UK 'S CONTROVERSIAL NEWSPAPER

A tabloid that failed to live up to its creed, “Our motto is the truth, our practice is fearless advocacy of the truth”, has been shut down by its owner in an effort to contain damage to his media empire. It had history —168 years of it; readership of 7.4 million which made it the biggest-selling English-language Sunday newspaper in the world, and was the first British newspaper acquired by the media mogul Rupert Murdoch in 1969. The paper’s old formula of sensationalism and sex, which had earned it a certain reputation for scurrilousness, had a new patron in Murdoch and the tabloid attracted more and more readers, and thus circulation figures soared.

Instead of reporting scandals, The News of the World itself has been the focus of a growing scandal, as it faces an investigation into phone hacking of individuals, perhaps thousands of them, allegedly conducted at the paper’s behest, through a private investigator. The hacking of voicemail messages of murder victims and their families, and the relatives of London 7/7 London bombings have particularly angered the British public. The newspaper has apologised for intercepting voicemails between 2004 and 2006, but its executives and editors are facing a fresh investigation. Even as the paper is shuttered, the investigation goes on, and the political fallout is likely to impact the Murdoch media empire that controls 37 per cent of Britain’s newspaper circulation. It is increasingly clear that senior executives lost perspective and instead of looking for truth, became purveyors of information that would make headlines, without giving much thought to human emotions and values.
The conduct of executives at The News of the World brings into sharp focus the pitfalls of not paying enough attention to means and bothering only about the ends. While Britain will continue to debate the controversial decision to shut down the paper and the transgressions of its staff, some of whom have been arrested, the fall of this tabloid is a cautionary tale for all those who stray from journalistic norms and practices and seek sensationalism over substance.