
In fact the source has been a regular attendant at S&H events, including company outings. - Hardly a normal thing for an "ordinary source"!

So the claim of "we know nothing" by the editors is being seriously eroded.

[Muhler]

More info this morning.

A former Se & Hør reporter, with name, has spoken to the tabloid BT and said that everything was done with the knowledge and on the order of the editor-in-chief.
Se og Hør-journalist bag royalt scoop: Handlede altid på ordre fra Qvortrup - Danmark | www.bt.dk

Kasper Kopping were among the reporters who "tracked down" Joachim and Marie on their honeymoon in Canada. - What really happened was that their source at Nets continously supplied S&H with information, so that J&M could be located based on the electronic trail from their credit cards.

Kasper Kopping says: "Without saying what's right or wrong in this case, let's assume that what you say is correct. Then surely it's something I've been asked to do by an editor at that time. Everything I have done during my time at Se & Hør is something I have been asked to do by my editors-in-chief".

According to a rumor that was mentioned in an article the current editor for S&H about a year ago gave a little speech at S&H saying that it was too dangerous to continue using the source. That was met with some protest and he may have been persuaded to continue using the source but within a more narrow circle.
It is certain however, that the source attended several gettogethers and outings with members of the staff at S&H. As late as this Saturday in fact.

It is also beginning to emerge how the source worked within Nets.
The source worked as a major supporter, with responsibillity for servicing and maintaining Nets servers. That meant that he due to the nature of his work got access to a lot more than a normal employee would be authorized to and that he may not have needed a personal code in order to access the date on the servers.
What he did was to set up a programme that alerted him by text message when there was activity in relation to the credit cards of certain people. I.e. Joachim and Marie's credit cards among others.
Also, during periods where he had access to the system, he could for a limited period get access to the credit card transaction of people in general. And reporters at S&H had a "wish list" with names which he worked from. That list was continously updated.

- I must confess that I'm personally astounded that this would take place. Not because I don't believe reporters and media here in DK would be unwilling or incapable of doing something like this.
But to commit a systematic crime in order to obtain trivial information is borderline madness IMO. I mean, they weren't tracking down a traitor or exposing a major money laundring affair. (And even then it would be very questionable whether it was justified).
It's equivalent to do an armed robbery with the sole purpose of getting a pack of cigarettes. - And to do it repeatedly.
What is just as baffling is that people at S&H continued to do it, in the light of what was happening in Britain.

I cannot understand why people were willing risk everything, job, prison, the press credentials, reputation not to mention a good salary on obtaining such trivial information like a celeb doing some serious shopping in Barcelona. (A celeb who could afford it, mind you). Or Marie doing some expensive maternity shopping in Geneva in the beginning of her pregnancy.
It's hardly Pullitzer material, nor something that will seriously rock the political landscape.

It really is true that madness is contagious.

[Roskilde]

Originally Posted by polyesco

that was one of my first thoughts too, why not go for the crown prince couple?

Article from today shows Frederik and Mary have had their credit cards monitored as well.

OVERBLIK Disse kendte er angiveligt blevet overvåget ulovligt af Se & Hør | Kultur | DR

Evidently, they haven't used their credit cards to anything spectacular. Or the magazine may have get cold feet and thought it was a little too risky with the Crown Prince couple.

Margrethe has avoided monitoring since she doesn't own a credit card.

[Muhler]

And Henrik Qvortrup is on the verge on being sacked as censor for the School of Jounalism.

Alle Press informs that their internal investigation may be ready in late June.

Politiet om Se og Hør-sagen: Et større udredningsarbejde end forventet | Kultur | DR
The police states that the investigation is larger than they expected.
They know the name of the "source" but so far they haven't found enough evidence to take actions against him.

Nu er Se og Hør politianmeldt: Så mange års fængsel risikerer Qvortrup - Danmark | www.bt.dk
The journalists and editors-in-chief risk up to six years in prison, as this is a particularly grave offence.

- Now, is this of general interest? Or should we stop now and update here on TRF when there is a trial and a sentence?

[polyesco]

Thank you guys for keeping us updated. what a mess indeed.

