The front pages
Saturday 03 May, 2014
No press review today because SubScribe has been busy with World Press Freedom Day.
If you are minded to think that the arrests of a succession of elderly men for sexual crimes from decades ago is the result of a witch-hunt, here is the link to the judge's sentencing remarks in the Max Clifford trial.
Have a happy holiday weekend.
If you are minded to think that the arrests of a succession of elderly men for sexual crimes from decades ago is the result of a witch-hunt, here is the link to the judge's sentencing remarks in the Max Clifford trial.
Have a happy holiday weekend.
Friday 02 May, 2014
What kind of portrait of Britain do today's papers paint? A land where a home costs £140m. A land where allowing the poor to have a crack at the best education money can't buy is seen as doing down the middle class. A land where judges are jailed for perjury, rape cases are abandoned because of a pair of elasticated knickers, and fraud cases collapse because no barrister will defend the accused for the money the state is offering.
What the hell is going on here?
Let's start top left with the Telegraph and its absurd distortion of the entrance policies for the 164 grammar schools that survived the comprehensive cull. It is true that there are only so many pieces of cake to be shared out. But if the greedy girl who usually eats nine slices suddenly has to make do with seven or eight so that someone else gets a share, that's hardly losing out. More on this elsewhere.
Then there's the Times and the pricey penthouse flat in the Candy Brothers' One Hyde Park development, which is believed to have been sold to a Russian or Ukrainian. Is this supposed to be telling us something about the housing market - how it relates to the cost of a three-bed semi in Runcorn, for instance - or about the situation in Crimea? It is interesting, but it has no more relevance to most people's lives than the sale of Francis Bacon's Lucien Freud triptych for $142m. The paper has had an enduring fascination with the Knightsbridge confection and it is surely no coincidence that it chooses to splash on this on a Friday - the day its Bricks and Mortar supplement comes out.
What the hell is going on here?
Let's start top left with the Telegraph and its absurd distortion of the entrance policies for the 164 grammar schools that survived the comprehensive cull. It is true that there are only so many pieces of cake to be shared out. But if the greedy girl who usually eats nine slices suddenly has to make do with seven or eight so that someone else gets a share, that's hardly losing out. More on this elsewhere.
Then there's the Times and the pricey penthouse flat in the Candy Brothers' One Hyde Park development, which is believed to have been sold to a Russian or Ukrainian. Is this supposed to be telling us something about the housing market - how it relates to the cost of a three-bed semi in Runcorn, for instance - or about the situation in Crimea? It is interesting, but it has no more relevance to most people's lives than the sale of Francis Bacon's Lucien Freud triptych for $142m. The paper has had an enduring fascination with the Knightsbridge confection and it is surely no coincidence that it chooses to splash on this on a Friday - the day its Bricks and Mortar supplement comes out.
The disgracing of Constance Briscoe is an extraordinary tale of hubris, yet it is deemed worthy of only a cross-ref on the Times and Telegraph front pages. The Times does at least give it a long run as page four lead, whereas the Telegraph pushes it back to 11 and pointlessly tells us in the heading that she is black - which we can see from the picture, if it mattered, which it doesn't. (The Mail also uses a photograph, yet finds it necessary to say that she is a woman).
Thank goodness, then, for the Independent and Guardian - which have her as the main photograph on their fronts and run spreads inside - and for the i, which makes her the splash.
How hard is it to see that this is a great story? A judge facing jail for lying. A judge, moreover, who was sued (unsuccessfully) by her own mother for lying. How much better does it get? This case takes the Huhne-Price spat to a new level and may have ramifications for anyone who ever encountered Briscoe as a barrister or judge. That includes her mother. Carmen Briscoe-Mitchell claimed that her daughter's misery memoir "Ugly" was a libellous fantasy. At the time Briscoe said: "If I lost this case my whole career in law would be over. You cannot practise as a lawyer if you are a proven liar." She won, but now detectives are investigating whether documents used in her defence were obtained fraudulently.
In spite of all that, it makes only a skinny basement under Mark Shand's funeral in the Express, eight pars on page 23 in the Sun and five pars on the Peaches Geldof spread in the Mirror. Jeremy Clarkson grovelling, Pippa Middleton's bum and Camilla's tears are far more compelling.
Thank goodness, then, for the Independent and Guardian - which have her as the main photograph on their fronts and run spreads inside - and for the i, which makes her the splash.
