Star's latest example of an 'embellished and inaccurate' headline

The front page of Saturday's Daily Star boasts an 'exclusive':

'Ash and Dec's Secret Jungle Date'. It's yet another story from I'm A Celebrity which has been on the front page of the Star almost every day since the series started.

Just below the 'Exclusive' banner we're told:

Sex-starved TV babe Ashley Roberts wants a date with I'm A Celebrity host Declan Donnelly after leaving the jungle, we can reveal.  

So the 'secret date' hasn't actually happened.

This comes two days after the Leveson Report said, in a section on 'deliberately misleading headlines' in which the Star gets several mentions (p.682):

What seems clear is that, faced with a fiercely competitive market, some titles have found themselves on the wrong side of the line between an attention-grabbing but accurate headline and an embellished and inaccurate headline.

'Revealed'

Today's Daily Star claims to have a 'Big Brother exclusive':

By using 'exclusive', the Star implies it is actually 'revealing' the 'big sex secret'.

But it is not. 

Today's story (on the front of Richard Desmond's Daily Star) reveals that Brian Dowling, host of Big Brother (broadcast of Richard Desmond's Channel 5), told new! magazine (owned by Richard Desmond) that he'd like Jasmine Lennard - a former partner of Cowell and housemate on Celebrity Big Brother - to reveal some 'sex secrets'.

But the Star told us under the very similar and equally misleading front page headline 'Cowell's secret Big Bro sex romps' on 31 July:

The model, 27, signed a legal agreement never to spill the beans about her sizzling six-month fling with The X Factor boss.

So nothing has been, or looks likey to be, 'revealed'. 

As Star editor Dawn Neesom told the Leveson Inquiry:

We do rely on people picking up the newspaper off the news stands, which is why our front pages have to be as eye-catching as we can make them.

Shame they aren't as accurate as they could make them.

Another 'eye-catching' Star headline on Cowell

The front page of today's Daily Star has, it claims, an 'exclusive':

It is not unusual for Richard Desmond's Star to run stories about programmes broadcast on Richard Desmond's Channel 5.

And with yet another outing of Celebrity Big Brother starting in a couple of weeks, the Star needs to start promoting it now. So we have 'Cowell's secret Big Bro sex romps' on the front page.

Has Simon Cowell - who isn't dead - been having 'secret Big Bro romps'...whatever that means?

Here's the story:

Simon Cowell’s stunning ex-lover Jasmine Lennard is set to give TV censors a nightmare on Celebrity Big Brother next month.

The model, 27, signed a legal agreement never to spill the beans about her sizzling six-month fling with The X Factor boss.

However, the sexy lass is struggling to keep her lips sealed.

Oh. So someone who apparently had a 'fling' with Simon Cowell six years ago is going on Celebrity Big Brother (and won't be able to talk about it).

As Star editor Dawn Neesom might say, this is a headline that is 'eye-catching' rather than accurate.

Star's ad campaign for Big Brother begins

The front of today's Daily Star claims there is a 'Fury over Big Bro live sex show':

The article, by Peter Dyke, begins:

Big Brother bosses will spark a major controversy by screening a live sex show in the house.

A 'live sex show'? On Channel 5? Rather than on one of Richard Desmond's 'other' channels?

It sounds unlikely. And as the article goes on, it becomes clear this is hype:

Producers unveiled the luxury Las Vegas-style BB13 house yesterday and it contains the ultimate kinky bedroom.

They have cordoned off two double beds and surrounded them with mirrors and lighting.

It is a clear hint they want the randy wannabes to couple up and put on a rompathon.

So there is no 'live sex show'. And even if there was a 'live sex show' when Big Brother starts next month, broadcasting rules would limit what Channel 5 could show anyway.

Is there any 'fury', as claimed in the front page headline? No. The article does not name, or quote, any furious person or organisation.

So no live sex show and no fury. It is another of those headlines that editor Dawn Neesom would say was 'eye-catching' rather than true.

This is simply about one of Richard Desmond's papers plugging a show on one of his TV channels. Dyke remembers to give the date and time of the broadcast of the first episode of the new series.

It's not the first time the Star has misused 'live sex show'. On the front page on 3 December 2008, it claimed Britney Spears had performed a 'live sex show' on TV when in fact she had simply done a song-and-dance routine on Good Morning America.

