News of the World is now the news of the whole world

On Sunday the News of the World ended. Or at least we thought it had.  Instead what has followed is an increasingly scandalous, spiralling web of events worthy of a big screen debut.

A week later, the headlines of one paper (or three if you now count News International sister titles The Sun and Sunday Times) are dominating the front pages of every newspaper in the country, and around the globe.

It was with mixed emotion I received the news of the News on holiday last week.  Despite the sordid nature of many of the ‘Screws’ front pages, the paper was a little treat for me, a shot of tabloid vodka with the more sobering lemonade of The Sunday Times or Observer each Sunday.

While footballers breathed a sigh of relief, I felt immediate empathy for acquaintances at the paper. Passionate, hardworking journalists who sourced stories by forming trusted relationships with celebrities and PRs, and via sound investigative practices.

So it was with a twinge of sadness that I opened the final edition on Sunday, with the farewell on the front page simply saying “Thank You & Goodbye”.

In the first article Investigations Editor Mazher Mahmood, more famously known as “The Fake Sheik”, assures us that in his ten years at NoTW he was never aware of phone hacking and that a small number of reporters let the paper down.

Ever honest Carole Malone apologises for the past wrongs of the paper in the wake of the Milly Dowler revelations.

The paper goes on to catalogue the top front page features throughout the years.

There is no doubt News of the World has broken some cracking stories which are genuinely in the public interest – the match-fixing scandal a recent example.

It has also thoroughly investigated and covered the biggest stories in the world, from the sinking of the Titanic to the start of World War II, through to the deaths of Princess Diana and Michael Jackson.

The covers of some of the most famous sex scandals are also included.  Hugh Grant, David Beckham, Gordon Ramsay and Wayne Rooney just a few of the celebs who now wish their front pages had remained the fish and chip paper of yesterday, instead of reappearing on Sunday.

But the most entertainment is found in the crossword section, where it appears the last laugh may have been had by the editorial team.

Despite Rebekah Brooks supposedly sending senior executives to comb the paper for negative references, the crossword features some eerie references such as:  “Brook,” “stink,” “catastrophe,” “cease,” “criminal enterprise,” “mix in prison,” and “string of recordings.” Also among them was the clue “woman stares wildly at calamity.”