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A&R men and other traditional insiders bypassed as new sites connect artists directly to fansIn decades gone by, misunderstood teens with questionable personal hygiene would gather... more

A&R men and other traditional insiders bypassed as new sites connect artists directly to fansIn decades gone by, misunderstood teens with questionable personal hygiene would gather in cramped independent record stores to share excitement about new music, enthuse about rare singles and discover other lost souls with a passion for southern Californian cowpunk.But with the number of independent record stores in terminal decline and the boundaries of the internet limitless, online music social networks have sprung up to meet the demands of gregarious music lovers who want to share ideas and loves.Tuesday sees the launch of The Pic-Nic Village, a new social networking site created by Pete Lawrence, founder of the Big Chill festival, which will be funded and run entirely by its users – the most recent of a wave of music social networking sites that is revolutionising the way people discover music. The new social network Meanwhile Ping, launched last week and based on iTunes, has already attracted more than 1 million users, according to Apple. Ping, which focuses purely on music, lets users follow their friends and favourite artists to discover what music they're talking about, listening to and downloading. It is taking on established rivals such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter.Social networks were putting the power of discovery into the hands of fans, said Dave Haynes of Soundcloud, another social network where artists can share music. "In the past, there were just a few gatekeepers to music, and you had a powerful network of labels, A&R men, radio and TV executives and magazines who decided what you should be listening to. Now, it's so much easier to find out what your friends are listening to or what other people who like the same music on the other side of the world are recommending."The traditional bearded men behind the counter of record stores, ready with dozens of new music recommendations, haven't gone, he said. "Lots of those men behind counters have just moved online now, broadcasting their tastes and acting as arbiters. Now they can reach a more specific and worldwide audience rather than just the people in their shop."More artists are using social networking sites to bypass the traditional media. This weekend, rapper Kanye West took to Twitter to tell his side of the MTV Video Music awards controversy where he grabbed the microphone from country music sweetheart Taylor Swift and announced that his friend Beyoncé should have won.On Saturday he apologised, saying as a result of the debacle he had to cancel his tour with Lady Gaga and lost employees. He wrote: "Man I love Twitter … I've always been at the mercy of the press but no more … The media tried to demonise me".Music blogger Bob Lefsetz pointed out that historically in music there has been a buffer between star and audience, but thanks to social networking sites the barriers were coming down. "It was like everybody with a media profile had a coach. And if you disobeyed him, you were booted from the team," he wrote. "But now, through the magic of the web, through the magic of Twitter, a celebrity can speak directly to his audience, can tell his side of the story, sans the reinterpretation and the agenda of the media."Sites enable smaller labels and less mainstream artists to spread the word about their talents, said David Emery of Beggars Group, a collection of independent record labels. "Word of mouth has always been incredibly important to us and now it's easier than ever to get the word out there," he said. Different networks play different roles, he added. "Twitter is great for artists interacting directly with fans, like MIA, who has millions of followers and will do things like make a video on her phone and post it on Twitter. That is so much more powerful than traditional marketing. But Facebook is a powerful method of direct marketing. It's less personal, but fans don't seem to mind that."By collaborating with big record labels and corporate giants desperate to get hold of users' personal data, social networks risk alienating the people they are attempting to bring together, said Lawrence, whose social networking site for "creatives" launches tomorrow. Pic-Nic Village will be subscription-based but will have no sponsorship, no company with a turnover of more than £5m will be able to invest in it and no stakeholder will be able to own more than 20% of the shares – issues such as privacy, which has proved problematic on social networking sites, will be treated with great care, he said.The Pic-Nic Village – which will be funded by its users – will try to recapture the community and village feel that was demonstrated in the early days of the Big Chill festival, where ideas were shared on the festivals forums. "Festivals are stuck in the mud, the costs are fixed and one or two companies control the whole business."The Pic-Nic village will help people in the community put on events for themselves."People were becoming more concerned about data mining and heavy-handed marketing, he added. "What we are trying to do is put the heart and soul back into online music communities. People need a place where they can enthuse and discover and they are doing it for the love of it, rather than the profit factor. Music is too important to be left in the hands of the music business."Social networkingMusic industryAlexandra Toppingguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

See 'Princess Diana' playing the cello in her underwear . . .Even in the paparazzi gym-and-swimwear shots, Diana never appeared quite like this: playing the cello clad only in bra ... more

See 'Princess Diana' playing the cello in her underwear . . .Even in the paparazzi gym-and-swimwear shots, Diana never appeared quite like this: playing the cello clad only in bra and knickers (and regal tiara)."Feel the romance of British royalty – Diana underwear," reads the poster from China's splendidly named Jealousy International brand. Inspect it closely and the woman is, of course, a lookalike.But while the advert prompted censure in the UK, it caused hardly a ripple in China, where improbable celebrity "endorsements" have a long, if not distinguished, pedigree.Jeremy Goldkorn, who runs the Beijing-based media website danwei.org (a partner of the Guardian) says using images of stars on products without their knowledge has been popular since 2003, when several real estate developers claimed Bill Clinton as a spokesman. The current US president has proved no less commercially-minded, apparently taking a break from governing to plug the "Blockberry Whirlwind" smartphone (not, of course, to be confused with the BlackBerry Storm).Obama then joined forces with Bill Gates and Warren Buffett to promote the Ivy Garden apartment block in Shaanxi. Developers plastered giant images of the three across billboards around the site, until killjoy officials ordered their removal. Apparently, they were the teensiest bit suspicious that Buffett's quote – "This is the most important investment of my life" – did not originally refer to the complex.Entertainers are also popular choices; Kelly Brook and Mena Suvari discovered their images had been plastered across the front of Chinese condom packets.Some may find it hard to sympathise with highly paid celebrities who miss out on a few thousand extra yuan. But the ads can hit their image – and pride – as well as their bank balances. It's one thing to be exploited to flog apartments; another to be recruited as the face of erectile dysfunction. Sean Connery was forced to threaten legal action after learning that he was "starring" in adverts for an anti-impotence drug alongside David Beckham – who was similarly furious. The badly dubbed ads for USA Selikon featured Goldenballs and his wife with "Beckham" announcing in Chinese that the medicine was "the secret weapon with which I can satisfy Victoria".Luckily Chinese consumers don't take the ads at face value. "I don't think Chinese people really trust celebrity endorsements anyway – but they can make a product stand out from the crowd. That's why companies continue to do it," says Goldkorn.And affronted western stars should spare a thought for their Chinese counterparts. When Muzimei shot to fame for her graphic sex blog, entrepreneurs were swift to use her name for products without her permission. The condoms and underwear might have been predictable. But few would relish lending their name to a rat poison.ChinaAdvertisingTania Braniganguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

This 'child of dirt' represents a long tradition of pamphleteers – and everyone weighs in when what they write becomes an 'issue'The wicked world of the internet, of course, swills... more

