I'm currently watching This Week, and the speculation, unsurprisingly, is rife that this is the end for Rupert Murdoch, for News International. In the eyes of its media rivals, the 'spell' that the Murdoch empire has held over British politics is completely broken. Murdoch is Voldemort, he's Lex Luthor. It wouldn't surprise me if the Sun had used phone hacking to uncover that Clark Kent is Superman.
Yet, once more, the reaction to the hacking scandal has been strangely paradoxical, as News International has been churned up and spat out by the same media machine that it has spent so long propagating. Cameron's knee-jerk reaction has been as much about reacting to the 24 hour news cycle as it has been about bowing to any public sentiment. The News International story can run for weeks, its rivals will see to that.
News International's stature on the British political landscape may be significantly diminished. Yet, somehow, one still gets the feeling that our politicians and our celebrities are still being judged by the journalists who have mapped out the narrative of this crisis. For example, a Daily Mail editorial from earlier this week questioned the links between Robert Peston, BBC business editor, and some of his former colleagues and sometime sources at News International. Likewise, Melanie Philips had turned her sights onto Hugh Grant, for having the audacity to publicly criticise Murdoch's tabloid press and its blatant disregard for people's privacy.
It may be that the likes of Steve Coogan and Grant will never be left alone by the tabloid press. After all, their misdemeanours are seemingly part of public record: how dare they take the moral high ground with those who splash their faces across page 3?
Gossip can be found anywhere. Only this week I've been privy to two discussions, on radio and television, about Nick Clegg's apparenly craaazy desire to both be Deputy Prime Minister and take his children to school in the morning. I know, what a git.
Also in the news, Cheryl's gone back to Ashley. The Daily Mirror's saw her give him a lapdance, so it must be love again.
