 |  |
Gameoldgirl had a rare morning away from the laptop today. Up and on the train to the big city while it was still dark, it was a strange experience. Not getting up at 5.30am. Not paying a quid a mile for the journey from Essex into Liverpool Street (ouch!). Not even coming home with a piece of glass that now sits proudly on the piano.
No, the strange thing was that, while most people in the carriage had with strings in their ears and were playing with tablets and smartphones, there was a man in his fifties standing reading a newspaper. And it was the Daily Express.
This website and its predecessor blog has had many a laugh at the Express's expense. This bit of nonsense from last year remains one of the most well read, and last month we had some fun with its little sister the Star and its mission to scare readers half to death.
There have been more serious concerns: women bulging out of bikinis on the front page of the Star are largely responsible for Tesco's decision to redesign its newspaper displays so that pre-school children are not confronted with body parts they should not be encountering for at least another decade. The jungle/Big Brother obsession is unfathomable - especially since Richard Desmond has divested himself of Channel 5, which broadcasts BB.
And then there's the Express and immigration, which is a real worry. It can write about statins and dementia and diabetes forever and it probably won't do any harm, but the poison on Europe and migrants is unpalatable.
Gameoldgirl has always rather fancied editing the Express. Yes, it's a fool's errand. But never mind that, it's not going to happen. There's something irresistible about taking over a team at the bottom of its game; where's the fun in inheriting a successful model? Ask David Moyes.
Returning from London, the editor of this website discovered that the sports blogger had gone all independent and written about the demise of the Express sports staff - and a sorry read it is, too.
The big question in all this - as the NUJ keeps asking the proprietor - is "If you don't love it, why don't you let it go?"
It's unfathomable. Money isn't in short supply at Northern & Shell after the sale of Channel 5. If he's not going to invest in his papers, why is he clinging on to them? Is it greed? Does he think that newspaper proprietorship automatically equals political influence?
Just imagine if he could be persuaded to sell and just imagine if a liberal, Centre-Left owner could be found to take on the Mail and the Telegraph and increase the diversity of Fleet Street at a stroke.
I think I'll put it on my Christmas wish list.
No, the strange thing was that, while most people in the carriage had with strings in their ears and were playing with tablets and smartphones, there was a man in his fifties standing reading a newspaper. And it was the Daily Express.
This website and its predecessor blog has had many a laugh at the Express's expense. This bit of nonsense from last year remains one of the most well read, and last month we had some fun with its little sister the Star and its mission to scare readers half to death.
There have been more serious concerns: women bulging out of bikinis on the front page of the Star are largely responsible for Tesco's decision to redesign its newspaper displays so that pre-school children are not confronted with body parts they should not be encountering for at least another decade. The jungle/Big Brother obsession is unfathomable - especially since Richard Desmond has divested himself of Channel 5, which broadcasts BB.
And then there's the Express and immigration, which is a real worry. It can write about statins and dementia and diabetes forever and it probably won't do any harm, but the poison on Europe and migrants is unpalatable.
Gameoldgirl has always rather fancied editing the Express. Yes, it's a fool's errand. But never mind that, it's not going to happen. There's something irresistible about taking over a team at the bottom of its game; where's the fun in inheriting a successful model? Ask David Moyes.
Returning from London, the editor of this website discovered that the sports blogger had gone all independent and written about the demise of the Express sports staff - and a sorry read it is, too.
The big question in all this - as the NUJ keeps asking the proprietor - is "If you don't love it, why don't you let it go?"
It's unfathomable. Money isn't in short supply at Northern & Shell after the sale of Channel 5. If he's not going to invest in his papers, why is he clinging on to them? Is it greed? Does he think that newspaper proprietorship automatically equals political influence?
Just imagine if he could be persuaded to sell and just imagine if a liberal, Centre-Left owner could be found to take on the Mail and the Telegraph and increase the diversity of Fleet Street at a stroke.
I think I'll put it on my Christmas wish list.
RSS Feed