This 'child of dirt' represents a long tradition of pamphleteers – and everyone weighs in when what they write becomes an 'issue'The wicked world of the internet, of course, swills with bile as well as blessedly free information. Supposed facts can be published in a trice around the globe. Reputations lie in pawn at the malign push of a button. But don't let's get carried away.Westminster will always be Gossip HQ UK. Too many MPs, aides and journalists with time on their hands spend it just yakking away. One or two successful blogs – like the conservative Paul Staines, aka Guido Fawkes – provide extra outlets, to be sure. But Fawkes and co didn't invent political sex scandals. Start in ancient Rome and trundle forward a century at a time.There is, though, always a bridge that such stories have to cross when they migrate to the public prints. That's a formal denial, an acknowledgment that the tale exists and is causing hurt in politics' own village. Then papers and broadcasters too elevated to deal in whispers can move in, examine, and turn gossip into that sacred commodity called "an issue" – on which the likes of John Redwood and Norman Tebbit can have their say.The "issues" for William Hague are whether he should have employed a 25-year-old aide he shared a hotel bedroom with – and whether his denial (detailing the history of a marriage saddened by constant miscarriages) showed political or PR wisdom. Pretty trivial stuff. The story will either be dead and buried in a few days or given fresh wind as other "issues" surface. But let's not set up a phoney fall Guy here.Guido Fawkes belongs to a proud British pamphleteering (and now blogging) tradition that goes back as far as Thomas Nashe. He is Pope's "child of dirt that stinks and stings". He's a scribbler with a terminal and a net. And he is not to blame for any of this. Goodbye David Laws, caught in expenses and sexual confusion. Hello, amid more confusion, to Chris Huhne and his mistress as they arrive at Waterloo station.And hello again to the thought that something more baleful and petty lurks behind this coalition's outward show of wondrous amity. But don't blame the net. The brutalism here is straight Dear Brutus stuff. It doesn't start out there, but much, much closer to home.Guido FawkesNewspapers & magazinesWilliam HagueBloggingDigital mediaPeter Prestonguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

The world-renowned adman on his philosophy and why he 'wore a brown paper bag over [his] head for years''I wore a brown paper bag over my head for years about the Midland Bank, but... more

The world-renowned adman on his philosophy and why he 'wore a brown paper bag over [his] head for years''I wore a brown paper bag over my head for years about the Midland Bank, but now I've taken it off," Maurice Saatchi told the Guardian in a rare interview (during which he admitted watching Mad Men and said he found it "painfully realistic"). "The record seems to show that our mistake was not trying to buy the Midland Bank, but failing to buy it. As HSBC can testify, it was the deal of the century."Though his record as a businessman is tarnished, his influence on British politics seems without question. Maurice, now elevated to Lord Saatchi after a spell as chairman of the Conservative party, is proud of: "A splendid 30-year relationship with five election victories through which we achieved the status of a footnote in British political history." He says that the agency's reputation as Margaret Thatcher's favourite gave it instant credibility in America and offers a robust defence of their methods: "Professor David Butler, who knows more about British politics than anyone living, told me our impact on politics had been entirely negative; ie, that we invented 'negative campaigning' in general elections and that nobody could ever turn the clock back," he explains. "As always, he is right. Politics is not a world for the squeamish or fainthearted. Here, you will hit or be hit. We took our approach from Sir Jack Fisher, who was an Admiral of the Fleet when Britain's navy still ruled the world. His principle was: 'Hit first! Hit hard! Keep on hitting!'"John Major brilliantly summed up the merit of this approach when he was asked by the Guardian at a Central Office election press conference: "This room is surrounded by negative images about Labour. Don't you, as prime minister of Great Britain, have anything positive to say about your own party?" Major's answer was that he was speaking that day as the leader of the Conservative party and that it is the duty of any party leader to point out the defects in his opponent's position. He went on to win the unwinnable 1992 general election a few weeks later."Saatchi's enduring reputation in the party was underlined when David Cameron turned to him to bolster the Tory campaign just a few months before the latest election.The words "brutal simplicity of thought" sum up the Saatchis' approach: "Its origin lay in Bertrand Russell's masterpiece, The Conquest of Happiness, in which Russell explains that happiness can only be achieved by 'the painful necessity of thought'. The phrase expresses our distaste for waffle and vagueness and a strong preference to get to the point. For all these years, the phrase has acted as a threshing machine. It separates the intellectual wheat from the chaff. It reminds us that simplicity is the outcome of technical subtlety; it is the goal, not the starting point. Now more than ever, because people are busier than ever, a precis is a modern form of good manners."In the end, Britain's fiercest attack dog – who was bitter about the manner of his departure and the continued use of his family name by a rival firm – seems philosophical about friends and enemies alike. Looking ahead to the Saatchistory party attended by staff from both agencies, the main political parties and most major corporations in the UK, if not the world, he quips: "As it's taking place in the Saatchi Gallery, perhaps the best moral of the story comes from WB Yeats: 'Think where man's glory most begins and ends/And say my glory was I had such friends.'"Saatchi & SaatchiAdvertisingStephen Armstrongguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Andy Coulson's role in the phone-tapping scandal threatens to undermine his and David Cameron's credibilityEditors of tabloid newspapers often make enemies. An essential part of th... more

Andy Coulson's role in the phone-tapping scandal threatens to undermine his and David Cameron's credibilityEditors of tabloid newspapers often make enemies. An essential part of their trade, as with all journalism, requires the airing in public of things that rich, powerful and famous people would prefer were kept secret. At best, that is a vital service to democracy; at worst, it is salacious intrusion.Government spin doctors also make enemies. But, by definition of the job, they also have friends in high places. So Andy Coulson, former editor of the News of the World, now David Cameron's director of communications, has surely amassed a rich array of allies and foes in the worlds of media and politics.All of which makes it very hard for the public to know what to make of allegations that he has lied about the extent of his knowledge of illegal phone hacking by journalists under his command.Mr Coulson has always strenuously denied that he knew his underlings were breaking the law to break stories. Former staff say that is untrue and that the boss knew everything.It is, of course, easy to be disparage the "dark arts" of tabloid reporting alleged to be rife at the News of the World. But there is a boundary between legitimate journalistic investigation that might sometimes require forms of subterfuge to unearth a story in the public interest, and snooping around on the wrong side of the law for the simple sake of a good scoop. Different media outlets and different journalists have their own sense and ethical judgment about where that boundary falls. It isn't always clear.It does not help, meanwhile, that there is a much greater flow of information and tips between police and reporters than either would readily acknowledge in public, and which might make the former reluctant to launch criminal investigations against the latter.The Metropolitan Police's role in the whole affair is hardly less murky than Andy Coulson's. Many of those who suspect their phones were hacked have tried in vain to establish whether that was, in fact, the case. New questions about the extent to which the police might have withheld that information from senior politicians are raised by reports in today's Observer. It is becoming increasingly difficult to dispel the impression that, for whatever reason, the Met did not feel especially inclined to respond to claims of widespread phone hacking by journalists at the News of the World with the kind of investigative diligence that the allegations demanded.There was an investigation when the allegations first surfaced; a reporter and a private detective were jailed. A rogue case, Mr Coulson said, an unfortunate exception. He unambiguously denied any complicity before a Commons select committee. That account does not match the one given in an article in today's New York Times of systematic hacking.Either Mr Coulson lied about what he knew or he had a flimsy grasp of what went on in his newsroom. Either way, his qualification to run government media operations comes into question. So, by extension, does Mr Cameron's judgment in appointing him.The first rule of being a spin doctor is not to become the story. Alastair Campbell broke that dictum in his row with the BBC over the "dodgy dossier" of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. The career of Gordon Brown's media henchman Damian McBride ended when he appeared at the centre of allegations of a shabby smear operation.Andy Coulson had been at the centre of a media furore that cost him his job before he went to work for the Conservatives. Surely the prime minister, then opposition leader, knew it was only a matter of time before his new appointee was in the headlines again.That does not prove any wrongdoing. The truth in this matter is obscure. What investigation there has been is incomplete. But the prime minister must surely want to establish beyond doubt whether a pivotal figure in his administration is fit to be at the heart of power. He once said, in the context of another scandal, that "sunlight is the best disinfectant". A nasty pall of shabby practice has descended on Mr Coulson. He, too, would presumably like to have it dispelled in a thorough investigation. The prime minister should allow some of that famously purgative sunlight to shine on his communications director.Andy CoulsonDavid Cameronguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Tory communications chief Andy Coulson is at the centre of a storm over the tone of William Hague's response to allegations about his aide and the New York Times probe into phone h... more