And trying to sell Big Brother (and copies of the paper) on it's sex content isn't exactly a new tactic for the Star either. Housemates will 'strut their naked stuff' or the programme will be 'full of naked romps' or it will be the 'sexiest Big Bro ever'. So for today's paper to claim this is a 'shock plan' is nonsense. It's the same tired old 'plan' that the Star claims is afoot every year.

Helpfully, MailOnline's JJ Anisiobi has joined the ad campaign, copying-and-pasting the Star's article into a 'story' which claims the series is already 'courting controversy'.

Daily Star on thin ice

On 26 November, a front-page article from the Daily Star said:

David Beckham a contestant on Dancing on Ice? It sounded very unlikely. The first sentence of the article then stated:

David Beckham is considering an offer to star in Dancing On Ice.

So not definite, but 'considering an offer'. Was there an offer? That's not exactly clear. But there was an interview with Torvill and Dean in the Daily Record the day before in which the latter said:

"We did talk about David Beckham. He likes music so hopefully he has rhythm.

"We like the idea of an athlete from a different sport.

"You assume they are going to be good physically, but they aren't always co-ordinated as far as dancing goes. Beckham would be great."

The Star also claimed Justin Bieber was 'urging' Beckham to accept this 'offer'. But it appears the Star's Aaron Tinney dug up this quote from Bieber in OK! in March 2011 and included it to bolster the story:

"Next time I see David Beckham I will say that if he agrees to do it then so will I. I love all kinds of skating."

The Dancing on Ice line-up has now been announced.

David Beckham's name is nowhere to be seen.

'Fight'

The front page headline on today's Daily Star says:

This might lead readers to think that the cover story is about The X Factor judge Tulisa Contostavlos speaking about her 'fight' with Cheryl Cole. But here's what she actually says in the article:

“I can 100% reassure fans that I will be sitting in that judge’s chair in the final. These stories? I know they are a load of rubbish. I know for a fact from the conversations I’ve had with Cheryl that it’s all a load of rubbish.”

She added: “Me and Cheryl?

“I hate it when people say ‘Oh my God we’re new best friends and that I’m morphing into her’.

“We do talk. It’s as simple as that. I haven’t spoken to her for a bit because she has been out in LA but we will meet up when she gets back.

“We are just cool. That’s the word for me and Cheryl.

“We sat down and had ‘the conversation’ at her birthday party.

“We said ‘It’s gonna go crazy’ and ‘People are going to make up rumour after rumour’.

“It has been intense. We don’t pay any attention.”

Not much of a 'fight', is it?

Daily Star, Big Brother, lies (cont.)

The Daily Star's coverage of Celebrity Big Brother shows no sign of slipping off their front page. It also shows little sign of reflecting actual events.

Wednesday's front page clearly implies 'sobbing' Amy Childs has got the 'BB boot' and has been voted out of the Big Brother house in an 'eviction shock'.

In fact, she's still in the house and hasn't been evicted - as Peter Dyke's article makes very clear.

If the show is as thrilling as the 'Official Big Brother Paper' wants us to believe, why does it feel the need to resort to such blatantly deceptive headlines?

Today's Daily Star front page

Excluding the football, there are three main stories on the front of today's Daily Star:


The lead, continuing the paper's fascination with Celebrity Big Brother, claims:

Celeb Big Brother star and Speaker's wife Sally Bercow wants gypsy hardman Paddy Doherty to be her hubby - swapping Parliament for a caravan.

The article, by Emma Wall, begins:

Smitten Sally Bercow wants to become gypsy hardman Paddy Doherty’s TV “wife” after they bonded on Celebrity Big Brother.

The Speaker’s wife is ready to swap the Houses of Parliament for a caravan park as she trades high-flying husband John for the bare-knuckle brawler.

But the Star eventually admits Bercow has only said she'd like to do an episode of Wife Swap with Doherty. She doesn't actually want Paddy for her hubby.

On the left hand side of the front page, there's the headline 'Jess vows to wed rat', under which it says:

Eastenders star Jessie Wallace has decided to go ahead with her wedding today.

According to the Mail (and Wallace's spokesperson) she didn't.

And in the bottom corner of the front page, the paper claims:

Kate backs Star battle

Kind-hearted Princess Kate is backing the Daily Star's Reclaim the Streets crusade to help victims of the riots that have devastated Britain.

But the article on page 7 admits:

The Duchess of Cambridge was so touched by those she met after the troubles that she is joining Prince Charles’s fight to support disadvantaged children and teenagers.

It continues:

A spokesman said the Duchess, her husband Prince William, 29, and Prince Harry, 26, all had “a strong interest in, and commitment to, helping disadvantaged young people”.

