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)

"I think no matter how rich someone is they will always act to protect their own interests."

But the Theranos example shows that's patently not true.

I'm not disregarding your quotes about Murdoch's interference (although I have yet to fact-check them) but when it came to potentially losing $125 million he didn't interfere.

Either way, there have been plenty of Labour governments - we had 13 years of Labour in fact - and imho you are grossly overstating the influence of newspapers, especially given the rise of the Internet. Circulation is the lowest it's ever been.

I also don't believe in conspiracy theories and, having worked at a newspaper, I never encountered anything to make me think this particular one is true (the moon landing on the other hand... )

Did you do phone hacking?! My friend and flat mate worked for a tabloid in 2002 and they were always hacking celebrities phones. Guess you can’t answer that...

@Blinkyblonkyblimey

Great thread! You say that the press have to follow a lot of rules about what they print. However, some years ago, I was a witness at a tribunal. It’s far too complicated (and boring) to go into detail, but the judgement was that the person who instigated the case had lied throughout. A couple of days later, a tabloid paper ran the story - an even more highly embellished version of the one told in court by the ‘victim’ and stated that they had received damages for their ‘ordeal’. Nowhere did it report that they had actually lost the case and the only money they had received was a small amount of back pay that had been held back until after the case was judged. I thought it a very poor piece of journalism and unfair to the other (blameless) people involved who had to deal with the aftermath. If it weren’t for the fact that the ‘victim’ was notorious locally as an absolute nightmare, it might have ended several people’s careers. I don’t think I’ve ever read a newspaper article since without having a little doubt in my mind as to whether it’s being absolutely truthful.

It's difficult for me to comment because I obviously wasn't there but I'd be surprised if there hadn't been any inclusion of the judge's statement about the victim's truthfulness (or lack there of). Given the victim did receive some money (from what you're saying) I'd also be curious to see how the line about compensation was worded.

A lot of them time it's people reading into articles rather than the articles themselves - which are often very carefully written to imply something but not actually state it - that's the issue.

@ILoveFlumps

BooteusMaximus I did get the ‘apologies’, but like you say, they were tucked away in print, and only found on the online version if you searched for it. Thankfully the Lawyer I engaged took it on a CFA basis as my case was so strong. The morning the article came out, I must have rang about 10 libel lawyers in London. He called me back first. I went through everything and in about 20 minutes he had taken my case and was on the phone to the Principle paper. It all snowballed quickly from there.

Unfortunately there are still remnants of it on the internet. Anything published outside the UK doesn’t fall under our jurisdiction so I will never be able to escape the untruths told.

Again it's difficult for me to comment on this one because I don't know the facts - I'm very surprised you weren't contacted at all for comment. Not even a note through your door or a phone call? Did they tell you they had tried to contact you? If not was the journalist perhaps very inexperienced - and is she still working in journalism?

I can appreciate it's horrible to be on the other side of it (literally - because a family member has had a few negative articles written about his business so I genuinely do understand) especially if the reporter was wilfully negligent, which it sounds like she was from what you're saying.

But would you judge the entire medical profession because of a bad experience with one doctor?

@Modest11

Little Mix security stopped journalists hounding the girls in the lift OP, but let's just say Chris Hughes certainly used Jesy Nelson for fame

I didn't hound them in the lift I was tired and wanted to go home. They didn't even know I was a journalist - they just wouldn't let anyone in the lifts with them.

@Bigfatpicnic

Do you think that reality TV stars have made this kind of journalism easier to find stories to fill column inches? I am thinking TOWIE, RHOC, MIC etc. When you mentioned a ‘z list celeb’ with a cup of coffee going up and down the street I had a vision of a reality TV person. Never a day goes by without a TOWIE or ex TOWIE cast member in the gossip news.

Oh yeah absolutely but because they're a dime a dozen some of them can be hard to get into the print paper - there's got to be a real story.

For online anything/anyone goes especially if there are pics. I mean, I've yet to meet anyone who can explain to me how Kimberly Garner - who was literally on like 1 series of MiC ten years ago - is still written about on MailOnline!?

@OhCaptain

I don’t believe the stuff about Prince William. It would be out more if it was true, I think.

@AprilONeil how do you feel about phone hacking? Is that fair game in your opinion?

Is the new Love Island presenter as insufferable as she seems?!

