There are many surprising, shocking, and outrageous aspects to the revelation and extent of News of the World‘s invasive phone hacking. One of the more intriguing ones to me personally is the total lack of shame and decorum shown by guilty parties. In the above [...]]]>

There are many surprising, shocking, and outrageous aspects to the revelation and extent of News of the World‘s invasive phone hacking. One of the more intriguing ones to me personally is the total lack of shame and decorum shown by guilty parties. In the above video, writer/comedian Steve Coogan and former BBC Director General Greg Dyke sit in on a news program panel with former News of the World editor and contributor Paul McMullen. Coogan and Dyke alternate between outrage and outright astonishment at McMullen’s defense of the practice. He sees nothing wrong with what was done and seems to regret more that they won’t be able to get away with it any longer.

His stance and some statements border on self-parody, but the man himself likely believes it, as does the rest of the staff of the now defunct 168-year-old British institution. On Sunday, after completing their last day of work, the staff triumphantly marched out of the building in a show of unity, holding the final edition of the paper that bore the headline “Thank You and Goodbye.” None of them hid their faces in shame, nor did they show regret for what the paper had done or become. Rather than hang their head in shame they held them high, while Britain stood agape at their audacity.

Yet, all knew of the not only illegal but highly unethical practices being employed by the paper. Four thousand individuals – and that’s just a conservative estimates – had their privacy violated for the sake of pushing a yellow rag that masqueraded as a public service. Common sense dictates that everyone knew it was happening, but reports go further than that and state that it was a very well known practice amongst not just the News of the World but the police that were paid off and, more often than not, the victims who were told that pursuing justice was a fruitless endeavor due to corruption at various levels of the justice system and British Parliament (Andy Coulson, whose last job was as Prime Minister David Cameron‘s Press Secretary, was arrested late last week). 

But there were no victims of circumstance amongst the former staff of the Murdoch paper. Not even Murdoch himself, who must have known what his right hand, Rebekah Brooks, was doing. Yet they were defiant to the end, because just like McMullen, in their mind no wrong was done. This is the danger of breaking ethical guidelines on a regular basis: it becomes the norm, and with it comes a sense that they’re entitled to do the wrong thing with no repercussions.

Many who marched and cheered after their final day at work will end up with work elsewhere…that is, if they can avoid jail sentences. Surely, many will avoid it by turning over evidence to authorities. In the end, though, whether they’re behind bars or narrowly avoiding it, that sense of guilt over what they’ve done will elude them. Someone just went too far and got caught, that’s all, and it’s worth it in the end for a dollar and glory.