And the spokesman added: “This area of work is one of the key focuses of the Foundation of Prince William and Prince Harry and will continue to feature strongly in their charitable work.”

Somewhat unsurprisingly, the article does not once claim that she has specifically backed the Daily Star's campaign.

So two of the 'news' stories on the front page today were dishonestly presented and the third was guesswork that turned out to be wrong.

They did manage to get the football results right, however.

Richard Desmond, the Daily Star and Big Brother

When giving evidence in the libel case he brought against Tom Bower - a case he lost but continues to claim he won - Richard Desmond, owner of the Daily Express, Daily Star and Channel 5, said:

'I give no orders on the editorial. The editor decides what goes in the papers.'

Yet there has been a marked increase in the number of puff pieces for Channel 5 since Desmond acquired the channel just over a year ago. The blatant advertising in 'news articles'. The TV critic's recommendations for Channel 5 shows. Leo McKinstry's op-ed piece suggesting The Mentalist (shown on Channel 5) was the 'best TV detective of them all'.

But all this must be coincidental as it is solely down to the editor as to 'what goes in the papers'.

Now there's Big Brother, which Channel 5 has resurrected after it was killed off by Channel 4 because of falling ratings. It's true to say that the Star has long been obsessed with reality TV shows. Previous series of Big Brother, The X Factor and I'm A Celebrity have always had lots of coverage.

But since the start of August, the Daily Star has written 42 articles about Big Brother, including nine in the last two days. And the paper has been full of gushing praise for the show.

On 2 August we were told in an editorial that Big Brother was the perfect antidote to a gloomy summer:

So far 2011 has been a summer to forget. Rocketing prices, grim weather and tragic news have all cast a shadow. We desperately need something to shake off the gloom.

Now Big Brother is ready to explode back on our screens. And it’s set to be the most sensational series yet...Watching the exploits of all the housemates will get the nation smiling again. Sexy contestants will raise temperatures whatever the weather...A daily dose is sure to put the sparkle back into summer.

Less than two weeks later, another Star editorial claimed something similar:

While we rebuild after the riots, we must remember that life is not all doom and gloom. We need to crack a smile now more than ever. That’s why we’re DELIGHTED Big Brother is on its way back.

The Star has also been involved in feverish speculation about who the housemates for Celebrity Big Brother might be.

On 2 April, we were told by Nigel Pauley that Andy Gray, Natalie (cousin of Wayne) Rooney and Jenny Thompson were 'in line for deals'.

The following day, the Daily Star Sunday provided a much longer list of people who were wanted for the show: Charlie Sheen, Mohammed Al-Fayed, Ricky Hatton, Tinie Tempah, Joanna Lumley, Samara Weaving, Chelsy Davy, Peaches Geldof, Max George and Abbey Clancy.

A few days later, another name was mentioned on the Star's front page:


But whereas the headline clearly said Karima El Mahroug was 'in', the article by Peter Dyke said only that she was being 'lined up' for the show.

As the Guardian's Lost in Showbiz commented soon after:

LiS is certain that this is an entirely accurate reflection of the kind of celebrity that's going to rock up on a Channel 5 reality show and in no way just a random list of people currently in the news.

The names kept coming: ex-WAG Elen Rivas, model Arianny Celeste, singer Rachel Stevens and, inevitably, Imogen Thomas.

On 24 May, the paper's front page claimed that Snoop Dogg was 'going in Big Bro house' along with Radio 1's Tim Westwood. Four days later, it was Amy Winehouse who was 'going in' despite the fact her spokesman was quoted at the end of Nigel Pauley's article saying:

Amy had “no plans at the moment” to be a BB contestant.

On 5 June, the Daily Star Sunday's Ed Gleave was looking to America, mentioning Reservoir Dogs' Michael Madsen, 'Playboy girl' Bridget Marquardt and Rachel Uchitel, 'one of Tiger Woods’ mistresses'. Singer Steve Strange was mentioned by Katie Begley on 19 July and was declared 'TV gold' by a suspiciously anonymous 'pal'.

Pamela Anderson was said to be 'on the brink' of joining the show, while Peter Dyke claimed that Sid Owen had 'signed up'.

On 26 July, it appeared that the Star was suggesting Britney Spears was going to appear, running the front page headline 'Britney Big Bro dream'. It turned out, however, that she was host Brian Dowling's 'dream housemate'.

