It has been a dreadful few days for the British media. This week’s revelations about the conduct of journalists at News International’s UK operations hacking into the phones of bereaved families and murder victims has finally caused the dam of public outrage to burst.
The tidal wave of contempt thus released has already altered the media landscape. It has forced the closure of the venerable tabloid newspaper at the centre of the scandal, the News of the World. The drumbeat of allegations and arrests, meanwhile, shows no sign of slackening. The police investigation is still expanding and threatens to suck in other newspapers.
If the allegations against the News of the World are correct, it broke the law and should clearly be held to account. One of the more troubling aspects of the affair has been the sense of collusion between the police and the media, and a political class that has seemed too cowed to speak out against the News of the World’s powerful proprietor, Rupert Murdoch. This impression of forbearance must be laid firmly to rest.