News of the World - Research Paper Example

News of the World News of the World is one of the longest running national newspapers in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1843 and had been in service until this year when the printing of the said paper was halted due to issues that had affect the whole nation. The paper used to be a broadsheet and due to a different owner it became a tabloid in 1984. It is one of the most influential newspapers in the world and included in the top 3 tabloids in the country. At the peak of its history in 1950, News of the World had eight million readers (Addley; Sparks & Tulloch 91).

The news that shocked the world though is that in the mid-2011, it was announced that News International, the new owner of the tabloid will stop publishing News of the World. This is based on the result of the controversies surrounding the data gathering process of the tabloid. Prior to the event, the company was charged of phone-hacking to be able to get information for the tabloid. The said crime used to be allegations but evidences surfaced and the company was attacked by the public. The last issue of News of the World was released on the 8th of July 2011 after more than a century of running.

The owners had to make the move to stop the publication due to the fact that it cannot overcome the political and commercial attacks that can occur through the years (Robinson, Scott and Sweney). One of the main reasons for the collapse of the News of the World is the phone-hacking. The said action became controversial because it is against the ethical rules of journalism and can be considered disrespectful to private citizens. One of the events that tainted the reputation of the paper is the case of 2007 when Clive Goodman was imprisoned for phone hacking.

He is the paper’s royal correspondent. But the said matter did not end there. Another serious case of phone hacking is related to British teenager Milly Dowler who was found dead. Based on these cases and the corruption within the tabloid’s structure, the News of the World had to close down (Addley). Due to the cases of phone hacking committed and made famous by the News of the World, the Editor’s Code of Practice which used to be considered sufficient to cover ethical concerns in journalism had to be amended.

(De Burgh & Bradshaw 325). The tabloid had one of the newspapers with numerous achievements but in the past years, the paper turned from dedicated journalism to being limited to trends and pop culture. When new issues such as pedophile, corruption, crimes, etc. would suffice in the media, News of the World would focus and use all efforts to extract news related to the issue. In the said process though, the common ultimate results are controversial in nature (Robinson, Scott and Sweney). Based on the service of the paper, there are positive and negative aspects that can be pointed out.

Positive aspects include the paper’s lack of fear in investigative journalism and following up of news leads. In addition, News of the World was also never afraid to report results of investigations regardless of who are involved. Negative aspects on the other hand include the fact that correspondent would stop at nothing to get the information, regardless of the consequences and in some cases regardless of the rules. The lack of confirmation in the validity of the reports is also another cause of concern.

The News of the World had contributed significantly to the field of journalism through its length or service to the people. This is regardless of the controversies and the disrespect of ethics of journalism that ended its service. Through the negative issue then, it is important to learn the lesson that respect and ethics are the most important factors that should guide any organization in the midst of corruption and complex issues in the society.Works Cited:Addley, Esther. “The News of the World’s Sensational History”.

Guardian.co.uk. 7 July 2011. 30 August 2011 De Burgh, Hugo and Paul Bradshaw. Investigative Journalism. Routledge, 2008.Robinson, James, Kirsty Scott and Mark Sweney. “News of the World axed by News International”. Guardian.co.uk. 7 July 2011. 30 August Sparks, Colin and John Tulloch. Tabloid Tales: Global Debates Over Media Standards. Rowman & Littlefield, 2000.