The fact that Dowling was to host Big Brother may have come as a surprise to Daily Star readers who remembered this front page from 31 March:


But then that clearly bogus story was quickly denied by Cole's spokesman who said she had 'no interest in presenting' the show.

And several of the other rumours started by the Star have resulted in firm denials.

The Star repeatedly linked Mike Tyson to the show. His response?


On 30 July, the paper claimed on the front page that Sarah Ferguson was 'set to join BB':


In the article, Katie Begley wrote:

Sarah Ferguson has given Celebrity Big Brother the royal seal of approval.

She has?

Sarah Ferguson, The Duchess of York, is the latest A-list celeb being lined up for the Channel 5 reality show...

The 51-year-old royal, who cleared her £2million debt earlier this year, has been offered a lucrative deal.

But soon after, Ferguson tweeted:


That was followed by the 'world exclusive' that Charlie Sheen was to be on the show, which was splashed on the front page on 1 August:

Katie Begley said Sheen had a £6million deal to appear. But within hours, Sheen's spokesman dismissed this as 'totally untrue'.

The day before the programme began, the Star finally mentioned one of its favourite celebs and claimed that Jordan was going to 'bust' into the house:

Peter Dyke wrote:

Jordan is set to go in...glamour girl and mum Kate Price, 33, has given a clear hint she wants to be in on the act.

For this claim, Dyke relied on the word of another anonymous pal. Had he bothered to ask the not-usually-shy-of-the-media Price, he might have found out what she thought:

Perhaps most ridiculously of all, today's front page says:


It should be clear to anyone that these are look-a-likes, but it's still shameless (and pointless?). But it takes the Star ages to admit it's all fake. Here's Peter Dyke:

Celebrity Big Brother has welcomed its biggest ever stars to the famous TV house – Prince William and Princess Kate.

As our amazing pictures show, the new-look Channel 5 Celebrity Big Brother has royal connections. The couple enjoyed a stay in the most famous house in Britain, after Buckingham Palace of course.

And we were there to capture the historic moment. The lovebirds, who married in April, frolicked on one of the luxury double beds in the bedroom. But Wills made sure the plush covers hid his crown jewels from those pesky spy cameras. Then they went for a dip in the BB pool in the garden.

Cheeky Wills even braved a bath in the BB tub, with Kate giving him a scrubdown. Without any servants on hand, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, both 29, headed to the state- of-the-art kitchen to whip up some lunch.

Afterwards they checked out the comfy sofas and chairs and took a peek at the BB welcome book and giggled at all the rules the new housemates will have to live by.

Last night a source said: “Wills and Kate are the most famous stars we have ever had in that house. It’s an amazing coup for us.

“There have been a few princesses such as Nikki Grahame and camp queens like Marco the clapping seal over the years. But they pale in comparison to these royals.”

However, if readers take a closer look they will see that “William and Kate” are in fact lookalikes.

That anonymous source quote sounds very unlikely - how can anyone claim it's an 'amazing coup' if it isn't really them?

Well, tonight the show has launched - and not one of the celebrities mentioned above has made an appearance. This doesn't necessarily mean they won't - people have gone into the house mid-way through the series before. But having got so much wrong, it doesn't look good for a paper that is billing itself as the 'Official Big Brother paper'.

At around 10pm, Friday's Daily Star front page was being distributed:
It's not quite clear how 'boobs' can win a reality TV show - and there's no quote in the article by Nadine Linge and Emma Wall that backs up the headline anyway. But look at the top of the page - before the programme had even finished, the Star had decided it had won a 'record audience'. Now, that may turn out to be true, but you suspect they had decided that line well in advance.

Similarly, the Daily Star Sunday's Ed Gleave tweeted that it was 'OFFICIALLY the best CBB launch ever!' Who'd have thought?

So what else should viewers expect? It's very clear the Star is going to try, desperately, to sell the show on its sex appeal.

Here's Peter Dyke on 13 August:

Celebrity Big Brother bosses have built a house of fun… and fear.

The good news for the stars is that it’s full of naughty treats. The gang, including The Only Way Is Essex babe Amy Childs, 21, and American Pie star Tara Reid, 35, can get frisky on a “sex-ercise machine” in the gym.

It is a vibrating power plate that bosses claim will give everyone a saucy thrill. The cameramen will also be able to catch footage of the lasses’ bouncing boobs.

How proud Dyke must be of that story.

