End of an Era??

This morning I bought a newspaper. It was the News of the World. I always buy this paper, granted its not the most intellectual read you're ever going to have. It's not won awards for pionneering journalistic trait and the less said about the agony aunt pages the better. However it does have a fantastic sport section, especially after a footballing weekend, and there are always some juicy stories on the front pages. Now those of you who say you dont care for such stories and that it's not proper "News" are kidding yourself. We all like to see what's going on in each others lives, and although we don't admit it, we all like to hear of someone elses' issues. It takes our mind off our own issues and makes us feel a little bit better about ourselves. So no judging!!! Anyway....I digress.

This weeks edition is special. It is the last edition of the paper. The Editor and holding Company have decided to remove it from print. There has been a lot of scandal recently involving some illegal phone tapping of various people for a few years starting in 2006. Im not going to go into all the details as I'm sure everyone has seen it on the news and knows it all anyway. Sufficed to say Celebrities, Politicians and the Families of Servicemen are not very happy. That's fair enough. I agree with that completely. I don't care so much for the Celebrities or the Politicians to be honest, but the fact that those fighting for our country or those who lost a loved one in the 7/7 bombings have had to endure such a breach of their privacy is horrendous. I genuinly feel sorry for them.

But there are two sides to every story. I'm not condoning what happened in any way shape or form, but what seems to have been lost in all this is the amount of good that the News of the World has done over the years, the charities it has aided, and the lives it has changed for the better. they have campaigned for Sarah's Law, which has made it easier for parents to find out about paedophiles in their area. That was groundbraking legislation. They have sponsored the Childrens Champions Awards that recognises the heroic work ordinary people do in supporting children who need it most, and last Christmas they delivered toys to all the children of servicemen who were on active duty fighting for this country and our freedom and way of life, as we enjoyed our Christmas Dinner with our families whilst they suffered wondering if Mummy or Daddy are ok. Add that to the countless criminals they have helped put behind bars and all of a sudden, listening to a few phone messages seems to be less important in the grand scheme of things. I'm not belittling the pain suffered by those involved, but it does make you think.

I'm sure there will be a replacement by the parent company, probably The Sun on Sunday, for example, but that's not the point. The News of the World has become a landmark, ask the mother of Sarah Payne how she feels about the paper, or Little Jessica who the NOTW paid for her to have specialist artificial limbs fitted after a battle with Meningitis.

The plain fact of the matter is that this week the politicians got involved and demanded action against something that was "Clearly not in the public interest". They want governement legislation over the press to ensure that this never happens again. The Right Honourable David Cameron MP, our glorious leader described it as "Regrettable, but necessary" that the paper closed. Surely this then sets a precedent.

Is it in the Public Interest that our soldiers have limited equipment and not enough training or support when fighting for our way of life?
Or is it in the public interest to reduce payment made to families when a relative is injured of killed on active service?
Is it also in the public interest to reduce funding to the NHS or the police forces to try and reduce the national debt, whilst bailing out the likes of Ireland and Greece?
Is it in the public interest for MPs to be claiming expenses for which they should have no chance of receiving, that untimately we pay for in tax? I'm sorry but if i get a bus to work I pay for it myself and if I get a job that is 200 miles away, I move house.

So surely following this precedent the people in charge of these decisions and countless others that do not have the publics interest at heart, should follow suit of the NOTW. They should resign in dignity, and the Government should should concentrate on sorting the state of the country out, so we can all live a better life, instead of jumping on a bandwagon to take the attention away from itself.