Tory communications chief Andy Coulson is at the centre of a storm over the tone of William Hague's response to allegations about his aide and the New York Times probe into phone hacking at the News of the WorldThe stories emerged almost simultaneously. Shortly before the election, the Fleet Street grapevine learned that the New York Times had sent a team of Pulitzer prize-winning reporters to London to produce what it hoped would be the definitive account of the phone-hacking scandal at the News of the World.Days later an equally intriguing story started to circulate in Westminster. The night of the third televised leaders' debate, William Hague had shared a twin room – the "Moet et Chandon", no less, in Birmingham's plush Hotel Du Vin – with his young male aide, Christopher Myers.It was difficult to work out which story was more juicy, or indeed, explosive: the prospect of a shamed minister versus a titanic transatlantic battle between two powerful newspapers.Hague, who was then shadow foreign secretary, must have been confident no whiff of scandal could attach to him. But as the innuendos swirled, the three-strong New York Times team were scouring London for sources to lift the lid on the News of the World's darkest antics, a five-month investigation that has culminated with the publication of an epic narrative in the newspaper's Sunday magazine, published today.As the smoke clears, the fallout from both stories will take time to assess. And while much is opaque some themes are becoming more apparent. Both stories share similar tensions: a ferocious media with an obsessive interest in the private lives of the great and the good; the fractious, often ambivalent relationship between journalists and politicians; the failure of Westminster giants to see how their closest aides can damage as well as protect them. If David Hare is seeking themes for his next play he need look no further.For the play's protagonist he could draw inspiration from Andy Coulson, the editor of the NoW at the height of the phone-hacking scandal, who bestrides both tales.Coulson, who started life as a reporter on Essex's Basildon Echo before rising to prominence as editor of the Sun's "Bizarre" gossip column, is, the Tories' director of communications and a man who wields immense power across Westminster. It was Coulson who fell on his sword when Clive Goodman, the NoW's royal editor, was convicted in 2007 for plotting to intercept voicemail messages left for royal aides, sometimes by members of the royal family; for that crime he served four months in jail.A former footballer, Glenn Mulcaire, who ran Nine Consultancy, a private investigations firm which had a £100,000 contract with the NoW, was jailed for six months after pleading guilty to the same charge.Coulson said he took responsibility for a scandal described by the judge as a "grave, inexcusable and illegal invasion of privacy". The court heard Mulcaire had also hacked supermodel Elle Macpherson, publicist Max Clifford, MP Simon Hughes, football agent Sky Andrew and the Professional Footballers' Association's chief executive, Gordon Taylor.But six months after Coulson resigned from Rupert Murdoch's empire, Tory leader David Cameron decided to give him another chance. The gamble was to pay off in spectacular fashion two years later."Labour's lost it", the Sun proclaimed on its front page, a bomb detonated for maximum effect during Labour's party conference in Brighton last year. The one-time cheerleader for Blair said that after "12 long years" backing New Labour it had had enough. It was the first indication the Murdoch stable was turning. Before the 2005 election the News of the World, then under Coulson's editorship, had stuck by Blair and Labour. The paper told its readers: "The Tories are a Coca-Cola Championship team. Labour aren't Champions League material. But they do play in the Premiership. Tony Blair's squad are, on balance, the best team to be given the chance to take this great country forward."But as this year's general election approached, stories started to surface suggesting the NoW had paid a number of alleged phone-hacking victims six-figure sums to settle their cases out of court. It was suggested the phone-hacking scandal under Coulson had been far more widespread than simply a rogue reporter briefing a private eye. Questions were asked as to whether Cameron would stand by his man. They clearly irritated the Tory leader.Initially at least, Cameron's faith in Coulson paid off. The former journalist has been praised by some Lib Dems for not playing "tribal" politics in the coalition. "He's done his best to be open and friendly," said one source. "That has made a difference." But as with Hague's decision to share a room with a young male aide, Cameron's decision to retain Coulson has raised questions about his judgment.He would have known the allegations about the phone-hacking scandal were not going to go away after the election. Indeed it was abundantly clear they would only intensify if Labour lost, an event that would release a pent-up desire among disgruntled former ministers to take on the NoW once they had nothing to lose by antagonising the paper and its all-powerful proprietor.Quite why Cameron has been so protective of Coulson is open to conjecture. Certainly it helps that they share mutual friends. Coulson is a longstanding friend of Rebekah Brooks, formerly Wade, who edited the Sun from 2003 until she was elevated to a more senior management role at Murdoch's News International.This connection gave Cameron an entry into a group that includes James Murdoch and his sister, Elisabeth, who is married to the publicist Matthew Freud. Wade's second husband is the old Etonian former racehorse trainer, Charlie Brooks. In April last year Cameron found time to go to the book launch of Charlie Brooks's thriller, Citizen. "I'm Charlie's MP," Cameron told the Times.Another member of the social grouping that meets regularly in Oxfordshire is Nat Rothschild, who famously entertained George Osborne at his villa in Corfu in the summer of 2008. Rothschild, the fourth Baron Rothschild, is an exact contemporary of Osborne. They went to the same prep school and ended up at Oxford together. In the summer of 2008, Cameron and his wife Samantha were flown in Freud's private plane to meet Murdoch in his yacht, Rosehearty, off a Greek island. Afterwards, Cameron was flown to Turkey for a family holiday, and Murdoch went on to Corfu for his daughter's 40th birthday. The social connections between the new Tories and the Murdoch set are wide and deep.Today the NYT finally delivers its judgment on what really happened at the News of the World under Coulson. In a 6,072-word piece, the paper claims Coulson "actively encouraged" phone hacking, an allegation he has consistently denied. The article also raised questions about how vigorously the Metropolitan police had pursued the case. Several unnamed sources told the NYT that the practice of phone hacking at the NoW had been endemic. One former reporter quoted in the article, Sean Hoare, who was fired from the paper after struggling with a drink and drug problem, said Coulson was well aware the practice existed and went on Radio 4 to denounce his former editor for encouraging a culture of "dark arts".The picture painted by the NYT bolsters claims that the NoW's newsroom under Coulson was "out of control" as former Sunday Times editor Andrew Neil memorably described it.It was a high-octane environment. In her book Tabloid Girl, Sharon Marshall, a presenter on This Morning and an ex-NoW reporter, explained about working on the red tops: "You will find yourself in the oddest positions, doing the oddest things. You will have to lie, scheme, cheat, secretly tape, con and beg to get the stories. You must crash weddings, funerals and lives and try not to crash and burn yourself in the process."Marshall explained how one journalist had "shadowy contacts with mobile phone firms who could hand over phone records for anyone you wanted". She writes: "This wasn't the only trick you could pull with a mobile phone. Dial any mobile number, enter one of a series of numerical codes and you can listen to all the voice messages which have been stored on the phone."Marshall observed: "Oddly, although not one single journalist in the UK will ever admit to getting stories by this method, and everyone agrees it's a terrible, immoral thing to do, every journalist who has ever worked on any tabloid will know exactly how to do it and which codes you use."Charlotte Harris of JMW Solicitors, who is representing around 25 alleged victims of the phone-hacking scandal, believes the newsroom's culture owed much to senior management. "There was a trigger-happy culture at the newspaper; you have to look at the food chain – you start with Murdoch and move down," she said. "I think initially it [phone hacking] was used to confirm stories they knew to be true, but then it got completely out of hand."Significantly, Harris suggests she has seen evidence confirming the phone-hacking culture was not simply confined to the NoW. "I think I can say without breaching any confidences that Glenn Mulcaire wasn't working for just one newspaper," Harris said.Indeed, Fleet Street's use of private eyes – sometimes for legitimate purposes – is extensive. In 2006, Richard Thomas, the then information commissioner, published the findings of "Operation Motorman", which had targeted a private investigator, Stephen Whittamore. According to Thomas's investigation, more than 50 Daily Mail journalists had bought material from Whittamore on 952 occasions. Other newspapers that had paid Whittamore included the Daily Mirror, the NoW, the Observer and the Sunday Times.The NYT's story was covered extensively by the Guardian, which had earlier broken a string of exclusives on the scandal. The BBC, too, carried the allegations, as did the Independent. But readers of the Times, until today, and the Sun, the Telegraph and the Daily Mail were left in the dark.Harris described the partial media blackout as "scary". But for Fleet Street veterans it is unsurprising considering newspapers share common interests and owners.The NoW was quick to repudiate the NYT's attack, accusing the paper of having a disproportionate interest in the story simply because it was a rival to Murdoch's Wall Street Journal."What clearer conflict of interest is there than devoting such enormous resources over five months to investigating one of a rival group's newspapers and then seeking to publish unsubstantiated claims about the paper?" the paper asked in a robust response the NYT attached to its online article.Diane McNulty, an executive director at the New York Times in charge of media relations, was adamant there was a simple reason why the "Old Grey Lady" would send its reporters to Britain for a massive, magazine-length story on the scandal. "We thought it was a compelling story," she said.Nevertheless, in an age of austerity, when newsrooms across America are slashing budgets, it seemed an extraordinary effort to put into a foreign story. Would McNulty arrange an interview with someone at the newspaper who could talk about its huge investment in quality foreign reporting?"We are just going to let the story speak for itself," she told the Observer. "It is all in there."The impression that the Journal and the NYT are now locked in a deadly battle to become America's paper of record was reinforced earlier this year when one of the Times's reporters