The Star has promised a 'battle of the boobs' and that there will be 'hunks to sex up Big Brother'. There's going to be so much 'very sexy footage' it's going to nicknamed 'Peep Brother'. On 16 August, the Star said there was a 'big sexy shock':


But it's not much of a 'shock' or an 'exclusive' when the paper has been continually boasting about how much sex there is going to be. The blurb at the bottom claims:

Celebrity Big Brother will be full of naked romps

Of course, the Star's definition of the word 'romp' is an odd one. It has claimed a trip to an estate agent was a 'sexy girlie romp'. It has claimed people taking a shower are having a 'naked romp'.

But 'romp' is likely to be one of the words that will appear quite frequently on the Star's front page in the next few weeks as it desperately tries to drum up interest in Celebrity Big Brother (and the series of Big Brother that follows). Look out also for 'sex plot' and 'girl-on-girl lust' and at some point they may well claim that something has happened that is too naughty to be shown.

That 16 August front page also shows cross-promotion at its, err, finest. The Desmond-owned Star heavily promoting a programme on the Desmond-owned Channel 5, using a picture of Amy Childs taken from a photoshoot she did with the Desmond-owned new! magazine.

Expect much more of the shameless plugging and many more dubious front page headlines over the next few weeks...

Pink jumpers and anonymous sources

On 12 July, several tabloids ran articles on the important subject of...Simon Cowell wearing a pink jumper.

Simon Cowell seeks the cuddly Factor claimed the Express.

Simon Cowell's cuddlier look for US show was how the Star put it.

The Sun went with Simon Cowell is not looking pretty in pink.

Each article goes on to claim he wore the jumper in Miami and includes an anonymous quote to explain what was going on. The Express said:

An insider tells us: “There are rumours Simon has seen the tone of other talent shows over in the US which are all about being sweet and nice and maybe he thinks he needs to soften up his harsh approach for the launch of The X Factor.

“We heard his advisors said he needs to be more ‘cuddly and approachable’ – this might be the sign of the new era of Simon Cowell.”

The Star repeated that but added:

One American fan said: “I thought: ‘Did his mum knit him this and he feels obliged to wear it? Or did Simon get dressed in the dark today?’ He looked like The Pink Panther. It was all very odd.”

The Sun's anonymous source went for a different explanation:

One friend explained: "Simon is not exactly known for being a snappy dresser but wearing a pink Aran sweater is pretty out there.

"We all assumed he must have got his laundry mixed up when we saw him.

"Let's be honest, if he was put in charge of a washing machine that's exactly what would happen."

Two days later, the Star had an update on this episode:

Simon Cowell has faced his ultimate nightmare... playing the good guy in an X Factor spoof.

TV’s Mr Nasty Simon Cowell underwent the dramatic character change in an advert for the US show.

In the clip, he showers praise on hopeless wannabes he would usually boot out of the door.

Wearing an uncharacteristic soft pink jumper he tells one little girl, who sings Tomorrow from Annie: “I love your spirit"...

Seconds later, fans get a reality check. Cowell is seen waking up in bed in his suite in a cold sweat, saying: “Wow. What a horrible nightmare.”

It's likely that the story was leaked to the press before it was clear where the image was from - after all, why have one day of coverage when you can have two?

But what about those anonymous quotes, which look very suspicious once you know the full story? Were they fed to the showbiz hacks by whoever fed them the pictures? Or were they simply invented?

Star calls 'visit to estate agent' a 'sexy girlie romp'

Today's Daily Star front page says:


That's 'Ryan Giggs: Imogen's £1m babe spree - Sexy girlie romp for lover'. Got that?

As The Media Blog commented last night, it's hard to know what this actually means as it's 'just a series of tabloid buzz words'. (In response, one person suggested Thomas had bought £1m-worth of talking pigs...)

Here's Aaron Tinney's article:

Sex-gag beauty Imogen Thomas is looking like a million bucks.

Ex-Big Brother babe Imogen Thomas has shot into a different league since the Ryan Giggs storm erupted.

OK...but what's the story?

And she showed off her latest bling yesterday as she shopped around for a new pad in an area where flats start at nearly £1million.

The glamour girl spent the day draped in designer clobber worth thousands as she nipped around in a sleek Mercedes costing over £32,000.

She drove the silver SLK 200 to Greene & Co, one of London’s poshest estate agents.

The office is in Notting Hill where a two-bed apartment will set you back at least £900,000.

The Star labels this an 'exclusive' and said this happened 'yesterday'. Which is odd, considering the Mail website published the photos they had bought from two different picture agencies of Thomas leaving Greene & Co on Monday night.

