The News of the World scandal resulted from a series of abuses by the Rupert Murdoch owned paper, when it was revealed that the company was guilty of hacking into the phones of Royals, celebrities and politicians and paying hush money to anyone who came close to exposing their scheme. They are also accused of tapping the phones and email accounts of intelligence officers, victims, devastated parents and police officers, which takes the breaching of ethical as well as legal boundaries to a whole other extreme. Printing stories based on the illegal obtainment of information is a serious offence and has resulted in several sackings, resignations and continued legal repercussions for the company and those involved.
Ethics exist in journalism to prevent the exploitation of individuals and communities and to ensure that the rights and laws of the public are followed. Pursuing a story at any cost is an understandable goal, especially when considering the highly competitive "do or die" nature of journalism. However, there can be serious consequences for such reckless disregard of privacy rights and engagement in criminal activities, both legally, monetarily and some would say most importantly, reputation-wise.
For a timeline of the scandal go to
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/phone-hacking/8634176/Phone-hacking-timeline-of-a-scandal.html
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