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"...News of the World, News of the World!"

So goes the song by The Jam, used as Mock the Week's theme. Perhaps unfortunately, the Sunday newspaper of that name is to close, ending more than one and two-thirds centuries of generally good reporting, news and comment. It was a well-established institution, though not my own kind of read.

Now, for what must be sound commercial reasons, as so many big advertisers have declared their possible/probable/certain withdrawal of advertising from the title, the News of the World will cease to exist after this coming Sunday's final edition.

All sorts of ulterior motives are being ascribed to this move by those without much of a clue about how the Murdoch operation functions (unless they do know and are just being dishonest in pursuit of their own agenda), but it is a fact that without sufficient and consistent advertising revenue a newspaper or magazine cannot survive.

It really is that simple.

A new Sunday title will be introduced in due course, in effect a Sun on Sunday (which is what it is provisionally being called), but that will no doubt take a few weeks to set up, presumably with completely new editorial staff.

Incidentally, I saw all this coming a couple of days ago, but kept quiet while events unfolded in more-or-less the way I'd envisaged, with first one or two big advertisers making such announcements concerning their own advertising plans, then when the ice had been broken, a number of others following suit. That is what will have prompted the closure of the NotW, though other ingredients might be used as the official 'reasons'.

UPDATE at 1615 hrs: Rebekah Brooks, who was the NotW editor at the time of the 'phone hacking but who has since gone on to a higher position within the Murdoch hierarchy, has reportedly just resigned from her post, though this now (just a few minutes later) looks like it was incorrect.