Hack Attack: After finishing the first third of the book

           The one impression that remains in the foreground of my mind while reading Nick Davies’ accounts of Fleet Street journalism is my incredulity at how easily the lawlessness seems to bleed through the ranks of the tabloid papers and into other institutions. Murdoch-owned British tabloid journalism seems to be a force with a visage complex Dorian Gray would identify with. To the casual observer (or bribed authority figure) the monopoly seems perfectly fine, albeit a tad enamored with itself. Even though it reeks of mischief it is accepted because of the pleasing aesthetic form- the front pages splashed with images of the young, beautiful, and scandalized. Their true self is hidden away with consequences for those who choose not to conveniently forget the grotesque image they have witnessed.

            There’s a question that fuels my naïve disbelief, leaves me unsatisfied there is any reason or excuse one would get so carried away as to subject another person to this kind of treatment. I can’t help but wonder what was powerful enough to start this, what is so feared and desired as to convince an entire business that it is perfectly acceptable to flirt with legal, moral boundaries, tap dance into private lives, and hold no regard for guilt. Davies flags Kelvin MacKenzie, editor of Murdoch-owned newspaper the Sun from 1981-94, as the reason for so much going wrong in British journalism. MacKenzie is described as a terror who threw caution to the wind and the rulebook out the window, starting a generation of newspaper workers terrified for their careers and who were instructed to ignore moral journalistic standards.

            The more I read, the more News Corps seems to be a Dorian Gray- I only hope that the two don’t share the same fate.