If someone was to pose the scenario to you that in the upcoming week Britain's best selling newspaper would be shut down; I'd wager that very few people would believe them. But this is the situation of the News of the World, after 168 years of exposés, blowing the lid on celebrity scandal and a snippet of news reporting, the last ever (...debatable) edition of the world infamous red top has came: Sunday 10th July 2011.
"It is Sunday afternoon, preferably before the war. The wife is already asleep in the armchair, and the children have been sent out for a nice long walk. You put your feet up on the sofa, settle your spectacles on your nose and open the News of the World," George Orwell.
Why are they shutting down?
After stories came out revealing that the NotW had hacked into the victims' and families' mobile phones of the 7/7 bombings, Milly Dowler, the Soham murder (Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman) and more recently accusations of the Princess Dianna inquest; Pandora's Box was truly opened. To rub salt in an already gaping wound it was also discovered that a number of police officers had been bribed by the paper to check details and sold information; the integrity of the newspaper was in tatters and advertisers united in withdrawing their funding to show their disapproval. With the public and the world forming a lynch mob there was little chance that the newspaper could redeem it's sponsors or once loyal readers and on Thursday 7th July James Murdoch formally announced that the NotW would close down indefinitely.
Milly Dowler
Horrified and disgusted the public have cast judgement upon the News of the World over the unforgivable phone tapping incidents. Amongst the worst was the Milly Dowler case, where the journalists deleted voicemail messages from her mobile to clear room for more to come through, which unintentionally in turn left the police and family of Milly believing she may still have been alive - as her messages had been listened to.
Celebrity condemnation
Torrents of abuse followed left right and center, celebrities and politicians lined up to take a stab at the News of the World. The likes of Steve Coogan and Hugh Grant, as well as listless celebs with an axe to grind barged their way into the spotlight to air their 'invaluable' opinion on the situation; I mean come on Hugh Grant on Question time, are you kidding me? The accounts reeked of hypocrisy and hypocritical celebrities used the news as an opportunity to unleash their anger towards the press, a rare spin from them using it promote themselves or their latest film, TV show, book etc. Taking advantage of the event placed before them and using it as a scapegoat for their annoyance of paparazzi intrusion; and the fact that journalists hold them to account by revealing their wrongdoings of yesteryear and the sordid tales of their lives that they would rather keep behind closed doors. Which is the true burden and curse of their fame, however don't pity them as they either want publicity or do not. By making themselves a focus of the public's interest they bring about the attention that can lead to their undoing more times than not.
I do wish Paul McMullen would appear a little more remorseful in this video.
Are we partially to blame for the rise in hacking?
Our fascination with the lives of celebrities could partially be to blame for the rise in mobile phone bugging. Ever since the early ages we as a public have been obsessed knowing about the bourgeois society, from tip offs to waiting outside their houses journalists have been keeping you up-to-date by all sorts of immoral, clandestine ways so phone bugging was inevitably the next step to find out what the privileged few do. The NotW, of all newspapers, was famed for leaking gossip and private stories and week after week we bough it. Its sales figures are the evidence of that: 2,812,005 copies sold per week, and by purchasing the paper we actively endorsed it and what it stood for.
Rebekah Brooks (née Wade)
It would be pretty naive to think that an editor of a newspaper guilty of bugging peoples phones knew nothing about it... but we'll have to leave the Crown Prosecution Service to decide that. In the meantime she will be reshuffled her back into media mogul Murdochs' organization.
Timing
Does anyone else find it a little fishy that the phone hacking story, predominantly concentrated on the 7/7 bombings, was released just the day before its 6th anniversary? Which then raises the question, how long have newspapers been waiting to release this story?
Is this truly the end for the News of the World?
As speculation has cleverly pointed out, the internet domain name the 'Sunday Sun' was registered but two days before the phone-tapping incidents came to light, so we possibly could see the Murdoch clan's paper reopened under a new name. The phrase 'wolf in sheep's clothing' distinctly comes to mind.
The finale
Myself, nor anyone, can justify the actions of the News of the World, as many have stated phone hacking is inherently wrong, but in some circumstances there is adequate public interest. It's undeniable that without some of the undercover work many worldwide injustices would remain unexposed and unreported.
Tragically, the majority of the journalists who tarnished the reputation of the newspaper have since moved on, so by shutting down the news provider it's only targeting journalists who were mainly uninvolved with the events of yesteryear.
Don't let yourselves by fooled by the celebrities trying to represent your, the public's voice they are manipulative and have their own agendas for jumping on the bandwagon... and most likely something they are releasing soon.
Give it a month and people won't even remember the News of the....erm...who (?) as Hugh Grant once famously said: "Today's newspapers will be lining tomorrows waste paper bins."
(A large thank you to the owners of the photographs, no copyright intended)
Dawn Johnston, the name that fills every student journalist's heart with sorrow and dread. Countless hours spent slaving away in the attempt to make it to the, at the time, challenging speed of 60 words per minute, all to find out that to be accept by the journalism industry you have to squeeze another 40, if not another 60 words into that short length of time.
Well I'm saying NO MORE to those crazy little squiggles that have been the bane of my existence for too long, I'm standing up and sticking it to the Teeline man in the sky (or in our case woman).
Think of me as a 21st Century Jesus, minus the ability to grow such a glorious beard, and hopefully not destined to be nailed to a large wooden cross for an elongated, agonising death.
THR blends, vowel indicators and word groupings you have certainly met your MCH...