How hard is it to see that this is a great story? A judge facing jail for lying. A judge, moreover, who was sued (unsuccessfully) by her own mother for lying. How much better does it get? This case takes the Huhne-Price spat to a new level and may have ramifications for anyone who ever encountered Briscoe as a barrister or judge. That includes her mother. Carmen Briscoe-Mitchell claimed that her daughter's misery memoir "Ugly" was a libellous fantasy. At the time Briscoe said: "If I lost this case my whole career in law would be over. You cannot practise as a lawyer if you are a proven liar." She won, but now detectives are investigating whether documents used in her defence were obtained fraudulently.
In spite of all that, it makes only a skinny basement under Mark Shand's funeral in the Express, eight pars on page 23 in the Sun and five pars on the Peaches Geldof spread in the Mirror. Jeremy Clarkson grovelling, Pippa Middleton's bum and Camilla's tears are far more compelling.
To be fair, Clarkson begging for forgiveness (or his job) is riveting. The Mirror, having set the ball rolling yesterday, obviously makes hay with a splash and spread, but it's a bit of a stretch. The phrase "begging forgiveness" crops up six times and the full text of the statement (apart from a couple of words) appears both in the main body and in a side panel. The paper has, however, got both Clarkson and the BBC on the back foot. He does have form and his salary does come from the public purse, but as SubScribe said yesterday, he brings far more money into the Beeb than he receives. The corporation can talk tough, but it knows and he knows that if he goes, he programme goes and would most likely be resurrected on Sky - with minor adjustments if necessary for copyright purposes. Piers Morgan can dream all he wants, but he won't be replacing either of Auntie's Jezzas.
The Mirror may love the story, but Clarkson's face plays second fiddle to Peaches pictorially. She is also on the front of the Sun and Star on a sad day for women. Briscoe appears four times, as does the Duchess of Cornwall, and Madeleine McCann is there twice. Frances Lawrence completes the set as the main photograph in the Telegraph. The paper has been captivated by Mrs Lawrence ever since her husband was murdered at the end of 1995. Today she is there because his killer, Learco Chindamo, is being released from prison. The Telegraph is unhappy that Mrs L was told only just before the Parole Board's decision was made public - although she has made no comment on the matter. The Mail is not impressed either:
The Mirror may love the story, but Clarkson's face plays second fiddle to Peaches pictorially. She is also on the front of the Sun and Star on a sad day for women. Briscoe appears four times, as does the Duchess of Cornwall, and Madeleine McCann is there twice. Frances Lawrence completes the set as the main photograph in the Telegraph. The paper has been captivated by Mrs Lawrence ever since her husband was murdered at the end of 1995. Today she is there because his killer, Learco Chindamo, is being released from prison. The Telegraph is unhappy that Mrs L was told only just before the Parole Board's decision was made public - although she has made no comment on the matter. The Mail is not impressed either:
"The gangland killer who stabbed headmaster Philip Lawrence to death will be back on the streets within days...The murderer's release comes only days after the killing of teacher Ann Maguire in front of her pupils on Monday."
Cue outrage all round. Chindamo may be a reformed character or he may have become an even nastier piece of work over the past couple of decades. But the timing of his release has nothing to do with Mrs Maguire's death and the two should not be conflated. He has served his sentence and the Parole Board has concluded that he is not a danger to the public.
Chindamo was convicted in October 1996 and sentenced to be detained indefinitely, with a recommendation that he serve at least 12 years. He has now been in jail for more than 18, all bar four months when he was released on licence in 2010. He was recalled then because he was accused of a mugging of which he was subsequently acquitted. And so it will be in the future: his freedom can be withdrawn at any time If he is even suspected of any crime, no conviction is necessary. Whatever we think of this man or of the original sentence, he has paid the price set by the trial judge and more. If we don't like the way the law works, we have to persuade MPs to change it. There's no point huffing and puffing indignantly when it has been followed to the letter and beyond.
As to the other 15-year-old accused of stabbing a teacher, he appeared in court yesterday to face not only a magistrate but also Mrs Maguire's family. The story was naturally reported widely, often with this, which must be a candidate for the day's most pointless picture - unless you were wondering what colour he was, how thin and whether he had hurt his arm.
Oh, and by the way, the Mail (splash sub-deck), Mirror (text) and anyone else SubScribe hasn't noticed should not be writing about "the murder" of Ann Maguire, other than in the context of the charge the boy is facing. Proceedings have started, it is now for the justice system to decide whether this was murder, manslaughter, a lesser crime or an accident.
