RIP News of the World, RIP Journalism?

I've been following the phone hacking story with interest for a number of reasons.
(1) I worked as a journalist (print, radio and television) for around twenty years.
(2) My Masters thesis was entitled, "Final drink at the Last Chance Saloon", which focused on self-regulation versus statutory regulation of the British press.
(3) I was asked by a News of the World journalist whether I was advising any celebrities.

I've interviewed tabloid journalists and have come across them 'in the field', but have never once aspired to being one. I admire the style of writing: crisp, concise, incisive, entertaining, irreverent, but - especially in the case of the hacking - so very morally bankrupt that it defies imagination.

I'm developing a story about a journalist who is confronted by the consequences of the impact of their words. Does it provide a moment of clarity to them. Or does it reinforce the trenchant views that are normally held by hacks who are so far away from the people they write about, that they see them as mere fodder for hostile commentary? We shall see. This one should be out in the next few months.