writing the NoW piece, Don Van Natta, tweeted "the last great newspaper war" and added a link to an article analysing the two papers' enmity.The epic conflict has not gone unobserved in other media. The latest edition of Vanity Fair carries a large piece devoted to the struggle between Murdoch and Arthur Sulzberger Jr, publisher of the Times. "I read the Journal a little less now," Times executive editor Bill Keller told the magazine. "I find that I can skim it in a way I couldn't before. If the Journal is gaining market share I'd guess it is more at the expense of USA Today than the Times."The Journal has launched a separate section carrying New York news that is clearly aimed at competing with the Times. It is also capable of the sort of tabloid stunts common on Fleet Street but anathema to the more staid world of American journalism.Earlier this year, in a montage of pictures illustrating an article about effeminate-looking men, the Journal used a picture of Sulzberger's chin.Unsurprisingly, those in the Murdoch camp have tried to shrug off the impact of the NYT's article. "A lot of what was written was old," said one Murdoch supporter. "There was no concrete evidence it [phone hacking] was widespread. It was not comfortable reading, but it was not killer stuff."Nevertheless the story was potent. "It's got all the ingredients everyone loves," the source agreed. "Politics both left and right, Murdoch, lots of salacious allegations, it runs and runs."How much further it runs depends on the Metropolitan police. Several politicians are furious the force did not release information warning them that they may have been potential victims of the scandal.The NYT article quotes an unnamed former senior prosecutor on the case who was "stunned to discover later that the police had not shared everything".On Friday, the law firm Bindmans announced it was seeking a judicial review into the police investigation on behalf of three clients: Chris Bryant, the MP for Rhondda, Brian Paddick, former deputy assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan police, and Brendan Montague, a journalist and author.Bindmans said in a statement: "They now understand they were potential targets of Glenn Mulcaire, but were not informed by the police at the time, in breach of the Metropolitan police's legal obligations. Bindmans have asked, on behalf of their clients, that the details of the claim be provided to all other potential victims who may have an interest in joining this claim. The police have so far refused."Yesterday the former Olympics minister, Tessa Jowell, claimed her phone had been hacked 28 times while former deputy prime minister Lord Prescott said he was prepared to take legal action to force the police to reveal whether they had any evidence his phone may have been hacked.Last year the Met's then Assistant Commissioner John Yates, one of Scotland Yard's most experienced detectives, confirmed the police would not be reopening their inquiry into the affair, saying no new evidence had come to light."This investigation has not uncovered any evidence to suggest that John Prescott's phone had been tapped," Yates said at the time.But Prescott's new evidence – revealed in today's Observer – will intensify pressure on the Met to reopen its investigation, or at the very least release all the documents it is holding.The former home secretary Alan Johnson has questioned the Met's handling of the investigation and said there may be a case for calling in the official Inspector of Constabulary.The combined and orchestrated onslaught from former Labour ministers has led to accusations that the party is seeking to exploit the phone-hacking scandal for political expediency.But while the damage done to Coulson – and by proxy Cameron – helps to explain their actions, there is also a darker, more subtle motivation. Some of Labour's anger against the Met can be traced back to the cash-for-honours scandal."It is not about us going for Coulson," said one well-connected Labour figure involved in the discussions about taking the phone-hacking case to judicial review. "It is more about the police. Why did Yates go raiding Ruth Turner's house [Turner was Tony Blair's political adviser who was subject to a dawn raid by police and arrested in January 2007, and released without charge]? They spent years on that when they seem to have spent a few days on this. We need to find out why the hell that is."Last week Coulson and the NoW were once again under scrutiny. This time the newspaper was dominating the news agenda for all the right reasons – revelling in its exposure of the alleged cricket betting scandal that has sent shockwaves around the world.Meanwhile questions were being asked about why Coulson had allowed Hague to release such a detailed, highly personal statement in response to rumours about his personal life that had been running on the internet.The response, in which Hague admitted sharing a room with his aide and that he and his wife Ffion had been trying unsuccessfully for a baby, was slammed by veteran spin doctors, including one of the NoW's alleged victims, Max Clifford, who declared it had turned a "small problem into a huge problem".Days later it emerged that Coulson had met the BBC's head of news, Helen Boaden, to discuss the "context" the corporation intended to give to the government's forthcoming comprehensive spending review, a major source of concern for the Tories. The revelation prompted BBC director-general, Mark Thompson, to fiercely rebut claims the broadcaster was bending to the Tories.But once again the story served to highlight the potentially explosive results that occur when the elemental worlds of politics and the media collide. It also emphasised how Coulson, as the bridge between both worlds, is particularly vulnerable. Christopher Myers, Hague's special adviser, was early collateral damage in this conflict, testimony to the old adage that when the aide becomes the story it is time for the aide to go.Last night Number 10 indicated it was determined to ensure no such fate befalls Coulson, keeping him safe from harm, firmly protected in its bunker.At least for now.Additional reporting by Hayley Clark The unanswered questions• Does Andy Coulson stand by his claims that he knew nothing about phone hacking at the News of the World when he was editor, in light of allegations made in today's New York Times?• Will the Metropolitan police share all the information it has on the affair with the alleged victims?• Will Her Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary investigate the behaviour of the Metropolitan police officers who investigated the original allegations?• Does Assistant Commissioner John Yates stand by his claim that the Met found no evidence to suggest that John Prescott's phone may have been hacked?• Will the Met agree to launch a fresh investigation into the allegations?• What steps will the UK's mobile phone companies take to reassure members of the public who are concerned that the scandal has highlighted how easy it is to hack phones?• Will the government agree to hold a parliamentary debate into the scandal?• Will the Press Complaints Commission launch a fresh investigation into the allegations?• Does the government see merit in holding an independent inquiry into the scandal?Timeline of a scandal2009JanuaryAndy Coulson, aged 34, takes over from Rebekah Wade as editor of the News of the World. He installs a hyper-competitive ethos. Former reporters say hacking the voice-mail of targets was widespread.2005NovemberThree senior aides to the royal family notice that mobile phone voicemail messages they have never listened to are appearing in their mailboxes as if heard and saved. Personal details about Prince William begin appearing in News of the World articles. Aides begin to suspect that someone is eavesdropping.2006JanuaryA police inquiry leads to Clive Goodman, the News of the World royal editor, and to a private investigator, Glenn Mulcaire, who also works for the paper.AprilAs police track Goodman and Mulcaire, the latter hacks into Prince Harry's mobile phone messages. Goodman runs an article quoting verbatim a voicemail that Prince Harry had received from Prince William.AugustScotland Yard alerts five public figures that their phones may have been hacked: Gordon Taylor, the head of the Professional Footballers' Association; Simon Hughes, MP; Elle Macpherson, the model; PR agent Max Clifford; and Sky Andrew, a sports agent. Of the hundreds more who may have had their phones accessed, the police say they notified only those where issues of national security were involved. Mulcaire and Goodman are charged with conspiracy to intercept communications.August-NovemberScotland Yard officials consult with prosecutors on how broadly to proceed. But the officials do not discuss certain evidence with senior prosecutors, including clues that Mulcaire and Goodman may not have been alone in hacking voicemail messages.2007JanuaryMulcaire and Goodman sentenced to several months in prison. Coulson denies any knowledge of phone-hacking but resigns as editor.MarchLes Hinton, then executive chairman of News International, tells Commons Commons Commons Culture, Media and Sport select committee he believes Goodman was 'the only person' who knew of the hacking.MayCoulson is hired to head the Conservative party's communications team.JulyGoodman and Mulcaire sue the News of the World for wrongful dismissal. Court records show NI paid £80,000 to Mulcaire. Goodman gets an undisclosed amount.2008JuneNews Group Newspapers agrees to pay a settlement of £700,000 including legal expenses to Gordon Taylor, the soccer union head whose phone Mulcaire hacked.2009JulyAfter new evidence is published in the Guardian about out-of-court settlements in other hacking cases, John Whittingdale, the select committee's chairman, says he feels misled by NI executives who testified that Goodman and Mulcaire acted alone. At new hearings, Coulson maintains he had been unaware of illegal activities, adding 'nor do I have any recollection of incidences where phone hacking took place'.2010FebruaryThe Commons committee criticises Scotland Yard's investigation and accuses News of the World executives of 'deliberate obfuscation'.MarchThe Guardian reports that Max Clifford dropped a lawsuit after the News of the World agreed to pay him £1m. Lawyers begin rounding up clients and forcing Scotland Yard to reveal whether their names were among the files found in Mulcaire's home.MayDavid Cameron, with the support of Murdoch's papers, becomes prime minister. Cameron rewards Coulson with the top communications post at 10 Downing Street.MayCameron holds private talks with Murdoch, who enters No 10 by a back door.SeptemberThe New York Times Magazine posts a 6,000-word article about the affair on its website, alleging Coulson was aware of widespread phone-hacking, and quotes a former reporter, Sean Hoare, who says Coulson knew it had gone on. The article also raises questions about the thoroughness of the police investigation.News of the World phone-hacking scandalNewspapers & magazinesNewspapersNews of the WorldNational newspapersWilliam HagueAndy CoulsonNew York TimesUS press and publishingJamie DowardPaul HarrisToby Helmguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Pity then, that the media are too busy dreaming about Hague, cricket and starlet's dressesBelief is weird. Weirder than the platypus. For one thing, even though belief really ought... more