Editor's blog: Grammar schools don't belong to the middle class
Chindamo was convicted in October 1996 and sentenced to be detained indefinitely, with a recommendation that he serve at least 12 years. He has now been in jail for more than 18, all bar four months when he was released on licence in 2010. He was recalled then because he was accused of a mugging of which he was subsequently acquitted. And so it will be in the future: his freedom can be withdrawn at any time If he is even suspected of any crime, no conviction is necessary. Whatever we think of this man or of the original sentence, he has paid the price set by the trial judge and more. If we don't like the way the law works, we have to persuade MPs to change it. There's no point huffing and puffing indignantly when it has been followed to the letter and beyond.
As to the other 15-year-old accused of stabbing a teacher, he appeared in court yesterday to face not only a magistrate but also Mrs Maguire's family. The story was naturally reported widely, often with this, which must be a candidate for the day's most pointless picture - unless you were wondering what colour he was, how thin and whether he had hurt his arm.
Oh, and by the way, the Mail (splash sub-deck), Mirror (text) and anyone else SubScribe hasn't noticed should not be writing about "the murder" of Ann Maguire, other than in the context of the charge the boy is facing. Proceedings have started, it is now for the justice system to decide whether this was murder, manslaughter, a lesser crime or an accident.
Editor's blog: Grammar schools don't belong to the middle class
The commentators...on Jean McConville and Gerry Adams
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Ruth Dudley Edwards (Mail) Jean McConville’s children will never get over their mother’s cruel death. Yet they have been given heart to see the police are taking her murder so seriously they are prepared to interrogate even that celebrity terrorist-turned-peacemaker, Gerry Adams. Because whatever happens to him, his arrest is a victory for ordinary people which sends out a signal that no one is above the law.
Malachi O'Doherty (Guardian) The prospect of political power in the south depends on coalition with at least one of the other big parties. And the leaders of Labour, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil will be squeamish about going into office with, deputising or being deputised by, a man who was a suspect in McConville's horrific murder. Therefore Adams's southern political ambitions are now dead, whatever happens next. The hard part might be getting such a resilient and impervious man to believe that. |
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Mary Dejevsky (Independent) Northern Ireland is a part of the UK, a country that we like to consider the model of a law-governed state and invite others to follow. Yet in this part of the kingdom there is at least one witness to a heinous crime who still fears the consequences for himself and his family if he turns the culprits in. What happened to Jean McConville is little different from what we call “disappearances” when they happen under military regimes in Latin America or Chechnya.
Jenny McCartney (Telegraph) The McConville story refuses to disappear, with its intense, enduring tug of love and continuing pain. The memory of that lost mother of ten, glimpsed now only in a grainy snapshot with three of the smiling children she would never see grow up, has proved impossible to bury: she is the stubborn ghost that still haunts IRA leaders, calling for answers. As events this week have demonstrated, she hasn’t gone away. |
Thursday 1 May, 2014
The arrest of Gerry Adams over one of the most notorious murders of the Troubles makes the splash in the Telegraph, Mail and i, singles in the Times and Sun and a puff in the Mirror - but not a word in SubScribe's edition of the Guardian. A thorough version appears on the paper's website, posted at 01.19am, and so we assume that the story also featured in the later print editions. The Police Service of Northern Ireland announced the arrest just after 8.30 last night, so it seems strange that the paper should have been published in any form without the story.
The Sun meanwhile shows how it can be done. Its first edition gave almost all of the front to Kate McCann, right, but it changed up smartly once the Times had landed, putting Peaches Geldof in splash position.
That was some exclusive for David Brown and Katie Gibbons of the Times, the tabs will have been cursing. Whether it proved entirely accurate is a matter of interpretation. The inquest was told that there was heroin in her system and that it had played a part in her death. Not necessarily the same thing as an overdose, but still a splendid scoop.
Back to the Sun and its exclusive on Mrs McCann. This weekend sees the seventh anniversary of Madeleine's disappearance, and so some activity in this quarter was to be expected. Two years ago SubScribe wrote that it was a shame that the McCanns didn't use the publicity surrounding their own daughter to help others who are searching for loved ones. This year they have done exactly that, in backing the Child Rescue Alert initiative by the Missing People charity - which, in a coincidental circumnavigation, takes us back to the Geldofs, since the charity is using technology from a company founded by 'Sir' Bob.
The Sun meanwhile shows how it can be done. Its first edition gave almost all of the front to Kate McCann, right, but it changed up smartly once the Times had landed, putting Peaches Geldof in splash position.
