News of the World? Really?

It seems as if the entire world has gone mad. Not in a surprising, overly negative way; simply more in a 'all of the secrets have come to the surface' kind of way. I don't usually watch the news, however I also don't usually get up early and drink copious amounts of water, but apparently being at home has changed me. Every time I turn on the news over the past few days, I am fascinated by all of the revelations about the News of the World, the hacking and all of the scandals that go along with it. I feel increasingly sorry for the people who have lost their jobs who had nothing to do with any of the wrong-doings that went on, and I am constantly angry that those who were in charge are still not being dealt with in a severe enough manner (in my opinion). I flicked through the final edition of the paper this past Sunday (which I felt I may have to fight for in the shop as people were gathering behind me, eager to get their hands on their own copy) and I will honestly admit I didn't realise how big of a paper it truly was: how long it had been running, how many people read it, how many celebrities they had caught indulging in not-so secret lines of cocaine, how many affairs and indiscretions of public figures they had pushed into the limelight. I will admit that before all of the hacking scandal hit the [other] headlines, I had been going through the paper each week with feelings of contempt. The story of Cheryl and Ashley, the 'will they, won't they?' that they deemed huge news graced the front page and a fair few inside. The pictures that accompanied the story, the pictures that were meant to confirm their reconciliation, anger me beyond comprehension: this is news?! Now, I am a fan of celebrity gossip. I love it; I watch E!, I browse Perez Hilton's blog every chance I get and, thanks to my wonderful best friend, will occasionally go through heatworld.com and see what is going on in this world I am nowhere near. However, it is not news. I don't know when this started to bother me so much but I am full of the feelings that news should be about important things. I am well aware that the News of the World was a tabloid newspaper but I think there are far more important things going on in the world, even for a tabloid. And now this paper has become the thing that everyone cannot stop talking about. A scandal of epic proportions but that affects so many people in so many different ways. Ashley and Cheryl? We all think she's be insane but it isn't world changing, life-threatening or crucially important, is it? Also, ironically, it is not the News of the World. I doubt people in other parts of the world care about this footballer, his incessant cheating and his ex-wife with questionable decision making skills.

Maybe I am wrong. I usually am when I get annoyed about these kind of things but I don't think I am the only one. I can honestly say I will be watching the news again tonight to see how this story has unfolded further. And at some point I will probably have even more to say on the matter!