WHY NOT GO TO THEIR WEBSITE http://hackinginquiry.org/ to sign up?

Most of us haven’t had their phones hacked. Not only are we disappointed at not being important or newsworthy enough to have had this done to us, but we are also p’d off at being excluded from getting substantial sums of compensation money from the press, so we feel pretty well hacked-off ourselves anyway!

The general public were mesmerised by the outlandish boorish sickening disclosures brought to us about by the phone-hacking scandal. It seemed inconceivable that the ‘free’ press in UK should abuse it’s privileged position and behave in such a cavalier attitude to the law, people’s feelings, and individual’s private lives. But there you go, that is the modern society that we have created for ourselves. That is not to say that deep down we didn’t know that the press were all a disgusting bunch of lying gits. You don’t have to be a celebrity, or criminal, or one of the unfortunates, to recognise that a baying mob of journalists would be at your door at the drop of a hat if there was a story to tell that might fill a bit of newsprint or titillate their sad readership [it is always a mind disturbing thing to see the banner headline on ALL the newspapers saying ‘Exclusive’ for the same story – how to they do that?].

The only excuse that one can make about the press and their actions is that they are genuinely drunk when they get the story or when they write it up, and probably even both. What denies the laws of physics is how the press photographers manage to still get intrusive photos with their cameras, which apparently remain intact despite constant physical abuse and exposure to all weathers. You have to feel sorry for these scribblers who have to fall out of the pub and write about something anything on a deadline before the presses start rolling. The only advantage about the modern press is that you don’t have to buy more than one newspaper, as they all have the same stories – news gathering is a ‘collective’ these days.

Newspapers are simply a ‘power’ trip nowadays for a few individuals (no such thing as bringing news to the masses, or doing good, or making dosh) – you see we have insight that the ‘pen is mightier than the sword… and ‘the power of the press…’ etc. What other major country would allow though any loaded and dominant foreign national to run their newspapers and so influence everything including our politics (even telling the dumb electorate who to vote for in a General Election)? One has however to be rich to own a newspaper, but it is difficult to get one’s head round the fact that the Independent went for a £1? Newspapers have always throughout time abused their role and position. In a pretence to care, the owners (sorry they like to be called Proprietors, it sounds much more respectable) set up something called the Press Council to chastise any wrongdoing. But there they mark their own homework, so no worries for them there then – hey-ho.

David Cameron woke up one morning in 2011 and found that he was under some pressure because he had got into bed with senior figures in press management, embraced papergirl friendships, and even had allowed a slimy press man to shack up in No10 – unfair criticism  really as he should not be lambasted for bad judgment, as everyone knew about that already! His advisors told him that the traditional way of kicking problems into the long grass is to ‘set up an enquiry’, and being a conservative traditionalist he did just that. Mistake! He appointed a Judge because he knew they were old buffers who dependably supported the establishment and would do anything to be controversial – so they could be relied upon to see-off any challenge to the press.

It all backfired. The man Leveson took the job seriously the prat. He held a lengthy (as expected) judicial enquiry, BUT unsportingly started seeing hundreds of witness, chaps & chicks, and reading thousands of boring submissions for over more than a year. He then produced a Report (2012) of thousands of pages giving his painstaking findings based on considerable intellect, ability and many years of legal experience. David Cameron was so confident in his man, that he had pre-agreed to implement all recommendations.
The report was blasting dynamite. Cameron had his press mates around for a chat, and they were aghast. Cameron promised to be on their side and ditch the Report, as he could adjudge that it was unworkable in law because after all he once had a mate in the exclusive Bullingdon Club at Oxford who was studying law (unfortunately the poor chap got thrown out of College for being a conman).

Other front line politicians such as Ed Miliband & Nick Clegg et al, are still currently supporting pressure from the Hacked Off campaign to implement Leveson, with legislation, but don’t be fooled – this isn’t really action in support of the victims of press abuse, it is simply because like all politicians they are driven by merely seeing some votes coming their way, and can risk the ire of the press barons because the press is against them already and the printed vitriol will continue anyway.

You probably won’t read about any success in corralling the press – censored by Downing Street and the press!

[Legacy:  Osborne has bagged the title or ‘worst’ (the worst Chancellor of the Exchequer ever) so Cameron has had to settle for ‘laziest’ (the laziest Prime Minister ever – he works the least hours of any modern PM)]