That was some exclusive for David Brown and Katie Gibbons of the Times, the tabs will have been cursing. Whether it proved entirely accurate is a matter of interpretation. The inquest was told that there was heroin in her system and that it had played a part in her death. Not necessarily the same thing as an overdose, but still a splendid scoop.
Back to the Sun and its exclusive on Mrs McCann. This weekend sees the seventh anniversary of Madeleine's disappearance, and so some activity in this quarter was to be expected. Two years ago SubScribe wrote that it was a shame that the McCanns didn't use the publicity surrounding their own daughter to help others who are searching for loved ones. This year they have done exactly that, in backing the Child Rescue Alert initiative by the Missing People charity - which, in a coincidental circumnavigation, takes us back to the Geldofs, since the charity is using technology from a company founded by 'Sir' Bob.
It's a good interview and a very nicely turned spread. But SubScribe does wonder that it should appear in the Sun of all papers. Two weeks ago Mrs McCann was the second signatory (Husband Gerry was the third) on a letter to Rupert Murdoch, which began: "We are victims of unlawful actions by employees of the News of the World or the Sun..." It goes on to say that Murdoch's News UK newspapers were using "a great power for evil" and that the company was "digging itself into a hole of untrustworthiness".
But presumably that doesn't matter if you are seeking maximum publicity for your cause.
One of the key decisions when working on a big number, a favourite cause or campaign, is when to run with it. The Independent is troubled by the Royal Mail sell-off - as well we might all be. Vince Cable has said all along that he was afraid no one would buy the shares if they were priced too high. SubScribe seems to recall, very possibly wrongly, that discussions centred on whether it would be too risky to ask £3.50. In the event, they were gobbled up at £3.30 and over the next few weeks rose to £6. The Independent has been concentrating on 16 "preferred investors" who were offered large numbers of shares, apparently in the hope that they would keep them for the long term and provide stability. Some of these investors turned out to be advising the Government on the sale. Others, we learnt from the paper's splash yesterday, were hedge funds - not renowned for long-term strategies.
Unfortunately the Indie didn't have killer examples to go with its exclusive, but it knew the list of investors would be released yesterday, and it clearly didn't want to miss the boat. It needn't have worried. No one else has paid sufficient attention to the story today, whereas the Indie has a great splash, some solid background work and a good Q&A. It should have held its fire and come in with all guns blazing today.
Fond farewells all round for Bob Hoskins, who has died of pneumonia at 71, and Jeremy Paxman, who is leaving Newsnight after 25 years. So really the picture choice should have been down to these two and Gerry Adams - the Times is allowed Peaches on account of the scoop - but the Telegraph couldn't resist a parting shot of Cressida Bonas, erstwhile girlfriend of Prince Harry as she heads back to normal upper-class life.
Finally, the Mirror is in a bate about Jeremy Clarkson and a bit of "Eeny, meeny, miney, mo..." Did he or didn't he say that word? Clarkson says not. The Mirror website has a video (which repeats four times) from two years ago that has him mumbling at the vital moment, but there is no doubt that he sounds an "n". Does this matter? Should he be sacked? The footage wasn't aired - but plenty have been brought down by recordings that were not expected to be made public.
SubScribe doesn't think this is really a splash. Clarkson is a panto villain who also happens to host the show that is the BBC's most valuable export. With so much pressure on the corporation over the licence fee, it would be astonishing if the golden gander were slain in the interest of political correctness. Everyone knows the word is unacceptable and - from the video clip and the mumbling - it's clear that Clarkson does too.
But it's given people something to tweet about.
But presumably that doesn't matter if you are seeking maximum publicity for your cause.
One of the key decisions when working on a big number, a favourite cause or campaign, is when to run with it. The Independent is troubled by the Royal Mail sell-off - as well we might all be. Vince Cable has said all along that he was afraid no one would buy the shares if they were priced too high. SubScribe seems to recall, very possibly wrongly, that discussions centred on whether it would be too risky to ask £3.50. In the event, they were gobbled up at £3.30 and over the next few weeks rose to £6. The Independent has been concentrating on 16 "preferred investors" who were offered large numbers of shares, apparently in the hope that they would keep them for the long term and provide stability. Some of these investors turned out to be advising the Government on the sale. Others, we learnt from the paper's splash yesterday, were hedge funds - not renowned for long-term strategies.
