Reporter: Tabloid agenda driven by sensationalism

British reporter Nick Davies of the Guardian newspaper arrives at the High Court, to give evidence to the Leveson Inquiry in central London Tuesday Nov. 29, 2011. Top journalists involved with the phone hacking scandal are expected to expose some secrets of the trade at the Leveson inquiry. Three are set to testify, including ex-News of the World reporter Paul McMullan and the Guardian's Nick Davies, who has exposed much of the press wrongdoing. The committee has heard about rampant abuse in its search for a new way to regulate the press. (AP Photo/John Stillwell/PA Wire) UNITED KINGDOM OUT

British reporter Nick Davies of the Guardian newspaper arrives at the High Court, to give evidence to the Leveson Inquiry in central London Tuesday Nov. 29, 2011. Top journalists involved with the phone hacking scandal are expected to expose some secrets of the trade at the Leveson inquiry. Three are set to testify, including ex-News of the World reporter Paul McMullan and the Guardian's Nick Davies, who has exposed much of the press wrongdoing. The committee has heard about rampant abuse in its search for a new way to regulate the press. (AP Photo/John Stillwell/PA Wire) UNITED KINGDOM OUT

LONDON (AP) ? A former reporter says the tabloid news agenda is driven by sensationalism rather than a desire to tell the truth.

Richard Peppiatt said "much of tabloid journalism is not truth-seeking primarily. It's ideologically driven and it's impact-driven."

Peppiatt worked for the downmarket Daily Star but has become a critic of underhanded tabloid practices.

Peppiatt and other journalists are giving evidence to the British media ethics inquiry Tuesday after a week in which celebrities and victims of crime described how their lives had been disrupted by media intrusion.

Prime Minister David Cameron set up the inquiry in response to the scandal that began with illegal eavesdropping by the News of the World tabloid.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2011-11-29-EU-Britain-Phone-Hacking/id-eca9341d82524d809faec2b9718d31e6

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