I'll put this here.
the DRF has published their 2013 annual report
Homepage - Annual report · The Royal House of Denmark 2013

Im still reading it but i like how they highlight some events from the last year

[FasterB]

Isn´t Ekstra Bladet extremely quiet about this case?

[Muhler]

Originally Posted by FasterB

Isn´t Ekstra Bladet extremely quiet about this case?

Well, the editor on EB and former employee at S&H who has "been gone" on holiday today has sure opened her mouth! And basically confessed to the whole affair - even though she made sure to state she was the one who stopped it...
It has been a very dramatic day! Nine heads rolling or about to roll within Aller Press today - and counting.
With seven people suspended from S&H alone, the magazine is virtually decapitated.

But I think we should use PM's instead when discussing this FasterB and Polyesco, as this does not appear to be of particular interest outside DK.
So there is no need to clutter this thread.

Very brief:

Yesterday a former jounalist at S&H stood out and confirmed that the magazine did have a source at Nets.
At the same time a former editorial chief at S&H, Lise Bondesen, now employed at Ekstra Bladet, "was gone" on holiday.
She stood out yesterday and confirmed the whole thing. That has continued today and she and her lawyer will now go to the police.
She has clearly implicated the former editor-in-chief, Henrik Qvortrup, as the one who okayed the whole thing from the beginning. It may even have been worse under the next editor, but the third editor may have put an end to it, despite protests from the staff. - Simply because it was too risky - not for moral reasons or because it is very illegal.
Tidligere Se og Hør-nyhedschef angrer: Jeg skulle have stoppet det - Indland

Yesterday e-mails about the source at Nets, which had been sent to sixteen present and former employees at S&H was published and that led to a veritable massacre within Aller Press. Seven were suspended from S&H, two from Billed Bladet.
The mails included three former editors-in-chief, implicating them further.

The method used by the systems operator at Nets is also being revealed bit by bit. The police is busy gathering what evidence they can.

I checked the BB people who were suspended. They are only known by initials, PM & MSV.
One of them had an administrative function and were not among the royal reporters.
The old royal reporters are not among them, they have been at BB since the dawn of man. As for the new ones, the initials only fits one of them partly, but as far as I can tell she was employed at BT while all this went on.
I can't say if one of them is a photographer though.

As for Nets. Security and procedures will be tightened considerably after this and also in other registers. Apart from that I don't think there will be particular consequences. But public trust will go down.
You can put locks on your door, but it doesn't help much if the burglar is your only locksmith.

I don't know if the DRF will sue S&H/Aller, personally I think they should.
However, a number of celebs have hired a lawfirm to prepare a collective lawsuit against S&H and perhaps also the implicated persons personally as this is a crime committed against the official policy of Aller and apparantly despite personal reassurances to the management. It is not out of the question to suppose that Aller may sue those who are now almost certain to be convicted at some point.

- In a way it's a downward spiral. DK is a small country, at any given point the number of people who are interesting to the public is limited.
If you, pardon me, p.ss off those people, they won't talk to you and you run out of stories. That means you have to get even closer, more personal, pushing the boundaries even more to maintain your sale, because the good interviews go to your competitors.
So a source like the one at Nets, is a huge temptation! And now their lives and carees will be ruined - for stories that were mostly forgotten within a few days anyway.

ADDED: Things are going incredibly fast, I can hardly keep up!

Here are three e-mails: http://www.bt.dk/sites/default/files...0001-mails.jpg
They are directly implicating three former editors-in-chief and a number of journalists.
The e-mails encourage the journalists to come up with names for the source at Nets. AT S&H referred to as Tys-tys-kilden = the hush-hush-source.

[Terri Terri]

But I think we should use PM's instead when discussing this FasterB and Polyesco, as this does not appear to be of particular interest outside DK.
So there is no need to clutter this thread.

Actually...I'm not from Denmark and I find this interesting so I would appreciate if details continue to be posted here. It does deserve its own thread and this matter does not only deal with the DRF...But I leave that to the moderators to decide.

So what about the Nets?.. could it face financial ruin at the worse or significantly reduced business at the very least? It does appear that this suspect was able to get away with doing this for some time and would have continued to do so if the ex-reporter did not reveal that it was going on! What were the checks and balances at Nets?

