UK Phone Hacking Scandal in Taiwan Video News Treatment

Naturally, I join the entire civilized world in reveling in anything that causes Rupert Murdoch headaches.

But I think there's an even more important thing at stake. Britain's "lively" tabloid newspaper culture is sometimes defended as the cost of a free and vigorous press. But clearly there's a lot that's just criminal going on, and it's hardly a matter of hard news and civic duty to report on a celebrity's shenanigans.

Meanwhile, over in Taiwan, they're showing us what a lively news culture is really about: taking the stuffing out of people in a manner that is fearless, borderline bad taste, and sometimes downright brilliant. NMA rules.