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One year message + recent phone hacking disgrace

Today marks one year of the launch to this blog. It has been a crazy last 365 days in the world of news and now I'm approaching the final year of University studies, I'm sure there will be more big, headline grabbing news to come in the near future.

It has been an emotional ride. My passion for writing has given me a greater insight to the world in the 21st Century and taught me how the planet is shaping politically, psychologically and morally.

I've written about a variety of topics which I hope have been to your tastes. I've talked politics, sport, entertainment, current affairs - I have an opinion for everything! I discuss controversial topics, one of which had really offended a couple of readers (which I still regret doing). I have also been attracting attentions from major media outlets. I still am thankful of BBC Radio 4 for placing my blog on their "Desert Island Discs" website. I'm happy to say that the link is still up there, almost one month since I posted the blogpost about my favourite music.

In the next year, I will be producing exactly what I've been giving you to read in the last 52 weeks but with my writing skills improving all the time and creating a greater awareness of the news, you (hopefully will) be even more impressed and create more debates.

This is why I am introducing you to a Facebook "like" I created the other day. This is an another way for us to communicate about the biggest stories, by debating various subjects. You can also, if you want, suggest me a topic to blog about. It's a great way to get us talking in a civilised, professional and non-sinister manner. I will also use Facebook's polling system where we can ask questions and people can answer them with a simple click of a button. It is a lot of fun and a great way to interact. I will be posting my updated blogposts on the Facebook page also as well as on my Twitter account. Great way to voice your opinions loud and clear in 140 characters or less!

Again thank you for your support and hope you will enjoy more of my blogposts in the future. Now, here's a topic that I've been itching to voice my opinion about what has happened in the last 24 hours.

News of the World have a lot to say for themselves

I think this story is truly shocking. Newspaper News of the World, who attracts almost three million readers every Sunday have been at it again. They've been caught hacking into Milly Dowler's mobile phone during the time the school girl was missing, then brutally murdered in 2002. This comes straight after the public thought the case was gone and forgotten as Levi Bellfield pleaded guilty on June 23, 2011.

This newspaper has simply violated the definition of "investigative journalism". What they have done was, in my view NOT in the public interest which means they've broken the law. If someone breaks the law at work, home or on the street, the culprits are simply locked up behind bars. It baffles me why Rebekar Brooks (then editor of the paper in 2002), Andy Coulson (then deputy editor) and the unnamed journalist who hacked into the phone in the first place aren't even considered to be heading towards prison. The editors had the control to stop this disgraceful incident from happening but they went on with it. They commission every headline in the paper before publishing it and decided to humiliate those who were close to Milly Dowler.

I am glad that Scotland Yard are investigating this but they have to take action. The phone hacking scandal has been going on for far too long and no-one has pleaded guilty yet for their wrongdoing. As far as I'm aware, three NotW former, and current journalists have been arrested but nothing more than that. Breaching the privacy law on innocent people who have tragically lost their life just to make up a front page story is unforgivable. They have given such a bad name to journalism.

Just imagine how Miss. Dowler's parents must be feeling? It's indescribable really. Losing someone close to their hearts, realising the way their daughter was killed and now hearing their their phone messages to Milly when she was missing was heard by a stranger - utterly disgraceful.

The government have got to take this matter seriously. This means that David Cameron has to act, rather than condemn and ensure that this farcical incident doesn't happen again. The least the coalition government can do is close the newspaper altogether. It may sound harsh but phone hacking is against the law and if anyone breaks the law, they must be punished. Houses of Parliament have the power and I feel that NotW must be clamped down.

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