And what about the members of the DRF....I am sure they are looking at the use of their credit cards now as they travel so extensively! My goodness....I can't even imagine someone checking on my credit card transactions to track my spending limits and where I was!!!

Do you think that the DRF will bring a civil suit against Nets and the magazine?

[casualfan]

I've been following this, too!! It is extremely interesting what's been happening in Euro journalism! Wish they'd talk about it more over here in the States.

[Archduchess Zelia]

MSV is a royal reporter (at least at Se & Hør, I presume at BB as well), relatively new at BB, and PM is the chief sub-editor. None of them have been directly involved in the matters and BB is not involved in any way.

I too think that the DRF should prosecute. What S&H did is completely unacceptable - a disgrace to journalism (if one can call what they do over there "journalism") - and their actions should have consequences.

[SElizabeth]

Muhler:

I have been reading your articles about the scandal of the media in Denmark, I hope this is reported around the world for the very reason that the media in many cases thinks it can get away with whatever they chose to do. This should alert the media around the world that perhaps they don't need to be in everybody's life be it the bedroom, the bank account, the charge card or anything else.

Your comment: *It really is true that madness is contagious*.

Being an ole lady, I truly do believe that in day's day and age, the world has become very filled with madness indeed! Sad!

[Muhler]

Originally Posted by SElizabeth

Muhler:

I have been reading your articles about the scandal of the media in Denmark, I hope this is reported around the world for the very reason that the media in many cases thinks it can get away with whatever they chose to do. This should alert the media around the world that perhaps they don't need to be in everybody's life be it the bedroom, the bank account, the charge card or anything else.

Your comment: *It really is true that madness is contagious*.

Being an ole lady, I truly do believe that in day's day and age, the world has become very filled with madness indeed! Sad!

Yeah, but the media won't learn. It will happen again.
But I find comfort in this old quote (from the 30's I think) from Storm P: "In thirty years, the terrible times we live in today, will be the good old days".

Originally Posted by Archduchess Zelia

MSV is a royal reporter (at least at Se & Hør, I presume at BB as well), relatively new at BB, and PM is the chief sub-editor. None of them have been directly involved in the matters and BB is not involved in any way.

I too think that the DRF should prosecute. What S&H did is completely unacceptable - a disgrace to journalism (if one can call what they do over there "journalism") - and their actions should have consequences.

You have an idea? I haven't checked those who write on BB's website, perhaps MSV is among them?

I agree with you. All involved should get the hammer.
Their actions are eroding the status of the press as society's watchdog. And that status is pretty eroded as it is!
Because there are plenty of people who woud love to restrict the press even more if they can. And that's where it becomes dangerous.
A survey published before this even surfaced showed that the status of a journalist in the eyes of the public is at about the same level as a used car dealer. Even cleaners who clean public toilets are more respected than journalists!
Anyway, those involved in this, can kiss their career in journalism goodbye after this. And they are also practically unemployable within the media sector either.

Also, I have problems seeing how Se & Hør can survive. It will be easier for Aller to pull the plug rather than having to rebuild the magazine.

ADDED: The business media EPN has dug out an article from 2009, which more or less outlined the basis for S&H going the extra mile: http://epn.dk/medier/aviser/ECE41120...ps-se-og-hoer/
In 2009 a former journalist at S&H, Peter Kaae, wrote a book about the methods used at S&H they were at times questionable but at least not criminal.
However he also wrote about the magazine that it became more and more unpopular among people, where slowly a hatred for Se & Hør was build up, which made it ever more difficult for the journalists to do their job. Peter Kaae blaims Qvortrup dicertly for this, because he established a "snitch-line", (where people can ring in a get a reward for tips about celebs. Something that is very frowned upon by the rest of the media here in DK.) "The snicth-line meant that we became unpopular on a scale that I'd never experienced before".

Qvortrup had promised the management at Aller that the sale of S&H would increase by 50.000. But the sale dropped and S&H was surpassed by BB, which increased its sale with a more soft approach.

- So I guess Qvortrup was so desperate that all methods were acceptable.

[Archduchess Zelia]

I know who the two journalists are (no familiar names - not to me at least) and to the best of my knowledge, MSV works exclusively on BB's website.

[Muhler]

Update.