Pity then, that the media are too busy dreaming about Hague, cricket and starlet's dressesBelief is weird. Weirder than the platypus. For one thing, even though belief really ought to be a binary state (you either believe something or you don't) it's still possible to be surprised when one of your beliefs is subsequently proved to be true, thus implying you didn't really believe it all along – or that maybe your brain believed it, on some floaty intellectual level, but your gut stubbornly refused to accept it as truth.For example: all my life, I've been surrounded by people who claim not to trust anything they read in the papers – the tabloids especially, but often just "papers" in general. It's particularly easy to wave in the general direction of the showbiz pages and sniffily dismiss the whole thing as a daft work of fiction. Every celebrity interview ever conducted contains a section where they moan about reporters making stuff up. Stupidly, they moan about this to other reporters. But hey ho. There's a film to plug.Anyway: everyone knows and accepts in their bones that showbiz news is almost certainly fiction, yeah? So when you eventually stumble across a report regarding something you have some first-hand knowledge of, and that report turns out to be peppered with inaccuracies, exaggerations and inventions, you shouldn't be surprised, right? Of course you shouldn't.But it is surprising. Several months ago, I read a small story about a female celebrity who'd been foolish enough to appear in public wearing the same dress two days in succession. This "style slip-up", the article stated, was "the ultimate celebrity faux pas". It described how a crowd of expectant fans was "taken aback" when the star "turned up in exactly the same dress again, accessorised with the same black skyscraper heels." The piece was illustrated with two photographs showing the celebrity sporting her incriminating outfit on two separate occasions, accompanied by the caption 'Looks Familiar'.But interestingly, the clothes weren't the only familiar thing in the frame. If the dates were to be believed, the strands of hair from her fringe had fallen across her forehead in precisely the same way, two days running. I don't know much about haircuts, as anyone who's ever glanced at my head can tell you. But I know that looked suspicious.Fortunately for all mankind, I knew someone who'd been present on both occasions. So I asked whether the same dress had been worn on both days. No, it hadn't. Both sets of pictures had been taken on day one.Presumably what happened is this: rather than sending a reporter to attend the event itself, the paper had received a batch of photos from a picture agency and interpreted them back in the office. But tragedy struck when someone got the dates muddled up, and a "style slip-up" was subsequently believed to have occurred when it hadn't. Easy mistake to make. But hang on: what about that description of a crowd of "expectant fans" being "taken aback" by "the ultimate celebrity faux pas"? That was just a cute detail the reporter had invented. Some people they'd wished into existence. Nothing wrong with that. After all, some of our most respected authors have built their careers on simply making stuff up. JRR Tolkein, JK Rowling, Jeffrey Archer . . . towering masters of invention, the lot of them. Apart from Jeffrey Archer.Anyway: that dress. So what, you might think, not unreasonably? The dress thing is fluff. Harmless fluff. You'd be hard-pressed to find a story of less national importance than a woman apparently wearing the same skirt twice in a row (although a man occasionally sharing a hotel room with another man probably rivals it). Let the dress thing go. Let it go, goddamit. It was months ago. Put it behind you. Move on. Step back from the ledge. There's still so much to live for.And OK. Begrudgingly, I admit you're right. Nevertheless, something about it astounded me. There's a difference between assuming most showbiz stories are bullshit, and reading one you know definitely is. No matter how small and insignificant the made-up story ultimately is, it shatters your faith in the media: faith you didn't even realise you had.I was reminded of this after reading about the latest twists in the ongoing News of the World phone-hacking scandal, which, at the time of writing, isn't getting much coverage outside of the New York Times, the Independent, and this newspaper.Surprisingly for a story involving Cameron's chief spin doctor, Scotland Yard, the royal family, several MPs and (potentially) hundreds of celebrities, the press hasn't had much to say on the matter. Why not?For one thing, covering it without first corroborating the New York Times' evidence might be legally risky. On top of that, there's a general (and self-serving) sense that readers aren't interested in stories about the machinations of the press. Add to that a reluctance to shine a light on the "dark arts" of news-gathering (it's hard to cry foul on phone-hacking if you've done it yourself), factor in the obvious awkwardness inherent in reporting stories featuring friends or rivals, and you've got a story that could've been designed specifically for the press to ignore.The thundering silence accompanying each fresh revelation shouldn't be surprising . . . and yet somehow, as in the case of the starlet's dress, it is. Surprising and depressing.The phone-hacking affair is one of those stories where the media itself becomes the elephant in the room – an elephant that's steadfastly ignoring all the smashed and trampled furniture, and is sitting quietly in the corner, mumbling about Hague's sexuality and the Pakistan cricket squad, and occasionally nodding off mid-sentence to dream about an imaginary crowd gawping in astonishment at a dress they didn't see. Or to put it another way: an unreliable narrator with the fattest, greyest arse you ever saw.News of the World phone-hacking scandalNews of the WorldNewspapers & magazinesNewspapersNews InternationalNational newspapersNew York TimesUS press and publishingCharlie Brookerguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Press watchdog knew about the latest allegations at the News of the World in June but has done nothingAnd so the Press Complaints Commission sits there, not as King Canute failing... more

