Despicable conduct

Despicable is the only word that comes to mind in response to the British News of the World tabloid hacking into people's phone messages and allegedly paying police for information and private telephone numbers.

For any news organization, even in Great Britain where tabloids have a questionable reputation for fairness and ethics, to stoop so low as to hack any telephone accounts, let alone those of government officials, members of the royal family, deceased soldiers and murder and terrorism victims' families is beyond explanation or comprehension.

And for police officers to supply information to a news organization is exchange for bribe money is so far beyond acceptable that it causes a total lack of confidence in law enforcement in general.

Rupert Murdoch, the king of a news and entertainment media empire that included the News of the World until the hacking scandal broke and he closed the publication, needs to answer for the illegal activities, as does his News Corp. administration and leadership.

It's conduct such as that committed by the News of the World that brings discredit and suspicion on the entire news media industry.

Murdoch long has been under fire for his Fox News one-sided conservative approach to news coverage, but to think the leading British news tabloid would drop to such a contemptible level goes far beyond biased politics and mean-spiritedness.

Mistakes in leadership and judgment can be made, but not to this extreme without orchestrated direction.