The Mail claimed two-bedroom flats there will cost £884,000. The Star's article says £900,000. The front page then rounds it up to £1m.

The Star goes on to explain more of Thomas' fascinating exploits on Monday:

Then it was back to her North London pad, where she changed into another outfit with Christian Louboutin heels worth around £700 before heading out again in the Merc.

Hold the front page for 'woman goes out, goes home, goes out again'.

These pictures were published by the Mail yesterday. Yet the Star goes on to quote an anonymous 'onlooker':

One onlooker said: “She looked exactly like a WAG with the shades, crocodile bag and fancy shoes.

“But she gets to live a WAG lifestyle without the bother of being married to a footballer.

“She looks like she’s got it made.”

Given the Star have taken the whole story from articles on the Mail website, how can they have interviewed this 'onlooker'? Or is this onlooker someone in the Star's newsroom?

But what about that front page headline? 'Imogen's £1m babe spree' means 'Imogen might be looking to buy a flat worth less than £1m'.

And 'sexy girlie romp' - according to the Star - means 'visited an estate agent'.

Once again, the Star uses totally misleading front page headlines to sell papers.

News of the World 'bombshell' explodes

On Saturday night, News of the World showbiz editor Dan Wootton had an exclusive to share with his 90,000 Twitter followers:

And if they missed that, he followed it up seven minutes later with:


Ninety minutes later, there was more:

Two minutes later:


And there was yet another plug one minute after that:

On Sky News on Sunday morning, Wootton admitted it wasn't actually a done deal - Cole hadn't actually agreed to go back - but he said 'all the indications are that she will'.

Did she?

Well, Wootton updated his followers today, without using his caps lock or the words 'sensational' or 'bombshell':

She won't?

Oh.

Daily Star kills off Simon Cowell

Yesterday's Daily Star front page was bad. Today's is even worse:


Is Simon Cowell 'dead'? No, of course not.

But, as with yesterday's nonsense, someone has made a jokey remark and that has been turned into a completely misleading front page by Richard Desmond's desperate, dishonest rag.

The joke, incidentally, was that when new X Factor judge Gary Barlow was asked:

...if he had taken any advice from the music mogul, Gary cheekily remarked: “Simon who?"

And, in the hands of the Star, that becomes: 'Telly King Cowell is dead'.

It seems that if it helps flog a few extra copies, any lie will do.

(See also the Daily Star Sunday's 2008 effort 'Del Boy is dead')

Star turns joke into front page 'exclusive'

Today's Daily Star front page lead claims to be another 'exclusive':


It's a ridiculous, completely misleading headline, designed to sell papers using sex and titillation. The article was written by Jerry 'GTA: Rothbury' Lawton and it is yet another 'story' based on what someone has posted on Twitter.

But here's what Imogen Thomas actually posted on Twitter two days ago (that's some 'exclusive'):

(SSEA refers to Swansea, the football team recently promoted to the Premier League)

So, not what the front page claims at all. Instead, a jokey remark on Twitter is deliberately misrepresented as it is splashed all over the front page of the fourth best-selling daily paper in the country.

(Hat-tip to Jonathan)

Tabloid complains about 'perving' over Pippa

Today's Daily Star Sunday front page looks like this:


The 'story' at the top of the page shows it isn't just the Mail that is obsessed with The Only Way Is Essex. This being the Star, the headline seems to imply that Jordan is to 'join' the show. In fact, she just happens (ahem) to be on holiday in the same place as some of the TOWIE cast.

In the Star's article, it includes the 'news' that:

Reports claimed Amy was set to quit the show to star in her own reality series about her life in the spotlight.

And where did those 'reports' appear?


Ah. Still, at least the Star has 'exclusively' revealed the truth:

But she exclusively told us: “I’m not leaving and I love being on the show.”

And by 'exclusively', they mean, she told her 300,000 followers on Twitter she wasn't leaving. Five days ago.

That tweet was picked up by the MailOnline's regular Twitter-watcher Georgina Littlejohn, who leapt into action to produce 'I'm not leaving': Amy Childs denies reports she has quit The Only Way Is Essex. So someone denying an untrue story in one paper becomes a story for another media outlet.

Georgina, who coincidentally works for the same news outlet as her dad Richard, explained:

Amy Childs has come out in defence of reports that she has quit the show after a bust-up with Mark Wright over hogging the limelight at the awards.

'In defence of reports'?