So goodbye sweet Teeline For Journalists, you have plagued my life for far too long. Now it's time, in true 90's style to 'get your own back' , as my personal hero David Benson-Phillips once proclaimed, with 10 alternative uses for your shorthand book:
1) Save yourself and friends from an apocalyptic zombie related scenario in which you would probably all end up eating one another...
2) Sometimes the most simple uses are the best door step, and
3) A way of propping up your trusty table
4) Frightening away little children
5) Honing your newly discovered cricket skills just in time for the 2013 Ashes series
6) Keeping warm on the long, shorthand-free nights
7) A pretty neat telescope
8) The worst Christmas anyone could ever have dream of receiving
9) Ran out of clean plates? Don't think so...
10) ...Failing that, Off Beat Earth have an even better idea for the little swine
Please note that no Alphabetties were hurt in the making of this Blog Post.
With the Royal wedding just around the corner, thousands of Facebook users will have the chance to really get involved with celebrations in the most typically British of ways- with a right Royal knees up!
Smart drugs, memory enhancers, cognitive enhancers, intelligence enhances are the guises for the collective drug category that is nootropics. In a society of competition and a 'dog eat dog' mentality people flail beneath the mounding pressure for them to succeed in gaining that promotion at work or scoring high in an academic exam many turn to nootropics. But how smart is it to be using this type of drug?
What are they?
Nootropics alters the brain's access to neurochemicals, by either enhancing its the blood flow and supply of oxygen to the brain or stimulating nerve growth which shields the effects of aging. This helps to improve mental functions such as awareness, cognition and memory.
What different types are there?
1) Drugs: these take the form of capsules often used to treat other illness such as narcolepsy, ADHD and others, which have been found to act as a cognitive enhancer A person account can be read in ‘Smart drugs’: journalist tells of his dalliance with drugs
2) Nutritional supplements: pills which can be used to top-up on brain foods that the person doesn't consume such as Omega 3 etc. A personal account can be read in 'Smart Drugs': supplementing students
3) Herbs: natural solutions which aid in alertness and focusing the mind, including tea, caffeine and herbal remedies.
How do they work?
At any one time the mind is performing one task, for example while at work there would be a section dedicated to dealing with the current situation at hand, alongside this other tasks are being performed, which also use part of the brains concentration, these can be processing memories, creative thinking, subconscious thoughts and a range of varying tasks. By taking a nootropic these others tasks are stopped and all of the brains functioning power is channeled into creating the task at hand.
Who are they available to?
For the majority of these 'smart drugs' everyone and anyone can gain access to them either with a credit/debit card online, supplement stores or via prescription from your doctor.
What are the side-effects of them?
Although there has been no research into the long-term effects for someone taking nootropics over a prolonged period of time due to it not falling into the remits of the United Kingdom's Department of Health and the US' Food and Drug administration, some common side-effects that have been noted include deprivation of creative thought, weight loss through lack of appetite. Also other more dangerous symptoms have been suggested to have stemmed from taking nootopics (although have not been directly linked) including organ failure and Alzheimer's disease.
Why some people are against it?
Due to there being very little research into the long-term effects of taking these drugs some people feel suspicious of the shroud of mystery which accompanies nootropics. Others consider the taking nootropics to be the equivalent of athletes taking steroids believing it gives people an unfair advantage over their competitors in exams, job interviewees etc, and due to the price there is a fear that over time the price will be hiked up only allowing the financially privileged members of society to use the pills.
Unnamed 16-year-old student talks about her experience with nootropics as the pressure to succeed builds
Now more than ever before students are faced with rising levels of stress, tortured by exams that they are constantly reminded can affect the rest of their lives it is no wonder that some students feel they need something else to give them an edge to allow them to keep up and flourish ahead of their classmates. With the examination period fast approaching I was shocked to discover that a 16-year-old friend of mine had been taking supplements in order to stay ahead of the competition and pass her AS levels, although wishing to remain anonymous she agreed to speak to me about her experience with nootropics.
Note: Nootropics, better known as 'smart drugs', enhance the way in which the brain is able to process and apply information by directing all of its efforts towards desired tasks, more can be read about nootropics in Q&A: how clever is it to be messing with 'smart drugs'?
It was in a stress management lecture at college when the girl from the West Midlands was made aware of nootropics, where they were informed of brain foods and Omega 3 tablets and advised that if they did not already consume some of the brain foods which include asparagus, fish etc that it may help their mental agility.
The next day during her lunch hour, with the words of the lecturer still fresh in her mind and the thought of a pending exam later that day, she visited her local Holland and Barrett store which was less than half a mile away from her college. In the store she found many different brands, ranging in price before settling on a £7.50 container which contained 60 tablets to be taken four times a day.
"There was a lot of pressure, mainly from myself, to do well in the exams and worries for my exams in general contributed a great deal to me trying supplements"
Upon leaving the store she took her first supplement capsule, but to her surprise didn't notice much of a difference. Four days in and there still wasn't much of noticeable impact, by that time her friends who she had confided in expressed their concerns that she was taking nootropics and insisted she stopped. "None of my friends had tried them, but I was looking for a way to get ahead and do the best that I could do," she admitted.
She wasn't sure if the drugs would have more an affect on her if taken for a longer time, believing that is maybe a placebo. But added that she would probably still be taking the supplements if her friends hadn't told her of their worries over the long-term effects of taking supplements.
