With uproar about the paparazzi not being forced to attend Diana’s inquest and a frail looking Kate McCann splashed across news pages, it feels like our industry has been getting nothing but bad press of late. There is something mildly amusing about having to report on your own dirty laundry, isn’t there?

Is it really possible that Kate McCann’s dramatic weight loss has more to do with media backlash than the fact that she hasn’t seen her daughter since the night she left her alone in a hotel room? I don’t think so.

But it does feel like the world believes that the media is at the heart of all things evil and not the crooks we write about.

Do you want to know how to kill a conversation? Try telling someone you're a journalist. And, unless it's a Big Brother reject, those will probably be your parting words.

So now we’re talking shameless self promoters, I'd like to give a moment of my time to Heather Mills, who accused the media of driving her to the brink of suicide while shedding a few nicely timed tears (I didn't say they were fake - I said they were nicely timed) as she sat on the GMTV sofa yesterday morning likening herself to Kate McCann and Princess Diana.

Let’s examine that: she is going through a divorce with a high profile celebrity. Kate McCann is going through hell having had her daughter abducted. Princess Diana was married to the future king of England. Heather Mills married a knighted ex- Beatle. Let’s face it, the former glamour model from Washington is more tramp than lady. I’ve been to the North East - I know what the town centres look like on a Friday night.

Ms Mills brought with her a hefty cuttings folder of articles about herself (very modest) and launched into a full tirade about how the press has turned against her.

It's the same old story time and time again. Celebrities and other organisations are happy to invite us in when they want the attention but when they’ve finished with us, we’re cast aside ike old toys.

It's a lonely life of rejection. I sometimes wonder if the free meals are worth it.

But what would you do without us? We entertain you as you ride the tube to work, or at least serve as a barrier between you and the outside world. And we're very reusable...as hamster bedding, to mop up spills or as post modern wrapping paper.

Do we really deserve to be labelled the least trusted profession second to politicians?

We only ask the questions readers think in their heads and put them in print. Did Kate McCann play a part in her daughter’s disappearance? Was Princess Diana a pillar of virtue? Is Heather Mills a trifling golddigger?

It’s our job to be cynical. And I think deep down, you love us for it.