Anyway, back to the Daily Star Sunday's front page, and their lead story Pippa pervs: Sick German's target Royal sister. The article explains:

Royal sister Pippa Middleton got the Pip last night after an undie-Hans attack by a kinky German snapper.

And the paper is so appalled by this disgraceful behaviour, it reveals exactly where you can see the photos:

Pictures revealing her panties were spread across Germany’s biggest selling Bild newspaper yesterday and all over its website, which can be accessed by British readers.

The article continues:

The briefs encounter – proudly dubbed the “Panties Blitzer” by the newspaper – shows Pippa revealing all as she gets into a car in London last week.

“When the 27-year-old beauty on Wednesday in London rose in her car, she accidentally granted a glimpse of her panties,” leers the paper in its English language version.

Imagine that? Surely no British newspaper would be so 'sick' as to 'leer' over Pippa Middleton?

Well, the Daily Star has referred to 'perky Pippa' and 'Her Royal Hotness', and called her 'sexy' and 'queen of the hotties' with a 'banging body' and the 'phwoar factor'. They've said her bum is her 'biggest ass-et' and have at least twice published pictures just focussing on her bum, including one that was on the front page. The latest was this one which came attached to an article that included a suspiciously anonymous quote:


And it's not just Bild's 'perving' that the paper is (not really) outraged about:

And the mangled caption continues: “With their unwanted Panties Blitzer, Pippa to its reputation as ‘Her Royal Hotness’ fair – not only the British are very excited about her sexy appearance.”

The caption is 'mangled', of course, because the Daily Star Sunday hack has simply clicked Google Translate and copied and pasted that translation.

And who is the hack responsible for this lazy, pathetic, hypocritical nonsense?

It's ex-News of the World Royal Correspondent, and former jailbird and phone-hacker Clive Goodman.

Who better to complain, in a Sunday red-top, about such an invasion of privacy?

No escape

The Mail website asks:


'TOWIE' refers to The Only Way Is Essex, a 'constructed reality' show that is broadcast on ITV2. In the week ending 8 May, BARB records viewing figures of 1.5m - the second most-watched programme on the channel.

Therefore, it should be fairly easy to 'escape' from the programme.

But there seems to be little escape from 'news' about the cast members of TOWIE if you ever browse the Mail website. On 24 May (at around 8pm) there were six articles about the show on the homepage.

Indeed, since the 23 May, the Mail website has published all this:


And what fascinating stuff it is, too.

Even by the usual standards of MailOnline chief Martin 'news is far more important to us than showbiz' Clarke, 22 articles in just over four days seems a little over-the-top.

But the fact that the cast are currently on holiday in Marbella means the Mail can publish even more pictures of young bikini-clad women on their website.

Of course, at times the Mail pretends to be appalled by the show. It pretends to ask, with a sigh, 'is there no escape?' while also 'reporting' on every bikini change. After it won the Audience Award Bafta earlier this week, Claudia Connell lamented:

watching shallow, vain, dim people being shallow, vain and dim is only entertaining for a few minutes. And not in a ‘so bad it’s good’ kind of way.

Then she added:

TOWIE owes its success to a youth audience, a youth vote and incredibly good PR that ensures that the Day-Glo cast are never out of the headlines, whether they’re falling drunkenly out of nightclubs or making bitchy comments about one another in interviews.

'Never out of the headlines'.

Quite.

Ofcom criticises the Mail

Yesterday, Ofcom published its ruling on the 2,868 complaints it had received about the final of last year's The X Factor. Although it did not find the programme in breach of the Code it did say:

In view of our concerns about the material under consideration in this case, and the fact that we considered it was at the limit of acceptability for transmission before the 21:00 watershed, Ofcom is requiring the compliance licensee to attend a meeting to discuss the approach taken to ensuring that the programme complied with the requirements of the Code.

However, it wasn't only The X Factor that came in for some criticism from Ofcom:

Approximately 2,000 of the 2,868 complaints about this programme were received following coverage about the performances in a daily national newspaper. The newspaper coverage reported on concerns that the performances were too explicit for a family programme, and included a number of still images of the performances.

However, from a comparison of the images it is clear that the photographs that were published in the newspaper were significantly more graphic and close-up than the material that had been broadcast in the programme, and had been taken from a different angle to the television cameras. Readers of the newspaper would have therefore been left with the impression that the programme contained significantly more graphic material than had actually been broadcast.

