The official inquiry into the press is in full swing with harrowing evidence of horrendously immoral behaviour.
Take Sienna Miller who described how photographers would spit at her to provoke a reaction and how it felt as a 21 year old woman being chased at midnight by a pack of large men, albeit with cameras.
I recall being with a group of miners' leaders when a journalist who had sneaked in asked for an interview. This was declined clearly and briefly. The next day he splashed this as an interview on the basis of a handful of words which were "I don't talk to the press."
The most detailed and damning evidence came from Alastair Campbell who was Tony Blair's spin doctor and before that a senior tabloid journalist.
He quoted one of Rupert Murdoch's executives who once said 'Britain has the best press in the world, and the worst press in the world, and sometimes it is in the same edition'.
It used to be the case that newspapers established the truth before going into print. Nowadays, there is such heavy competition from on-line outlets and Twitter that this has turned into stories that start with these words - "if true", followed by a string of speculations.
Stories that would previously have taken time to stand up or have been minor are now printed earlier and more prominently.
He also highlighted an increasing number of stories where the victim is 'forced to deny' which allows newspapers to report allegations made against someone, without knowing them to be true.
'Forced to deny' implies defensiveness if not guilt - no smoke without fire - and highlights how speed trumps accuracy in case competitors get the story first.
We have a good local and regional press because it is closer to the lives of the people and communities it serves.
But a rottenness has enveloped large parts of the national media and there is a public appetite to rebalance things, not least after it was revealed that Milly Dowler's phone was hacked giving false hope to her parents.
We need a free press that frightens crooks and exposes scandal but not one that harasses people for no good reason. I hope this inquiry will find a fair solution based on morality.
Newcastle Chronicle and Journal
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