red-top rags
My own personal favourite is ‘Freddie Starr Ate My Hamster’ but everyone seems to have their own preferred red-top tabloid headline whether it’s ‘Two Sh*gs Prescott’ (John Precott’s love life) or ‘Zip Me Up Before You Go Go’ (George Michael’s LA misdemeanour). Often played for laughs, there are obviously many millions who are delighted by our press’s irreverent approach to today’s news and the subsequent effect it can have on the individuals it targets. As long ago as 80 years, then Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin complained of the industry wielding “power without responsibility”. All western countries have a tabloid press but none appears to be quite as vitriolic, or following recent scandals, as corrupt as ours. Why is this the case?
Germany’s appetite for tabloid titillation stops way short of ours and it is a recognised fact that too intrusive reporting would not be welcomed and would negatively impact long term sales. The country has much respect for an individual’s privacy. France, long standing privacy laws not withstanding, is similar to the UK in the recourse to a ‘public interest’ defence, but the reality is it’s seldom put to the test. Whether or not you think this is out of respect, or from too close relations between tabloid proprietors and political elite, is your call. The Swedish public despise newspaper retractions and corrections with a passion and invariably vote with their feet when faced with such an action. Much of Europe’s press tends to stop at the bedroom door. Ours crawls underneath or peers through the keyhole.
The ‘Milly Dowler’ scandal and behaviour of Cammy’s ‘Chipping Norton sect’ have placed the conduct of our tabloid press back under the microscope. The Press Complaints Commission, a self-funded and self-governing body, clearly has no control over the actions of its charges. Consequently, there are calls for sweeping reform: new privacy laws; new rules governing the interaction with the political elite, the banning of any contact with the police; and far sterner punishment for any transgression.
Clearly some or all of these measures could go some way to changing and, perhaps cleaning up, the behaviours of many of the so-called journalists but I’m a firm believer in that we get what we deserve in this regard. It is impossible to legislate away our fascination with sex and scandal. Whilst the populace continues to buy the output of this tawdry industry so it will continue to publish it. As long as our thirst for gossip, tittle-tattle, titillation, intrusion and down-right lies continues then so will the Frankenstein that we have helped create.