Hmm. Now which paper could Ofcom be referring to? Could it possibly be the Mail, which infamously published several photos in a double page spread under the not-exactly-convincing headline:

We apologise to readers but you have to see these pictures to understand the fury they've stirred.

Their online article about how 'racy' the show was helpfully included 13 pictures and two videos.

Their online article about Ofcom's decision helpfully includes 11 pictures and two videos, with the handy information 'Scroll down to see video of the performances...' in bold at the top.

Although this article mentions the criticism of the 'national daily newspaper' the Mail website has, unusually, decided not to allow comments. Why would that be?

If the Mail really thinks this was too much, why make the pictures and videos so freely available so often? And, of course, all this faux outrage is from a newspaper whose website is obsessed with publishing 'racy' photographs of singers and actresses (such as these of Rihanna, at one of her own shows), which made their coverage more than a little hypocritical.

But according to a Mail spokesman, it was nothing to do with them, guv:

"We note that the Ofcom report did not actually name any newspaper itself – but it has been suggested in other media that they were referring to the Daily Mail.

"We wholly reject any criticism, which Ofcom may or may not be making.

"The fact is that all the pictures we used were provided by ITV and X Factor's official photographic agency – with the exception of one, which was an actual screen-grab of the show's transmission. They gave an accurate and fair representation of the show. We also made it clear why we felt it was important to show them.

"Thousands of our readers had clearly been incensed by the programme before we carried the pictures. What we raised was the legitimate question as to whether these scenes were suitable for pre-watershed TV and presented the facts in a fair and reasonable manner."

Star blatantly lies to try to sell papers (shock)

'Jordan and Pete kiss and make up'.

It comes illustrated with a photo of the two together, looking very friendly.

It's a Star 'exclusive'.

But the article by Emily Hall doesn't, as usual, back up the headline. In fact, it tells a different story entirely:

Caring Kate Price last night issued a heartfelt plea to exhusband Peter Andre: "Please call me."

The glamour girl offered her old flame an olive branch, saying: "I’m just a phone call away. Enough is enough."

Right. So this 'kiss and make-up' has happened without them actually meeting or speaking?

Later in the article, Hall refers to the latest tedious developments in their lives as 'the latest spat'. That's an odd way to describe a 'kiss and make-up'.

Unless, of course, the 'kiss and make up' claim is a complete lie, cynically splashed across the front page to try to sell extra copies of this desperate rag - if you can imagine the Star doing such a thing...

Mail's X Factor hypocrisy

During last Saturday's edition of The X Factor, the 'racy' performances of Rihanna and Christina Aguilera caused much comment.

Jonathan from No Sleep Til Brooklands tweeted:


And he was nearly right. The next day the Mail's 'outraged' article included 13 pictures. And two videos.

'Put your clothes on - it's a family show!' screamed the headline on the website of a publication that would no doubt call itself a 'family newspaper'.

And you can almost hear Chris Johnson salivating as you read his article:

Aguilera wore an very low-cut black dress as she cavorted with an army of lingerie-clad dancers while Rihanna thrust her way through her solo performance in pants and strapless bra.

And the Mail doesn't want anyone to miss out on any of these 'extremely provocative' routines, telling readers that they can 'scroll down to see video of the performances':


Jan Moir also complained about the 'sex-crazed nymphs before the watershed' so the Mail used three more pictures to illustrate her article.

It has been reported that there have been around 2,000 complaints about the programme and so the Mail had an excuse to write about it again. Not that they needed an excuse - on Monday night, the Mail's homepage contained eleven different 'stories' about The X Factor.

But they put the fury/outrage/storm article on the front page:


The continuation on pages six and seven contained several more pictures of the most provocative poses.

But it seems the paper was aware of the accusation of double-standards in pretending to be outraged while showing so many photos and videos.

So it went with the quite incredible headline:

"We apologise to readers but you have to see these pictures to understand the fury they've stirred"

Online, there was no 'scroll down for more leering' - instead, they went with entirely unconvincing:




Yes, that's the only reason they've been published. And if you believe that, you'll believe anything.

If the Mail website wasn't continually filling its pages with pictures of famous women in lingerie or bikinis, low cut tops or short skirts then the claim they are publishing these photos reluctantly might be vaguely credible.

But that their first article on this 'sleaze storm' included thirteen pictures and two videos proves they relish it and know it helps them have such a 'popular' website. To try to pretend they are aghast at such stuff is rank hypocrisy.

(While writing the above, the Guardian's Media Monkey published a similar, albeit less rambling, article on the same point)