 |  |
And so the incredible shrinking splash has finally disappeared...but it wasn't the Star that delivered the coup de grace. Yesterday's front page clung to a sliver of news with the discovery of oil in the Home Counties.
Today the Express scores a rare first. But is it one to be proud of? A big Grand National puff, an even bigger ad for Lidl and not even the hint of a news story.
Goodness knows what the pair of them were thinking. Or Lidl for that matter. One imagines it must have paid a pretty penny for such dominant ads and then to squander the space on half a dozen eggs, a bottle of milk, a baguette and some washing-up liquid seems bizarre.
Steeplechasing has a greater ability than anything else - even football - to squeeze tabloid splashes. We see this daily during the Cheltenham Festival with huge puffs at the top and, often, betting ads at the bottom. There's hardly anywhere left to go for the Grand National and the biggest betting day of the year.
Today the Express scores a rare first. But is it one to be proud of? A big Grand National puff, an even bigger ad for Lidl and not even the hint of a news story.
Goodness knows what the pair of them were thinking. Or Lidl for that matter. One imagines it must have paid a pretty penny for such dominant ads and then to squander the space on half a dozen eggs, a bottle of milk, a baguette and some washing-up liquid seems bizarre.
Steeplechasing has a greater ability than anything else - even football - to squeeze tabloid splashes. We see this daily during the Cheltenham Festival with huge puffs at the top and, often, betting ads at the bottom. There's hardly anywhere left to go for the Grand National and the biggest betting day of the year.
Today the Star gives over almost all the front page to the race in a sort of Masterchef "Grand National three ways" confection: puff, splash and advert. You can only admire the way it found room to promote its football section as well.The Sun, without an ad to contend with, can afford an even bigger puff and a police-bashing splash.
Inside, the Sun gives the Aintree meeting the most space with 20 pages, followed by the Times with a 12-page supplement. The rest of the tabs go for eight to ten pages, while the more serious minded Telegraph, Guardian and Independent restrain themselves to three or four.
Armies of tipsters are required to put their reputations on the line, so how did they do?
Not one identified the winner. Many Clouds is mentioned only by Marlborough in the Telegraph, who thought it would come third, and Matt Chapman in the Sun who predicted it would finish fourth. Two of the Star's team and one each from the Sun, Mail and Times picked two of the top five horses.
Having started this post with the ugliest Grand National front page, let's end it with the most elegant - even if the fairytale ending was not to be.
Inside, the Sun gives the Aintree meeting the most space with 20 pages, followed by the Times with a 12-page supplement. The rest of the tabs go for eight to ten pages, while the more serious minded Telegraph, Guardian and Independent restrain themselves to three or four.
Armies of tipsters are required to put their reputations on the line, so how did they do?
Not one identified the winner. Many Clouds is mentioned only by Marlborough in the Telegraph, who thought it would come third, and Matt Chapman in the Sun who predicted it would finish fourth. Two of the Star's team and one each from the Sun, Mail and Times picked two of the top five horses.
Having started this post with the ugliest Grand National front page, let's end it with the most elegant - even if the fairytale ending was not to be.
RSS Feed
