Steve Nolan: Leveson evidence a shock even to some of us journalists

And secondly, that journalists rank alongside traffic wardens and football referees as the most unpopular people on earth.

The second I didn’t quite understand - apart from the odd overdone caricature of a morally devoid local reporter snooping about on Eastenders, I had always seen journalists as pillars of the community as a kid, people to look up to. Of course I was slightly biased in that it’s a profession I aspired to be a part of from a pretty young age.

But thus far in 2011 the profession has taken a battering of heavyweight boxing proportions and is currently on the ropes.

We’ve seen a much darker side of the trade come to light and no more so than with some of the shocking evidence given at this week’s Leveson Inquiry.

From actress Sienna Miller admitting that she even suspected her family and friends of leaking things to journalits and photographers to the shocking details of the McCann’s treatment at the hands of the press. They were two parents in a state of unimaginable anguish anyway, yet they were hauled over the coals by finger pointing tabloids.

Utterly dispicable.

Max Mosley, himself humiliated by a tabloid sex scandal, described certain quarters of “having no human feeling at all.”

But, all that said, I’d like to think that the domain of local newspapers isn’t one of those quarters.

Perhaps slightly naively (I am at the relatively early stages of my career in my defence), I must admit that I had no idea of the alleged practices of some of the nationals - life at a provincial title is very very different.

I was aware that life as a reporter at a higher level can be cut-throat and it’s never been a career path I’ve had a desire to progress down - I rather hope that my career will head off in a different direction.

But how are the public likely to respond to us local hacks in light of the Leveson inquiry? Are local people still going to put their trust in us as many have done in the past?

I fear not. I’m afraid that we might all be tarred with the same sleazy brush, even though we try our utmost to play by the rules certainly at this paper - I can’t speak for every local journalist of course.

I can’t help but feel that my job will become harder because of what is relatively speaking an unscrupulous few and it’ll be interesting to hear Leveson’s final findings. Never mind ranking alongside traffic wardens and referees any more, my profession has been dragged a lot lower than that now.