While shocked by the suffering caused to many people by the antics of the News of The World and its phone hacking scandals - The Haze wonders if there might be a good outcome to this after all.
Let's say plainly what most of us already know about tabloid newspapers in this country - they are in the main worthless rags.
In this instance the News of the World has over stepped the mark and been caught out - but the gutter press have been walking a very fine line between legal muck raking and outright illegality for decades - by doing so, they adroitly avoid any consequences and pump out an endless stream of negative coverage that plays on the worst aspects of human nature.
The trash tabloids are not just the celeb baiting comics like the News of The World - papers with huge circulations like The Daily Mail and the Daily Express are also awful papers. They are very clever at writing basically racist articles without over-stepping the line and being actually unlawful.
If it isn't racism its hatred - with a clutch of regular targets like benefits claimants, immigrants, single mothers, working class people, Muslims and trades unions.
If it isn't hatred then its fear - with lurid headlines stoking up people's anxieties about crime, immigration, young people and the economy.
The tabloid press in this country (we exclude the new 'i' of course) are a powerful obstacle to progress in any direction - playing off the most base fears and prejudices - increasing ignorance, class / racial hatreds and fear.
So perhaps the troubles of the embattled News of the World might be a good thing in the end.
Lets hope for the best!
Perhaps this will be a wake up call to the nation and the astonishing support that the gutter tabloids receive from both advertisers and readers will start to diminish.
Perhaps we will finally get a review of the failed and toothless Press Complaints Commission which has shown time and again that is not fit for its task.
Perhaps the decision to allow Rupert Murdoch's News International to take over BSkyB can be stopped (not too late to protest - join the avaaz campaign here)
Perhaps at the very least the News of the World can be dumped in the garbage where it belongs.
Join the campaign running at Liberal Conspiracy to target the companies who advertise in the News of the World.
Here is a headline we would love to see here at Sodium Haze:
'Muck raking tabloids dumped en-masse by the nation'
wouldn't that be great![this is now a mirror blog - the real deal is over at www.sodiumhaze.org - why not go and look at the shiny new haze!]
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