A lesson in bad journalism from the UK

"You have to be without scruples to advertise in the upcoming edition of the News of The World". This comment making the rounds in London has been confirmed by the market. Rupert Murdoch's publications have lost favor after the furor caused by the phone hacking carried out by his News International group. On the other hand, the Mirror has been the winner because it is the presumed recipient of the advertising that fled the Australian publisher.

Advertising which saves or condemns depending on the ethics of the publication could be a very interesting development if it does not wallow in hypocrisy. It will be worthwhile to find out whether the Stalin-like interpretation of the freedom of the press applied by the News of The World is truly foreign to other British tabloids, or on the other hand, whether everyone is guilty to some extent.

It is early to say, but a lot will have to be done to restore luster to an old adage – that of the highest standards of Anglo-Saxon journalism - that the opposition leader Ed Milibrand himself now finds defiled. It is an adage that may still apply to the highest level of quality journalism, but it risks debasement if it is forced to cohabit, however reluctantly, with tabloid journalism. This cohabitation is a strategy that Rupert Murdoch has always theorized, combining prestigious newspapers (The Times), with trash (at least in their methods) tabloids (News of the The World) for budget reasons and political influence. The crown jewel could quite soon be BskyB pay-TV, if the British government gives the final okay.

Most people say the reply will be yes, but the events of recent days have undermined many certainties. The perplexity is legitimate. Without the support of Rupert Murdoch's media, neither the Conservative Party nor the The Labour Party win elections in Great Britain. This has been the case for years and it happens because of the wide range of the group's media titles. For this reason, the "News of The World method" is deplorable for the moral deviation that it represents, but it becomes disturbing if it is one of Murdoch's newspapers that applies it.

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