Unfortunately the Indie didn't have killer examples to go with its exclusive, but it knew the list of investors would be released yesterday, and it clearly didn't want to miss the boat. It needn't have worried. No one else has paid sufficient attention to the story today, whereas the Indie has a great splash, some solid background work and a good Q&A. It should have held its fire and come in with all guns blazing today.
Fond farewells all round for Bob Hoskins, who has died of pneumonia at 71, and Jeremy Paxman, who is leaving Newsnight after 25 years. So really the picture choice should have been down to these two and Gerry Adams - the Times is allowed Peaches on account of the scoop - but the Telegraph couldn't resist a parting shot of Cressida Bonas, erstwhile girlfriend of Prince Harry as she heads back to normal upper-class life.
Finally, the Mirror is in a bate about Jeremy Clarkson and a bit of "Eeny, meeny, miney, mo..." Did he or didn't he say that word? Clarkson says not. The Mirror website has a video (which repeats four times) from two years ago that has him mumbling at the vital moment, but there is no doubt that he sounds an "n". Does this matter? Should he be sacked? The footage wasn't aired - but plenty have been brought down by recordings that were not expected to be made public.
SubScribe doesn't think this is really a splash. Clarkson is a panto villain who also happens to host the show that is the BBC's most valuable export. With so much pressure on the corporation over the licence fee, it would be astonishing if the golden gander were slain in the interest of political correctness. Everyone knows the word is unacceptable and - from the video clip and the mumbling - it's clear that Clarkson does too.
But it's given people something to tweet about.
SubScribe on Madeleine McCann
Missing: an opportunity
Maria the Greek 'Madeleine': Romas have a right to family life too
Missing: an opportunity
Maria the Greek 'Madeleine': Romas have a right to family life too
The commentators...on Ukip
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Martin Kettle (Guardian) By not running in Newark, Nigel Farage has acted like a conventional politician. Yet in so doing he has paradoxically proved that he is not a conventional politician at all. Newark was a fork-in-the-road moment for Ukip. At Newark, Ukip could have chosen to be a parliamentary political party. Or it could have chosen to remain as an anti-politics party. It chose the latter. It is a far-reaching decision.
Jenny Pennington (Independent) Accusing UKIP of "Euracism" doesn't acknowledge the growing support for the policies and solutions that they are proposing. European free movement has been good for the UK, but that doesn’t mean it can't be better. You can label political tactics as scaremongering all you want, but what we really need are local immigration reforms. Then we can start to think about where we stand nationally. |
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Leo McKinstry (Express) It is impossible to avoid the feeling that Ukip has missed a golden opportunity to press home its advantage. If the Tories had lost Newark in the wake of a humiliation at the European polls, rebellion would have spread like wildfire through the backbenches and David Cameron’s position might have become untenable. In politics, like in war and sport, leaders should do what their opponents most fear – and in this case a by-election contest with Farage is what the Conservatives really dreaded.
Tim Montgomerie (Times) If we want to understand the Ukip phenomenon we should identify the errors being made by politicians and journalists that are helping to keep Mr Farage’s face on what seems like every TV broadcast. |
Wednesday 30 April, 2014
The stabbing of teacher Ann Maguire continues to dominate with two splashes, pictures on seven fronts, double spreads inside the Mail and Sun and spreads in the Times, Express and Independent. The use of the Christian name on the front of the Sun seems presumptuous. She will have been Mrs Maguire to most of those who knew her - look at former pupil Antony McGowan in the Times and Telegraph - and that's how papers should refer to her.
The Mirror and Telegraph both have shocking splashes: a concealed camera that showed the distress of a woman in a care home for the Mirror and evidence of the use of chemicals against children in Syria for the Telegraph. The paper will be rueing not splashing on that story, given that Nigel Farage has said he will not be running for Patrick Mercer's Westminster seat. Farage is not daft - why would he risk standing for Parliament when he has the wind in his sails in Europe? The Telegraph should have been more circumspect in its heading - the Times was more on the mark.
The Royal Mail float was not Vince Cable's finest hour, but the Independent's splash wobbles a little under closer scrutiny. We know that 16 "preferred" investors were offered £150m of stock and we know that half of that stock was sold within weeks. The one new fact in the Indie's story is that 20% of those shares went to hedge funds and short-term investors. While we may assume that much of the cashing in will probably be down to such shareholders, Oliver Wright and co haven't nailed that key point. They know that an American hedge fund had 10 million shares on day one and had sold two-thirds of them within the week - but they don't know if this hedge fund was a preferred investor or simply bought its holding on the open market. The only other hedge fund mentioned is Lansdowne, which was a preferred investor and "appears" to have received an allocation of 18 million shares - but it hasn't sold any. So it hardly qualifies as a 'speculator or spiv' out for a quick profit.
