Britainology 67: British Tabloids feat. Alan White
For this month's first Britainology, we speak with journalist Alan White (@aljwhite) of Politics Home about the strange and sordid history of Britain's tabloid press--how it never seems to change (culturally or otherwise), how it keeps getting away with things, how different its affect is from that of (equally omerta-driven) British television... and most importantly, how weird it is.
Comments (21)
I remember Soft Cell’s Sex Dwarf. lol I didn’t know that was a tabloid thing https://youtu.be/lrRmgbchiGY
I was curious who Alan White is, so i looked him up. One of the first hits was his 2013 obituary. So quite an interview to get. Just how many Britainology guest are dead? Is it something to do with the UK libel laws?
(And yes, i understand it was a different British journalist named Alan White).
I too like the Fuckstick Times. They have perfected balanced journalism.
The "mysterious dome" was the upper portion of an ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization) PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) second stage that had been purposely dropped into the Indian to prevent space debris build up. It washed up on an Australian beach.
Think you can regard the Daily Star as Pick Me Up/Chat/Take a Break but for blokes. Would wonder who the readership is. Or perhaps a less conspiracist National Enquirer.
"Sex With Greggs Pastry Boiled My Bellend" caused me to spit up a large sip of hot coffee through my nose in front of my boss.
Should get onto Sunday Sport with a headline like that
Good morning star the tabloid founded and written by Satan himself
if you haven’t found that news story abt the dome that washed up on a beach yet, the casing of a solid rocket motor from the upper stage of an indian satellite launch vehicle washed up on a beach in western australia https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/this-is-suspected-space-junk-who-is-responsible-for-dealing-with-such-debris/8v64xkfh9
When I was learning English (as a non native), our teacher once told us that most people could learn to write well in English, provided they spend time and learnt. To not dishearten us youngsterd from learning. He then added: but to write in a Tabloid, specially writing those headlines, you need to be a prodigy. Or mad. Or both. To come up with demented puns and word play or just be obnoxious, it's a talent or a curse. Which BTW has a clear analogue with southern American tabloids titles. As far as one liners go.
for all their swivel-eyed politics and disturbing libido, the strangest thing about british tabloids is how each one is like its own language. many are bafflingly incomprehensible not just in their content but in what the fuck the words actually mean (though this seems much less the case now they've pivoted to the international online market)
tot axed in council row
The Morning Star is an irritating one - it's basically the Daily Worker, which was the newspaper of the CPGB (not technically the same party since the 80s) and still ostensibly is, so left wingers of a certain current may not approve of their international coverage in some areas, but it is also pretty much the only place you're going to hear union news on a daily basis (or more often than a piece in Tribune, for example). They do however continue to publish the odd mealy-mouthed TERFy article, despite pulling and 'apologising' for that horrific tranphobic cartoon, and I don't really see what's in it for them. Maybe it's the CPGB connection, certainly I don't think they're really arsed about growing their readership.
It's a hard paper to go to bat for, but look at the next most left-wing offering (The Guardian?) wrt transphobia.
Milo - I also remember the campaign to stop Katie Price getting a breast reduction, so either it did happen or some sort of cursed British collective consciousness manifested it in both our brains.
for some reason it rings a bell to me too but i'm not even english or living in the UK.
Alan is back!! 🥰 Can't imagine reading a broadsheet at cricket; flicking through the tabloid I read at The Oval is bothersome enough as it is. Shout out the Express; one day you WILL find out who killed the Lady Di.
Hey, no throwing shade at the Fuck Sticks Times, quality shit from coast to coast.
I've been wondering for a while now what the British equivalent of the Secretly Gay Obama news story would be and so far all I've got is alternate timeline Harold Shipman doing any number of things
it’s chursday innit