Two Penn’orth: The race is on for the worst paper in Britain

So previously I have always kind of assigned the title mentioned in the headline of this column to the _Sun_. I hate the _Sun_ with the passion of a thousand burning, well, suns. Second prize has usually been handed out to the _Daily Mail_, whose right-wing hate agenda never fails to rile me up to the point where I have enough rage to channel into a good article for this section. One publication I have generally not paid attention to, however, is the _News of the World_, a paper that uses the word ‘news’ in its name in only the very loosest of senses.

Perhaps the reason I have previously overlooked the steaming faecal matter that is the _News_ is because, as may be evident from my numerous editorial positions at the Boar, I do have a passing interest in journalism, and that weekly collection of kindling is nothing of the sort. Journalism implies journalistic integrity; investigation should be done in an ethical and sensitive manner. As last year’s phone-tapping scandal demonstrated, ethics and sensitivity are not the speciality of this publication. This sensitivity deficiency has been demonstrated as well when on two occasions the paper has attempted to sabotage England’s World Cup hopes: first in 2006 when they sent the notorious ‘fake Sheikh’ to trap then manager Sven Goran Eriksson into various admissions; and most recently this year, by trying to ruin the lives of John Terry and his family.

Along with the ethics hopefully associated with news reporting, the _News_ also demonstrates a callous lack of regard for the truth. Footballers are often the target, with David Beckham, Wayne Rooney, Ashley Cole and Norwich City FC all having sued the paper for libel in the last five years. Scottish politician Tommy Sheridan and Formula one chief Max Mosley have joined in the fun, contesting allegations of extramarital sexual capers.

Now I know that I shouldn’t expect too much of a newspaper that is a subsidiary of Rupert ‘Fox News’ Murdoch’s News Corp and a sister paper of the aforementioned rag named after the star in our solar system; given this information about the _News_, you would think it difficult for the paper to be amoral or immoral enough even to warrant comment. Somehow, however, it has managed it, in what is an astonishing coup for sensationalism and profiteering.

Perhaps I’m overreacting. How much harm can one or three newspapers really do? Well consider the following. The _Sun_ is the best-selling English language newspaper in the world. The _News_ is second, with the _Mail_ taking the title of second best daily. If that doesn’t make the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end, I don’t know what will.