The biggest surprise of the day comes if you look across the top of the top row of papers. Harry and Cressida make the puff in six of the ten front pages. It's quite astonishing that not one chose to splash on their parting.
The Mirror and Telegraph both have shocking splashes: a concealed camera that showed the distress of a woman in a care home for the Mirror and evidence of the use of chemicals against children in Syria for the Telegraph. The paper will be rueing not splashing on that story, given that Nigel Farage has said he will not be running for Patrick Mercer's Westminster seat. Farage is not daft - why would he risk standing for Parliament when he has the wind in his sails in Europe? The Telegraph should have been more circumspect in its heading - the Times was more on the mark.
The Royal Mail float was not Vince Cable's finest hour, but the Independent's splash wobbles a little under closer scrutiny. We know that 16 "preferred" investors were offered £150m of stock and we know that half of that stock was sold within weeks. The one new fact in the Indie's story is that 20% of those shares went to hedge funds and short-term investors. While we may assume that much of the cashing in will probably be down to such shareholders, Oliver Wright and co haven't nailed that key point. They know that an American hedge fund had 10 million shares on day one and had sold two-thirds of them within the week - but they don't know if this hedge fund was a preferred investor or simply bought its holding on the open market. The only other hedge fund mentioned is Lansdowne, which was a preferred investor and "appears" to have received an allocation of 18 million shares - but it hasn't sold any. So it hardly qualifies as a 'speculator or spiv' out for a quick profit.
The biggest surprise of the day comes if you look across the top of the top row of papers. Harry and Cressida make the puff in six of the ten front pages. It's quite astonishing that not one chose to splash on their parting.
The commentators...on Scotland and Europe
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John Kay (FT) It is possible to describe an independent Scotland which would build a better business sector, less focused on London and made more vibrant by the energy and self-confidence which devolution has already brought to Edinburgh. It is also possible to describe an independent Scotland cursed by the entitlement-based culture into which municipal socialism in the west of the country often degenerated, destructively mixed with the crony capitalism and overweening ambition which almost destroyed its financial sector.
Fiona Laird (Guardian) Millions of us who don't live in Scotland, fervently want it to remain a part of the UK. Scotland, let us press you to our collective bosom and say to you, in the words of that poet from Warwickshire, that "other strains of woe, which now seem woe, Compared with loss of thee will not seem so". |
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Mary Riddell (Telegraph) This is a tale of two messiahs. The first is the French economics professor, Thomas Piketty, who is due in Britain today to deliver two lectures; the second is the Ukip leader, Nigel Farage. At an initial glance, the world’s most feted economist and the saloon-bar hustler have no common bond. Where Mr Piketty has shattered the American dream (and been rewarded by topping the US bestseller lists), Mr Farage has smashed British complacencies.
Stephen Glover (Mail) Ukip is on the same wavelength as many decent voters who might normally back the Tories or Labour or even the Lib Dems. My strong advice to the main parties, and their cheerleaders in the media, is not to act and talk as though they think the British people are racist. |
Tuesday 29 April, 2014
One story dominates - and rightly so. It is frustrating for the tabs that the Max Clifford verdict has to take second place, but the stabbing of Ann Maguire while she was teaching a Spanish class fulfills every criterion for a live news story for every market. Sadly, a lot of the copy is jumbled and rambling, which it shouldn't be in covering an event that happened before lunchtime. There is, as ever, an over-use of adjectives and adverbs, but more alarming is the lack of concern about identifying the assailant.
An interesting case this, as unless and until proceedings start against the boy, there is no law that gives him anonymity. Most newspapers have a policy of not naming children under 16 and only the Sun has gone against this convention - but the rest have gone to the very limits of identification without printing the name. Does this matter when there can't be anyone at the school who doesn't know who he is? Well yes, because he is still a juvenile who has not been charged and is therefore morally - if not legally - entitled to some level of protection, as are his family.