Se og Hør-forfatter til politiet: Aller-top vidste besked - Danmark | www.bt.dk
The author behind the book that revealed all this, Ken B. Rasmussen, has been questioned by the police.
Apparantly he has been very forwarding and told the police what he knows, which he has said he would.
He has also told the police that the top management within Aller Press knew about the source at Nets.

And here are the persons involved, so far, Derfor skaber mail panik på Aller: Disse 16 kendte til 'tys-tys'-kilden | www.bt.dk
#2 Pål Thore Krosby. CEO at Aller Press. - Is claimed to have approached S&H's editor-in-chief in 2011 and demanded the source closed down.

#3 Per Ingdal. Manger at Aller Press. Standing in as editor-in-chief in periods between the regular editors. - Is claimed to have been informed without taking action. - He denies.

#4 Henrik Qvortrup. Former editor-in-chief. He is the one who ensured S&H became even more aggressive and it was under him that the affair with the source was started. - E-mails implicate him directly.

#5 Kim Henningsen. Former editor-in-chief. He is claimed to continue the praxis with the source and perhaps going even further. He decline to comment. - E-mails implicate him directly.

#6 Niels Pinborg. Current editor-in-chief. He claims to know nothing and thought the sourse was merely a good friend of a S&H employee.

#7 Lise Bondesen. News manager at S&H.Now employed at Ekstra Bladet. She has gone to the police (now that she has been exposed) and is now crying her eyes out in articles at Ekstra Bladet. (I'll spare you the details!). She claims she was the one who ended the whole thing. - She is now on "recommended vacation" from EB.

#8 Ken B Rasmussen. The author of the book and one of the two journalists who operated the source at Nets. - Want's to tell all to the police.

#9 Kim Bretov. Editorial director at S&H. Implicated directly be E-mails. Has no comments.

#10 Peter Brugge. Editor at S&H. Implicated directly by e-mails.

#11 Kasper Kopping. Journalist at S&H. The second of the two journalists who operated the source. He is also the one who send e-mails to colleagues and encouraged them to list names for the source to put a tag on.

#12 JS. Editor at S&H. Implicated directly by e-mails.

#13 JH. Journalist at S&H. Implicated directly by e-mails.

#14 JM. Former journalist at S&H, now employed at Billed Bladet, from where he/she is suspended. Directly implicated by e-mails.

#15 NB. Journalist at S&H. Directly implicated by e-mails.

#16 KM. Former journalist at S&H. Directly implicated by e-mails.

#17 MSV. Former journalist at S&H. Now employed at Billed Bladet, from where he/she is suspended. Directly implicated by e-mails.

#18 KW. Photogarpher at S&H. Directly implicated by e-mails.

#19 TSL. Photographer at S&H. Directly implicated by e-mails.

#20 AS. Journalist at S&H. Directly implicated by e-mail.

So this spreading up to the top floor at Aller Press. No wonder, over such a period people advance through the system. But ultimately they are responsible to the board and the owner Bettina Aller.

Will Se & Hør survive? Pål Thore Krosby has been asked that question.
He answers that provided S&H still sell there is no reason to close it down.
However, this may be the least of his worries, because if he gets just a little more involved in this his own job may be on the line.

[Terri Terri]

It sounds to me as though this Qvortrup man should be in jail right now!!! He has absolutely no conscience!

[Muhler]

Originally Posted by Terri Terri

It sounds to me as though this Qvortrup man should be in jail right now!!! He has absolutely no conscience!

Well, he is certainly preparing for that eventuality. He has just hired a top lawyer.

ADDED: Personally I suspect S&H were grooming their source. Because who knows what he might gain access to in the future or just through his present job. Would he have been tempted to sell that info again? Why not? So I think S&H kept him close, just in case.

Kongehuset om Se og Hør-skandale: Særdeles alvorlig sag | Nyhederne.tv2.dk

TV2 Quotes the DRF's Lene Balleby: "This case is followed very closely by the DRF and we consider it to be an extremely serious matter and as such it is with great satisfaction that we learn that the designated/responsible authories and other implicated parties investigate this".

Lene Balleby declines to comment in regards to the security issue at Nets, but she adds: "But of course we trust that the relevant parties get to the bottom of this".