News of the World: Murdoch’s media mess is a wake-up call for journalism

The demise of Rupert Murdoch’s News of the World tabloid in Britain over alleged phone hacking should be a wake-up call for journalism.

Journalists – and those who read on paper, view on a screen, or listen on radio or TV, to what they produce – should reassess the function of journalism. Is it to make money? Some owners of newspapers have made a lot of it over the years, but with the advent of the Internet and new technology, those days are gone. Is it for media owners and managers to manipulate politicians? It should not be. Is it for titillation, or to capitalize on sensationalism? On prurience? On trivia? Is it to worship celebrity? To highlight depravity and the worst of mankind’s failings? I think not.

Surely journalism at its best – and by whatever means of delivery – is to inform about, and objectively illuminate, the significant events of our times that citizens need to know about, shedding light on dark corners where necessary. Weekly and small daily newspapers do yeoman work keeping their readers informed about local government, taxes, high school sports, and all the detail of community life. Larger newspapers and other, electronic media cover news of the nation and the world that is relevant and significant.