Today, of all days, when a new Press regulator has been named, it would have been good if newspapers had shown themselves capable of restraint. Read the SubScribe view here
An interesting case this, as unless and until proceedings start against the boy, there is no law that gives him anonymity. Most newspapers have a policy of not naming children under 16 and only the Sun has gone against this convention - but the rest have gone to the very limits of identification without printing the name. Does this matter when there can't be anyone at the school who doesn't know who he is? Well yes, because he is still a juvenile who has not been charged and is therefore morally - if not legally - entitled to some level of protection, as are his family.
Today, of all days, when a new Press regulator has been named, it would have been good if newspapers had shown themselves capable of restraint. Read the SubScribe view here
The commentators...on British politics
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Janan Ganesh (FT) The UK Independence party does not represent the start of a revolt but the culmination of it. A spirit of anti-politics began permeating the country around the turn of the millennium when Tony Blair, the last politician the British allowed themselves to love, broke their hearts by turning out to be a prime minister and not a miracle worker.
Benedict Brogan (Telegraph) British politics may be fractious, but there are voters desperate for a message of collective effort in the face of a relentless global challenge. Last night’s cross-party vote to back the high-speed rail line connecting London to the Midlands, the North and eventually Scotland was a timely example of the kind of unifying project Mr Cameron can build on. His optimism has long been his trademark. It can also be his rallying point. |
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Rachel Sylvester (Times) Ed Miliband needs to do more to restore his party’s economic credibility. He will never convince voters to put the reinvention of capitalism in his hands unless he can first persuade them. to trust him to handle the nation’s own finances, something he has so far failed to do. But the Tories would be foolish to dismiss the idea that people feel squeezed just because two lines on a graph have crossed, showing that wages are now rising faster than prices.
Steve Richards (Independent) Amid the unusually compelling uncertainty about the political future there is one prediction that can be made with confidence. If the Conservatives return to power next year, there will be a referendum on whether or not the UK should leave the European Union. |
Monday 28 April, 2014
There is no escaping what Fleet Street Fox has called Paedogeddon. The latest allegations come from the the Mirror, which devotes five pages to an abandoned police investigation into allegations about abuse of children in a Brixton care home in the 1990s. The home was run by a convicted sex offender and suspicions had been raised with police about a Labour politician who had visited the home.
The alarming facet of this story is that where previous investigations have harked back to the 70s, this relates to far more recent allegations - and may conceivably involve someone still active in politics.
The Mail and Sun both splash on the story of a murderer who has been awarded £815 compensation after some of his belongings were lost or damaged in a move between prisons. Kevan Thakrar was initially offered £10 by the prisons ombudsman, but he took the case to court in Milton Keynes, where the judge, Neil Hickman, made the compensation order - including £500 because prison staff had not expressed prompt or sincere regret. Both papers go into Thakrar's violent history both inside and outside jail, including stabbing a guard with a broken sauce bottle. It isn't hard to imagine how sympathetic prison staff would have been to learn that his property had been damaged during transfer. This is a really good story about the justice system, what a pity both papers chose to make their splash headlines a comment rather than tell it straight.
The Daily Star's amazing new clue in the Madeleine hunt is the same clue that made the splash in its stablemate the Sunday Express, which proclaimed: "Found: shirt worn by Maddie suspect". Except the shirt hasn't been found. The suspect may have been wearing a promotional T-shirt that wasn't on general sale and the police think they know which bar it came from. It's progress - but not as much progress as the Desmond papers suggest.
What a shame no one has followed up Janice Turner's Saturday column on the kidnapped Nigerian schoolgirls.
A pity, too, that only three papers have followed the SubScribe guide to page one eye candy. It's quite simple: no pretty women just for the sake of it; but should an opportunity arise to put George Clooney on the front, take it.
The alarming facet of this story is that where previous investigations have harked back to the 70s, this relates to far more recent allegations - and may conceivably involve someone still active in politics.
The Mail and Sun both splash on the story of a murderer who has been awarded £815 compensation after some of his belongings were lost or damaged in a move between prisons. Kevan Thakrar was initially offered £10 by the prisons ombudsman, but he took the case to court in Milton Keynes, where the judge, Neil Hickman, made the compensation order - including £500 because prison staff had not expressed prompt or sincere regret. Both papers go into Thakrar's violent history both inside and outside jail, including stabbing a guard with a broken sauce bottle. It isn't hard to imagine how sympathetic prison staff would have been to learn that his property had been damaged during transfer. This is a really good story about the justice system, what a pity both papers chose to make their splash headlines a comment rather than tell it straight.