Phone hacking - obviously not fair game as it's illegal.

To clarify though, as I suspect there's some confusion about this, it wasn't that journalists were tapping or bugging people's phones.

It's that celebs (like many people) didn't set a password to their voicemails so if you knew their phone number (and the one thing you do inevitably end up with as a journo is an incredible rolodex of celebrity's mobile numbers) you could call up the voicemail, type in the preset number, and access their messages.

Re Love Island - I've met her and yes.

Does Molly-Mae make loads more/generate loads more than the other zelebs?

Also, I asked about the phone hacking as did someone else upthread?

X post! Thanks for asking.

It’s still not great though is it? Dialling into private voicemails!

@PlanetSlattern

What do the writers think of the subs?

I think they view them as colleagues just like anyone else in the office really. Most of us also appreciate they do an even more pressured job than we do (having to fact check/typo check/make the copy fit the space and not only come up with a headline but make that fit too!)

@OhCaptain

X post! Thanks for asking.

It’s still not great though is it? Dialling into private voicemails!

Absolutely it's still wrong. But I do think a lot of people think it means bugging the phone lines, which is much worse.

*answering, not asking! 😬

@Suewiththeredford

What is Kelly Brook actually for?

I really like Kelly Brook (never met her but she's always seemed lovely)

This is a great thread, thank you OP!

Is it true that some celebs do a deal with tabloids by giving them a juicy story to stop them publishing something even more shocking?

@roundtable

Does the government leak policy ideas to the press?

It feels like they do or is it speculation by news outlets?

I have no direct experience of this (didn't do hard news) but I would confidently state yes, and the reason is to test the public reaction. All political parties do it as well as, occasionally, businesses, royals etc.

@CarrotVan

Is there some sort of contractual arrangement between the tabloids and Gemma Collins that states whenever a photo is printed it must be accompanied by text including the phrase "incredible 3 stone weightloss"?

haha I don't think it's contractual.

But weight loss/gain is a compelling narrative. I read a great book years ago about how the celebrity industry works in the US and it was a regular thing that celebs would be paid by a weight loss company to lose weight, get a bonus if they kept it off etc then when they inevitably put it back on they'd start again. And each time they're getting publicity from mags about their weight loss journeys etc. It's an industry.

This is one of my favourite letters I've seen on the topic of posh people in media

I think the pic didn't load. Will try again:

@hamstersarse

I hear lots about David Beckham being a shagger - even people who claim that they know someone who has slept with him then to have been slapped with a confidentiality agreement / payoff as soon as they have DTD

Are these persistent rumours based on fact?

There was a bit of discussion of this upthread

@MsTSwift

Did you do phone hacking?! My friend and flat mate worked for a tabloid in 2002 and they were always hacking celebrities phones. Guess you can’t answer that...

Nope I joined post Leveson, mid-2010s.

Your friend probably has better stories than I do though. Whenever I speak to journalists who did showbiz in the late 1990s/early 2000s they have incredible stories about scaling drainpipes to get into parties etc.

@WiltedWillows

Hi *@AprilONeil* would we know who you are as I think I may have worked out who you are?

I'd honestly be flattering myself to even think for a minute you did - I have absolutely no media profile whatsoever. Just a jobbing journo (but please do DM me your guess cause I'd love to hear it #sovain)

@YoungBritishPissArtist

This is a great thread, thank you OP!

Is it true that some celebs do a deal with tabloids by giving them a juicy story to stop them publishing something even more shocking?

I don't think it ever happened to me (trying to cast my mind back) but colleagues confirmed it did happen on occasion.

I did have publicists give my story to rivals as revenge though to stop me getting an exclusive (ie I'd call them to ask for a comment and they wouldn't give me one and then would call another paper to give them my story).

@OhCaptain

Does Molly-Mae make loads more/generate loads more than the other zelebs?

Also, I asked about the phone hacking as did someone else upthread?

No specific insight into her but when I worked online at a different publication we would look at which celebs were generating the most hits for us and focus on them.

One more! Is the William stuff true?!!👀

@AprilONeil this is such an interesting thread and is challenging many of my preconceptions about the media. I don't think any other OP on an AMA has ever gone to the trouble you have to answer so many questions in such a thoughtful way so thank you.

Though you’ve clearly got a bee in your bonnet about the Guardian!