Last but not least: Miller and Rowling complain of media harassment
In the wake of the phone-hacking scandal involving the British tabloid *News of the World*, several celebrities have testified before a media inquiry committee in London about their struggles with the media. Among them were Sienna Miller and J.K. Rowling.
Actress Sienna Miller was put into a paranoid state by the intrusiveness of the media, as she explained in a statement to the committee, according to SDA. The tabloid scrutiny and publication of personal details of her life led her to accuse friends and family of leaking information to the media, Miller added. She was one of the first celebrity victims to take legal action against the newspaper for illegal wiretapping practices. As a result, the paper agreed to pay Miller 100,000 pounds (143,000 francs).
Author J.K. Rowling also suffered from the persecution of journalists. She explained that she often felt like she was under siege. In one case, a reporter even smuggled a letter to her into her five-year-old daughter's school bag.
The News of the World newspaper was shut down in July after it became known that journalists there had systematically broken the law. Among other things, the editorial team had hacked the cell phone of a girl who had been kidnapped and later murdered. The committee of inquiry before which Miller testified was set up after the News of the World wiretapping scandal came to light. It is to draw up recommendations for new ethical standards for the press.
