I used to be a tabloid reporter AMA

[AprilONeil]

Been meaning to offer up a thread on here for a while but tbh have been too nervous, since I know how people round these 'ere parts feel about the tabloids.

Anyway, I used to work as a showbiz reporter on a British tabloid newspaper (would rather not say which one because potentially outing) and have since moved into a more 'worthy' area of journalism.

AMA...

(Dons hard hat)

You say the press can't speculate on pregnancy but Cheryl Cole didn't announce her pregnancy until the end and there was always speculation in the press although I know they have to word it correctly with inverted commas etc....this is not me asking in a rude way, this post is so interesting I am so nosey with celebs!

Do you know much more about Holly Willoughby and her husband with the stolen car and the 'affair' years ago? Is Holly Wiloughby nice in real life or is she stuck up? I've heard both opinions. Does Holly Wiloughby shout at her children or is she always calm and has it all? 😂 I know you don't know the answer to the last bit

@Guylan

and the idea that someone in government could persuade an editor to run daily stories about a subject for two years honestly seems laughable to me.

Daily Mail under Paul Dacre had a strong right wing take. The editorial decisions were clearly to support the govt. I find it disturbing that you could work for a newspaper and not be aware a newspaper takes a political editorial line.

Genuine question, why do you think a newspaper would be more interested in "supporting the government" than itself? Like, what is actually in it for Paul Dacre?

The primary goal of a newspaper is, like any business, to make money.

Tabloids make money by appealing to as many people as possible (so they can then attract advertisers) and that's why, as far as possible, they write stories that will appeal to and reflect the majority of the public.

Incidentally, the Guardian does not make money, which is why it posts a message begging for readers' cash whenever you click on it.

@Doyouavocado

Best thread ever.

Is Kanye West really gay?

Ha! no idea! I don't think so though. I do think he had a lot of issues after his mum died sadly :(

@StrictlyAFemaleFemale

Are you really good at making puns?

YES. When I was younger I wanted a job writing headlines on The Sun.

Sadly when I went to work at a newspaper I found out journalists rarely (if ever) write the headlines - the sub-editors do! (And most of the subs are brill at it).

Still loving this thread!
I've heard the "Moony" stuff,too!!!

@Tistheseason17

Still loving this thread! I've heard the "Moony" stuff,too!!!

If the Mooney rumour is true then life as I know it is over!

@Everysinglebloodytime

I know you've spoken about Caroline Flack and seemed to suggest that she wasn't treated any differently from any generic person.

That's seems pretty disingenuous to me, she was clearly a very vulnerable person and yet was pursued and reported on by national media outlets. Caroline from High Street Northampton would not have been treated like this.

Do you really feel that anyone in the public eye deserves to have such intrusive reporting on their personal life?

Lots of people, famous and non-famous, who commit crimes are vulnerable.

Lots of people, famous and non-famous, put their careers at risk when they commit a crime.

But the press are allowed to report on crimes (within the boundaries of the law) and it's fundamental to the rule of law that they be allowed to do so - the famous quote is that "justice should not just be done it should be seen to be done".

Treating Caroline differently to other people who've committed crimes just because she was famous would have set an extremely dangerous precedent. Just put that in the context of the #MeToo movement for a start.

I'd also point out 2 things:

1. Yes, there was an initial flurry of stories when the (alleged) assault happened, then the arrest, then the charge. Then it went completely quiet while she was in LA over New Years. There were barely any stories about her. And I'd wager it's not because the press didn't have them - lots of British TV stars are papped in LA (Gemma Collins was for heavens sake) - so it looked like there was an effort made to give her some breathing space. But the papers had every right to report on the various elements of the case as they became public (eg her arrest, her charge etc).

2. The media guidelines for reporting suicide state you must never attribute someone's suicide to one cause. People who blame the press for Caroline's - very tragic - death are literally flouting those guidelines.

@Wildery

Fascinating thread OP!

How much do you earn now and do you think you’ll still have a job in 5/10 years? It’s a dying industry and even sites like Buzzfeed failed to make digital work. If not, what do you think you’ll do?

A friend’s DD wants to be a journalist and I’ve been trying to tell her it’s not a great career choice because no future in it, but maybe I’m wrong

Sooo many people told me not to be a journalist. In one sense they were right - I only made the move when I got together with DP and then it took me a while to get the tabloid job, which was one of the few we'll-paying ones. Most journo jobs pay terribly (starting salary at Vogue is around minimum wage, or certainly was when I looked into it yonks ago).

Quite depressing to think about where the industry is going. I think at one point there were simply too many outlets all reporting on exactly the same thing, which was unsustainable.

I'm hoping the fact that a lot have fallen by the wayside means online outlets will go back to focusing on their individual beats (eg Vogue on fashion, Glamour on women's issues, Hello on celebrities, New Statesman on politics).

I don't go to Vogue to read about politics and I don't go to the New Statesman to read about internet culture but the lines have become so blurred now that's what you get.

@Madelinehatter

Any One Direction gossip? Has a big thing for them back in the day! Was Harry and Caroline a real relationship?

I heard from a few people that Caroline was a cover for someone else.

@Idontknow23

You say the press can't speculate on pregnancy but Cheryl Cole didn't announce her pregnancy until the end and there was always speculation in the press although I know they have to word it correctly with inverted commas etc....this is not me asking in a rude way, this post is so interesting I am so nosey with celebs!