The Daily Star's amazing new clue in the Madeleine hunt is the same clue that made the splash in its stablemate the Sunday Express, which proclaimed: "Found: shirt worn by Maddie suspect". Except the shirt hasn't been found. The suspect may have been wearing a promotional T-shirt that wasn't on general sale and the police think they know which bar it came from. It's progress - but not as much progress as the Desmond papers suggest.
What a shame no one has followed up Janice Turner's Saturday column on the kidnapped Nigerian schoolgirls.
A pity, too, that only three papers have followed the SubScribe guide to page one eye candy. It's quite simple: no pretty women just for the sake of it; but should an opportunity arise to put George Clooney on the front, take it.
The commentators...on Ukip
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Owen Jones (Guardian) Despite Ukip’s audacious attempt to inject fear and prejudice into the heart of political life, racism is still confronted in modern Britain. The danger comes if we are just patting ourselves on the back and failing to tackle the more subtle, pernicious forms of racism that scar our society.
Leo McKinstry ( Daily Express) The great irony of Ukip is that it owes its success to the political establishment. If the main parties had not derided the views of the people for so long, especially on immigration and the EU, then Farage’s party would never have gained ground. Kevin Maguire (Mirror) Who shut coal mines, shipyards and textile mills in Northern England? Not migrant workers but the Maggie Thatcher who Farage venerates. Ukip succeeds by persuading people to lash out at strangers instead of joining the dots. |
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John McTernan (Times) What is to be done about Ukip? In the end, trust the people. They don’t get it wrong. They know a bad argument when they hear it. So attack Ukip’s hypocrisy. Just don’t call the party, and by implication its voters, racist.
Trevor Kavanagh (Sun) There is plenty of good news around on jobs and economic growth but the PM would be wrong to assume this is enough to make the Kippers go away. Harry Wallop (Telegraph) The alarming prospect is that this time the old pattern of success in the Euro election followed by failure at the general election may not repeat itself. The two-party system in Westminster has been breaking down, and minority parties stand a greater chance of, if not winning many seats, then certainly a larger share of the vote in 2015. |
Sunday 27 April, 2014
With European and council elections less than a month away, the papers - and the "main" parties - have stopped hoping that Ukip's runaway train will hit the buffers and started to look for other ways to bring it to a halt. A Sunday Times poll has Nigel Farage's party out in front with a three-point lead over Labour and 12 points ahead of the Tories. With Cameron regarded as an out-of-touch toff, Miliband a bit of a weirdo and Clegg as frankly pointless, Farage has beguiled the country with his blokishness despite - as Decca Aikenhead pointed out in the Guardian yesterday - having announced not a single policy beyond withdrawing from Europe. Today the Sindie tries to get to grips with the Farage phenomenon and spells out in a graphic the parties' hopes and fears. When a Prime Minister is resigned to coming third, there is something wrong. When his best hope is that the official Opposition, rather than a johnny-come-lately fringe party, comes top, he is sunk.
More royalty for those who aren't sated after the Terrific Trio's tour of Oz: a souvenir album of baby George's antics from the Express and Mail and more japes for Harry in the People. The Star also headlines on Harry as it reports the deaths of five British troops in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan. This is also the splash in the Sunday Telegraph and makes the front in the other broadsheets. Remember, our mission in Afghanistan has officially ended.
After Corrie Rita yesterday, today we have Corrie Kym (heartless) and Corrie Kate (end of the road). Do keep up.
Surprisingly, there is no word in the Mail on Sunday today about food banks or the surge in donations to the Trussell Trust after its efforts last week. For the record, there have now been 4,956 donations (compared with 250 last Saturday) and the total raised has reached £61,187.19 with £13,312.38 gift aid. Just in case anyone from the MoS wants to chip in, this is the link.
More royalty for those who aren't sated after the Terrific Trio's tour of Oz: a souvenir album of baby George's antics from the Express and Mail and more japes for Harry in the People. The Star also headlines on Harry as it reports the deaths of five British troops in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan. This is also the splash in the Sunday Telegraph and makes the front in the other broadsheets. Remember, our mission in Afghanistan has officially ended.
After Corrie Rita yesterday, today we have Corrie Kym (heartless) and Corrie Kate (end of the road). Do keep up.
Surprisingly, there is no word in the Mail on Sunday today about food banks or the surge in donations to the Trussell Trust after its efforts last week. For the record, there have now been 4,956 donations (compared with 250 last Saturday) and the total raised has reached £61,187.19 with £13,312.38 gift aid. Just in case anyone from the MoS wants to chip in, this is the link.
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