Press watchdog knew about the latest allegations at the News of the World in June but has done nothingAnd so the Press Complaints Commission sits there, not as King Canute failing to turn back the tide of voicemail hacking, but as the embodiment of all three monkeys, seeing nothing, saying nothing, and doing nothing.The News of the World now assures us it has "zero tolerance" of phone hacking. Bill Akass, the managing editor, says that if the latest case is proven, the perpetrator will be dismissed for "gross misconduct without compensation". That is an improvement on the position adopted after the convictions of Clive Goodman (the former royal correspondent) and Glenn Mulcaire (a private investigator). Both were paid off, and to this day both remain silent.After the phone hacking story broke, the PCC, the regulator of the press financed by the press, did nothing.It continues to do nothing while making noises that "phone message hacking is deplorable". The excuses for doing nothing are varied but the outcome is the same.First there was a denial that there was a problem, then a denial that this had been said, and instead a statement that there was no jurisdiction to compel journalists to give evidence. Now the New York Times has alleged more recent hacking. We didn't know, but the PCC said it knew in June. So what is it doing? Not coming down like a "ton of bricks", as it assured us. The answer is that the PCC is doing nothing. The PCC's reason this time? "This is currently the subject of legal action which has prevented the PCC from becoming formally involved at this stage." Such a position does not stand up to legal scrutiny or common sense. There is nothing to prevent an investigation just because a civil action has started. Even with criminal proceedings, the rules of sub judice do not create a blanket ban on such investigation. The News of the World itself says that it is operating its own investigation "in tandem". It is investigating, and the PCC should.If the PCC wanted to investigate, it could. The New York Times's story reveals the identity of various former News of the World employees who have said that they have information of the culture of the newspaper under its former editor. The PCC should interview them, and hold a full investigation into this scandal.The failure by the PCC to investigate fully, and discipline the perpetrators if offences are proven, undermines the very reason for its existence. The PCC is supposedly the Press Complaints Commission. There is a complaint that someone employed by a newspaper has broken the law. That is a complaint that should be investigated properly.Although the PCC has promised to do something once the litigation is over, it might never know if it is over. If the PCC does know, and if the case is proven, so that the journalist is dismissed, will it fall back on the excuse, "he no longer works for the paper and therefore we are able to do … nothing"?Mark Lewis is a solicitor and consultant at Taylor Hampton Solicitors LLP. He is suing the PCC, Lady Buscombe and the Metropolitan policeNews of the World phone-hacking scandalPress Complaints CommissionNews of the WorldMedia lawNew York TimesMark Lewisguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Interview: The BBC3 controller on bringing a more serious side to the channel and speculation about his futureBBC3's controller, Danny Cohen, wants to talk about the success of the... more

