News of the World scandal: How often do reporters pay off police?

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http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2011/0708/News-of-the-World-scandal-How-often-do-reporters-pay-off-police

Dublin, Ireland

In Britain, many are expecting significant political and business fallout from the phone hacking scandal that has forced the closure of News of the World (NotW), Britain's largest-circulation paper and a pillar of Rupert Murdoch's media empire in the country.

The increased scrutiny on NotW has put a fresh spotlight not only on phone hacking but also another controversial practice: journalists paying police for secrets, referred to here as "bunging."

While some claim that's standard behavior for British reporters, allegations that NotW paid police $160,000 has some up in arms.

“I think people are shocked when it is clearly something that has been initiated by the police. In these cases we seem to be seeing the police selecting whom to release the information to and at what cost,” says Barry Fitzpatrick, national press organizer for the National Union of Journalists (NUJ).

“It could lead to worse things, in terms of corruption," he says.