Who took the cake?_其他_趣味英语-查字典英语网

Who took the cake?

And, as has been his custom, he seemed far less focused and energetic as the night wore on.

- Rick Perry is officially blowing it, Salon.com, September 23, 2011.

4. The daily developments in the News of the World scandal reads like one of the sordid dramas that the paper itself carried for so many years, giving it the top spot in UK sales ratings for Sunday papers.

The news yesterday took the cake, though: The paper, owned by media mogul Rupert Murdoch, is to close after 168 years in circulation, and former editor Andy Coulson is expected to be arrested today for his part in a phone-hacking, police-bribing scandal.

There are further wrinkles: James Murdoch, who announced the historic closure on behalf of his father’s media empire, News Corps, says he stands by Rebekah Brooks, Coulson’s predecessor, who is alleged by staffers to have known about improper behaviour by private investigators working for the paper. Subeditors at another News Corps tabloid, The Sun, are said to have staged a walk-out in solidarity with their journalist colleagues, who, reportedly felt that the whole staff were being unfairly punished for the transgressions of a few.

Unfortunately, more times than not, that’s always the case. When journalists are accused of falsifying stories or sources (think: Jayson Blair formerly of The New York Times and Patricia Smith formerly of The Boston Globe), the entire newspaper – and its staff – suffer. What also suffers is the fight for press freedom. All too often, governments and others who strive to suppress the media point to shoddy journalism and the need to protect the public as reason to limit media rights.