Interview: The BBC3 controller on bringing a more serious side to the channel and speculation about his futureBBC3's controller, Danny Cohen, wants to talk about the success of the channel, and who can blame him? The problem is there is only one subject everyone else wants to discuss and that is whether he is about to leave.Cohen, 35, is regarded as a leading candidate for the new programming post of chief creative officer at Channel 4, where he previously worked for seven years. But at the MediaGuardian Edinburgh TV festival last weekend his name was most often linked to running BBC1, if, as rumour continues to suggest, Jay Hunt gets the job at Horseferry Road instead. So will he stay or will he go? "I'm definitely staying at the BBC," he says emphatically. "I've been here three-and-a-bit years and it's my first experience of the BBC … I've never worked here before and I'm really happy here. I think it's an amazing place and I'm definitely staying."Julian Bellamy, Cohen's predecessor at BBC3 and now C4's acting chief creative officer, is another candidate for the top programming job at C4, but the BBC1 controller has emerged as the overwhelming favourite.With the C4 board's decision still awaited, Hunt was forced to fend off repeated inquiries in Edinburgh about her future, and feverish speculation identified Cohen as her most likely successor.Is that the plan? "I can't really say any more than I said at Edinburgh," Cohen insists, "which is that I love running BBC3 and I'm really proud to run BBC3. I shouldn't get involved in speculation about something like that."Critical acclaimCohen's profile was boosted last week when BBC3 was named non-terrestrial channel of the year at Edinburgh, reflecting the fact that viewer numbers have soared by 56% among its target 16- to 34-year-old audience since Cohen took over in May 2007.Having won critical acclaim, not least for a string of serious documentaries, he is regarded by some in the industry as an ambitious executive who may even run the BBC one day. Is that a description he recognises? "Not really," he says. "I'm not someone who is constantly pushing like that … I haven't been in a rush to go and find jobs. I was at C4 for seven and a half years and I've been here for three and a half and I haven't applied for jobs outside the BBC."If Cohen is as driven as some insist he hides it well. "I feel I have quite a balanced lifestyle," he says. "I'm pretty good at going home and switching off from it all." He is married to the economist and author Noreena Hertz and lives in Primrose Hill, north London.He succeeded Bellamy at BBC3 at a time when the digital channel was still being derided by many as the manifestation of all that was bad about the BBC's determination to chase a younger audience. Some of its programmes, including, memorably, a documentary called Fuck Off, I'm Fat, seemed calculated to provoke and offend, and youth-orientated shows were inevitably derided as evidence that the corporation was dumbing down. MPs and others occasionally called for it to be closed down to save money. Although critics still exist – the London Evening Standard columnist Anne McElvoy described BBC3 last month as: "Young, dumb and living off the rest of us" – there is no longer a cacophony of voices calling for its closure.That is partly because there has been a sustained attempt to introduce more serious fare at the channel. "We have shifted the balance of our programming so that we are delivering more of that more serious end," Cohen says. "[McElvoy] said there was no current affairs on BBC3," he continues. "It's simply not true. We have so much now [including programmes about] the use of rape as a weapon in the war in the Congo, the treatment of women in Pakistan, on Afghanistan, on globalistion and its impact. We're doing exactly what you'd imagine [those critics] approve of: general election coverage, coverage of the financial crisis with Robert Peston … I'm surprised that she said that."Cohen, whose background is in factual programming, is clearly proud of his more serious shows. One of them, Women, Weddings, War and Me, about an Afghan woman's return to the country, scored so highly on the BBC's appreciation index, which is used to measure viewers' reaction to shows, it broke all records. "It got an AI of 95," Cohen says. "No BBC documentary … has ever got an AI of 95. So we're not only doing them, they are high quality and they are cutting through with our audience."BBC3's current affairs output exceeded the quota set out by Ofcom by 25% this year, he adds, and there are more to come, including programmes on child soldiersand dyslexia and a gritty documentary about a triple amputee returning from Afghanistan. There will be no return, however, for Lindsay Lohan, who fronted a documentary about child trafficking last year. "I hear she's quite busy," Cohen quips.Criticism of BBC3 is too often based on the fact that some shows employ an approach younger audiences relate to but older viewers don't, he argues. "There will always be some programmes in our mix which don't appeal to older viewers and which use a vernacular older viewers don't like, because it's our job to talk to an audience in a language they know and will appeal to them. You don't get young audiences complaining about, I don't know, the Today programme. They just accept it exists and that it's for other people."The channel serves a vital strategic purpose for the BBC, particularly in an era when younger audiences are consuming media in radically different ways. Like Radio 1, it is held up by corporation bosses as an entry-level BBC service that caters to an audience underserved by the Beeb. "It should be helping to make them love the BBC and fall in love with the BBC and want to keep watching it throughout their lives," Cohen says.He believes it has now become "the default channel" for 16- to 34-year-olds. "Winning the award at Edinburgh shows that the industry is recognising that and the very substantial growth in young audience figures shows the audience is recognising that too."Next moveListening to Cohen, it isn't hard to see why he is said to be one of Mark Thompson's favourites – he was asked by the director general to help lead the corporation's strategic review this year. Like Thompson, he attended Oxford and is regarded as cerebral and thoughtful – a younger version of his boss in many respects.Cohen is unflappable in the face of persistent questions about his next move. "I completely understand why you're asking," he says, pointing out that our interview has been in the diary since July. "We obviously set up the interview before all this speculation really got heated and I wanted to still do the interview because I wanted to talk about BBC3 and the success we've had."The job may become more difficult in an era of parsimony at the BBC. The channel has a tradition of finding and nurturing talent: it kick-started the careers of the Little Britain stars Matt Lucas and David Walliams, and it shows including Gavin and Stacey and The Mighty Boosh debuted there. Cohen singles out the comedian Russell Howard, who has been given a platform on BBC3, as a special talent. Thompson said in his MacTaggart lecture that the BBC would pay its top talent far less in future and Cohen concedes that could make it difficult to retain them although, he adds, Howard is happy where he is."I think it's realistic," he says. "You hope very talented people want to work for the BBC but we know we won't be able to hang on to all of them. People have always moved around the industry. People go to ITV, there's been quite a few people moving to C4 recently as well. I think that will happen. There's only so far the BBC will go. You have to accept that."Those words could easily apply to Cohen himself, of course, who is paid £225,000 and claimed his share of flowers and lunches on BBC expenses (along with £29.67 for a box set of C4's Skins) before the corporation's executives began to rein in their spending. Whether the BBC will hold on to him, and how far it might go in its efforts to keep him, will become clear over the coming weeks.BBC3BBCChannel 4Television industryMediaGuardian Edinburgh International Television FestivalJames Robinsonguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