Do you know much more about Holly Willoughby and her husband with the stolen car and the 'affair' years ago? Is Holly Wiloughby nice in real life or is she stuck up? I've heard both opinions. Does Holly Wiloughby shout at her children or is she always calm and has it all? 😂 I know you don't know the answer to the last bit

I think that's how they got around it, with the inverted commas, but even that was pushing it. I think they just did it because it was so ludicrous to see her in bodycon dresses with a pregnant stomach and not be able to say anything but if you actually read the story it was always really carefully worded. There was a similar one about Tamara Ecclestone last week where they couldn't say she was pregnant so the headline was she was "rubbing her belly" but the pics said it all!

Oh yeah I'd forgotten about Holly and the car! That was a great story. I don't remember talking to colleagues about it to get more insight - I wish I had now. I don't know much about her but find her a bit grating - probably cause I'm just jealous though

Haha same on the Holly Wiloughby thing, I just want her to moan about her husband or that her kids won't settle at night, I'm sadly fascinated on how she would be at home but obviously tabloids wouldn't know that

Caroline flack was a cover for Nick Grimshaw wasn’t she?

Harry Styles and Nick we’re actually a thing

Im guessing the "miserable old rock star" is Bob Geldof 🤣

Do you get the Popbitch email?

F

Thanks for the thread!

I'm interested in what you said about nepotism and I know Sutton Trust says that journalism is one of the least diverse professions. Is there much awareness of this/appetite for change in the industry? Are illegal unpaid internships/exploitation of low paid staff still a thing? (I've heard rumours!)

Also I know you've said (repeatedly!) that you weren't in the news/politics side, but did you find the majority of journalists were white/male/upper middle class? If so, do you think they have a limited perspective because they're mostly from a certain background or do the good ones have a finger on what's happening? (I'm not talking right or left wing particularly).

Interesting snippets about Mr Cowell. Anyway, on the subject of closeted A listers who employ ‘beards’, any snippets about a certain uber-famous British racing driver?

Why would his erstwhile "girlfriend" agree to bearding though? Did she really need the career boost just to end up advertising dairy products?

I don’t really understand why Simon Cowell wouldn’t come out as gay though. It’s not like it would ruin his career or anything. It doesn’t make sense to me.

Thanks so much for doing this AMA. I’ve really enjoyed it.

Fleet Street - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org › wiki › Fleet_Street
Fleet Street is a major street mostly in the City of London. ... The term Fleet Street remains a metonym for the British national press

Google’s English dictionary is provided by Oxford Languages:
Metonym,
a word, name, or expression used as a substitute for something else with which it is closely associated. For example, Washington is a metonym for the US government

Im liking this thread so much

Thanks OP for posting the most interesting AMA I have read.

I was interested in your comments on the differences between online and print journalism. Do you think there is a long term future for tabloid print versions?

Also if we are moving to more online content do you think that it needs more regulation to ensure it matches the standards of print journalism?

In a number of your posts you point out the biasses in the other papers e.g the guardian. One thing I like in the guardian is the seperation of news and comment with the more contraversial opinion pieces being clearly identified. Do you think this approach could be used in the tabloid press or is it all just opinion?

Treating Caroline differently to other people who've committed crimes just because she was famous would have set an extremely dangerous precedent. Just put that in the context of the #MeToo movement for a start.

I don't think anyone has suggested for a minute that it shouldn't have been reported, but that she shouldn't have been hounded. I'm not sure if you genuinely are misreading what people are saying or using this as a strategy to deflect from some pretty terrible behaviour.

1) Yes, there was an initial flurry of stories when the (alleged) assault happened, then the arrest, then the charge. Then it went completely quiet while she was in LA over New Years. There were barely any stories about her. And I'd wager it's not because the press didn't have them - lots of British TV stars are papped in LA (Gemma Collins was for heavens sake) - so it looked like there was an effort made to give her some breathing space. But the papers had every right to report on the various elements of the case as they became public (eg her arrest, her charge etc).

Again. It's not the fact that it was reported but the way that it was reported.

2) The media guidelines for reporting suicide state you must never attribute someone's suicide to one cause. People who blame the press for Caroline's - very tragic - death are literally flouting those guidelines.

I'm pretty sure that one has suggested it was the sole cause but a hugely contributing factor, her vulnerability in many ways has also been mentioned but that doesn't distract from the way she was treated by the media. I think I saw one article where her choice of outfit for court was picked apart, pretty sure that this wouldn't have happened to Caroline from Northampton.

How is is that a certain elderly royal can have a car accident and appear to have no consequences ditto one half of a famous jungle presenter duo .

Also how come the Mcanns were never slated for leaving very young children alone in a hotel room. If it hadve been Tracey from Essex It would've been a whole different story. Plus how the hell did the manage to get a ( legal? Press? representative) and why

I'm pretty sure that one has suggested it was the sole cause but a hugely contributing factor,

Doh! 'No one'!

Great thread OP. Thank you for being so candid.

When you started the thread, was there anything you expected to be asked that hasn't yet been asked?

Similarly, are there any more hints, cryptic clues or rhyming surnames that haven't yet been touched upon that you know we'd love to hear ? (I'm rubbish at rhyming surnames though - I was thinking of a different "ooney" for ages!)