This was the time when newspapers were still being put together with hot metal type, and the place where the printers worked was called “the stone” – a slab of metal which held the page forms.

It was here that I first set eyes on Rupert Murdoch, who had just bought The Sun and the News of the World, both newspapers living on separate floors of a building just off Fleet Street.

Murdoch wasted little time splashing semi-naked women all over Page 3 and building the circulation of The Sun to five million a day. Then again, it didn’t take long for the Australian they nicknamed the Dirty Digger (Murdoch had yet to take out US citizenship) to make enemies in high places.

Journalists didn’t have mobile phones, no one had them at that time, and so hacking wasn’t an option. Our only criminal activity was probably our expense sheets.

Murdoch was the Lion King in Fleet Street, growing more powerful by the day to the point where politicians and prime ministers would seek his favours.

Watching live on television the riveting appearance of Rupert and James Murdoch before the UK’s Commons committee enquiring into the News of the World phone hacking scandal, it appeared to me that the law of the jungle was prevailing.

The wolves were stalking the lion, watching for any sign of weakness, waiting to pounce. After all, they have waited a long, long time for the kill.

The venerable old lion appeared at times to have lost much of his fight. He looked distracted, even confused, while the young cub, slick son James, was taking leadership of the pack.

Murdoch senior even needed the help of his third wife, Her Cerise Highness Wendy Deng, to save him from a pie thrower who had somehow evaded security in an attempt to make the old media magnate look even more vulnerable than he has been since the phone hacking scandal broke.

Whatever the outcome of the current enquiry, and others that may follow, Murdoch’s mistake surely was to control so much of the media jungle that he lost sight of what was going on in its furthest reaches.

The Lion sleeps tonight…but not too easily when he can hear the howling of the stalking wolves.