London, July 10 (PTI): “Quite simply, we lost our way,” this is what the final editorial in Britain’s most selling tabloid, News of The World, had to say to its 7.5 million loyal readers on winding up its operations. “THANK YOU AND GOOD BYE,” the front page headline in the last edition said on Sunday, days after James Murdoch, Chairman of News International who owned the tabloid, decided to shut down the 168-year-old paper in the face of the raging phone hacking scandal, where money was swapped for scoops.
For well over a century and a half, the tabloid had become part of the fabric of Britain, as central to Sunday as a roast dinner, the editorial noted. The paper has covered six monarchs and 168 years. “We lived through history, we recorded history and we made history — from the romance of our old hot—metal presses right through to the revolution of the digital age,” it noted.
“We also recorded the death of Queen Victoria, the sinking of the Titanic, two world wars, the 1966 World Cup victory, the first man on the moon, the death of Diana... the list goes on,” the final editorial pointed out. “But we also recorded and most often revealed the great scandals and celebrity stories of the day. Many of them are recalled in this final edition of the News of the World.
In sport, too, we have led the way with the best, most informed coverage in the country,” it said. “But we touched people’s lives most directly through our campaigns,” it said, citing one of its campaigns which forced computer giants to police their sites to protect children. “We praised high standards, we demanded high standards but, as we are now only too painfully aware, for a period of a few years up to 2006 some who worked for us, or in our name, fell shamefully short of those standards,” it noted. “Quite simply, we lost our way,” the paper admitted.
“Phones were hacked, and for that this newspaper is truly sorry. There is no justification for this appalling wrong-doing. No justification for the pain caused to victims, nor for the deep stain it has left on a great history,” the editorial said. “Yet when this outrage has been atoned, we hope history will eventually judge us on all our years,” it hoped.
The paper also welcomed the two public inquiries announced by Prime Minister David Cameron, one into the police handling of the case and another into the ethics and standards of the Press. However, it did not agree to the move to disband the Press Complaint Commission (PCC), saying it would be a disaster for British democracy and for a free press.
”... we do not agree that the Press Complaints Commission should be disbanded. Self-regulation does work. But the current make-up of the PCC doesn’t work. It needs more powers and more resources. We do not need government legislation,” the editorial said. “That would be a disaster for our democracy and for a free Press,” it said. To its 7.5 million readers, the paper said: “Thank you for your support. We’ll miss you more than words can express.
For well over a century and a half, the tabloid had become part of the fabric of Britain, as central to Sunday as a roast dinner, the editorial noted. The paper has covered six monarchs and 168 years. “We lived through history, we recorded history and we made history — from the romance of our old hot—metal presses right through to the revolution of the digital age,” it noted.
“We also recorded the death of Queen Victoria, the sinking of the Titanic, two world wars, the 1966 World Cup victory, the first man on the moon, the death of Diana... the list goes on,” the final editorial pointed out. “But we also recorded and most often revealed the great scandals and celebrity stories of the day. Many of them are recalled in this final edition of the News of the World.
In sport, too, we have led the way with the best, most informed coverage in the country,” it said. “But we touched people’s lives most directly through our campaigns,” it said, citing one of its campaigns which forced computer giants to police their sites to protect children. “We praised high standards, we demanded high standards but, as we are now only too painfully aware, for a period of a few years up to 2006 some who worked for us, or in our name, fell shamefully short of those standards,” it noted. “Quite simply, we lost our way,” the paper admitted.
“Phones were hacked, and for that this newspaper is truly sorry. There is no justification for this appalling wrong-doing. No justification for the pain caused to victims, nor for the deep stain it has left on a great history,” the editorial said. “Yet when this outrage has been atoned, we hope history will eventually judge us on all our years,” it hoped.
The paper also welcomed the two public inquiries announced by Prime Minister David Cameron, one into the police handling of the case and another into the ethics and standards of the Press. However, it did not agree to the move to disband the Press Complaint Commission (PCC), saying it would be a disaster for British democracy and for a free press.
”... we do not agree that the Press Complaints Commission should be disbanded. Self-regulation does work. But the current make-up of the PCC doesn’t work. It needs more powers and more resources. We do not need government legislation,” the editorial said. “That would be a disaster for our democracy and for a free Press,” it said. To its 7.5 million readers, the paper said: “Thank you for your support. We’ll miss you more than words can express.