A look back at the spookily accurate predictions of its resident astrologer, Maggie HydeIn the 10 years since the launch of mediaguardian.co.uk, the media landscape has changed bey... more

A look back at the spookily accurate predictions of its resident astrologer, Maggie HydeIn the 10 years since the launch of mediaguardian.co.uk, the media landscape has changed beyond all recognition. Back in September 2000, the BBC director general had just delivered his second MacTaggart Lecture, the BBC1 controller's job appeared to be up for grabs and Richard Desmond was about to take surprise control of an ailing media property in need of a saviour. Hmm. Maybe things are not quite so different after all.Back then there was concern from Maggie Hyde, the website's resident astrologer – de rigueur at the start of the century, apparently – that its online launch would be on an inauspicious day. Pluto was in opposition to Jupiter, you see. Disaster appears to have been avoided.But no one could have foreseen Greg Dyke's radical MacTaggart in which he announced he was moving BBC1's 9 O'Clock News to 10pm. With due respect to Thompson's recent effort, Dyke's speech, in which he outlined the corporation's plans for four more digital TV channels including an "unashamedly intellectual" BBC4, was a genuine gamechanger.Dyke also had plenty to say about how TV would look in 2010: "None of us can be sure that advertiser-funded television will, in a decade's time, be able to continue to play its part in funding and producing the full range of high quality television," he told his Edinburgh audience."Channel fragmentation alone will gradually erode the current revenue base of Britain's commercial channels. If in the commercial world you lose share year after year, in the end you either change your cost base dramatically or fall off the cliff." Or get bought by Desmond."And when you combine channel fragmentation with the introduction of new technology which makes recording programmes and then skipping the ads very easy, the medium-term economics of ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 start to look fragile … This is why I believe the public service role of the BBC could well be far clearer in ten years' time than it is today."Like Thompson 10 years later, Dyke was already on the back foot over corporation cost-cutting: "Believe me it's a lot more than just cabs, croissants and consultants." It would turn out to be the thin end of the sandwich, a small fraction of the cost-cutting that would be required under his successor. Dyke was one of the most popular director generals of recent times; Thompson is among the least popular.In 2000, as in 2010, much of the talk at the festival was about the BBC1 controller and the identity of their likely successor. Ten years ago it was Peter Salmon who was expected to move on after a three-year reign dogged by falling ratings and allegations of dumbing down.Salmon left to run BBC Sport, to be replaced by the channel's first female controller, Lorraine Heggessey. Fast forward a decade and all the gossip is of the channel's second female controller, Jay Hunt, and her imminent departure – or otherwise – to C4, and the possibility that the BBC3 controller, Danny Cohen, will take her place.It will take longer to assess the full impact of Desmond's purchase of Channel 5. A decade ago there was much hand-wringing over whether the publisher of Asian Babes and Nude Readers' Wives should also own the Daily Express (and Daily Star), prompting questions in parliament.But as a Guardian leader noted, in the absence of competition issues there was no regulatory mechanism to stop him buying the titles. "But we should not pretend that one of our daily national newspapers changing hands doesn't matter," it said. "It does."Desmond's purchase of Channel 5 elicited little more than a shrug of the shoulders from the media cognescenti, a reflection, perhaps, of the dire straits that the broadcaster finds itself in, changes in our attitude to TV channels and newspapers, and the fact that Desmond has long since sold off his top-shelf print empire. He still owns his profitable porn channels, though. The Express owner is expected to buy Big Brother, which a decade ago was shaping up to be the most written-about programme of the year, attracting nearly 7 million viewers for the eviction of "Nasty" Nick Batemen. Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? was still riding high with more than 12 million viewers.Also in the news: the BBC announced plans to launch five digital radio stations – in spite of management's best efforts, it still has them; 55% of UK adults had never accessed the internet; Budweiser was about to launch its Whassup? ad campaign in the UK; and Elisabeth Murdoch was forecast to have a "bright future" after quitting the family firm to launch her own production company. Yes, we're back to mediaguardian.co.uk's very own "media medium", Maggie Hyde."She is a Leo with her sun on the royal star Regulus, and like all Leos, she has to be boss," said Hyde. "She is a different spirit to her father. In contrast to his fishy Pisces, Elisabeth has no water, and no air either. They have conflicting goals and attitudes, and she must find it impossible to pin him down."Elisabeth's loss of Sky is the point of no return … She has broken her father's spell and shaken off the burden of being Murdoch's daughter, leaving the field clear for her brothers. When she resurfaces, it must be in her own light."You read it there first.The GuardianGreg DykeRichard DesmondMark ThompsonChannel 5MediaGuardian Edinburgh International Television FestivalChannel 4Digital mediaBBCJohn Plunkettguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Charles and Maurice created the most famous name in advertising, say industry experts'The chances are, if you stop anyone in the street and ask them to name an advertising agency, ... more

Charles and Maurice created the most famous name in advertising, say industry experts'The chances are, if you stop anyone in the street and ask them to name an advertising agency, the only one they'll know is Saatchi and Saatchi," says Chris Harris, the managing director of the ad agency Leagas Delaney. "For most people, they are advertising. They're credited with helping create the 1980s, with putting and keeping Margaret Thatcher in power and with creating almost all the legendary ads that people remember from Silk Cut to Labour Isn't Working."This week marks the 40th anniversary of the founding of Saatchi & Saatchi. In a move that has surprised many in adland and the media, the agency is throwing a party at the Saatchi Gallery – which is owned by Charles, who quit the board in 1994 after a shareholder rebellion ousted his brother, Maurice. The years of bad blood, client-pinching and name-calling this produced – dubbed Saatchistory in the kind of wordplay relished by advertising creatives – seems to have come to a halt as the staff of M&C Saatchi, the company founded by the two disgruntled brothers, will join the bash."It is the most unlikely coalition since the present government," says Maurice Saatchi. "After the bitterness of the Saatchi wars, any publisher would turn this story down as completely incredible. It only goes to show that nothing is impossible."Largest in the worldAdman to the core, Saatchi is referencing the corporate slogan – Nothing Is Impossible – that is still carved into the entrance hall and the staircase of Saatchis' Charlotte Street building. And yet, is Saatchistory too appropriate a title? The agency the brothers built up until it was the largest in the world is now ranked No 16 in Campaign's 100 top agencies with billings of £118.5m; while M&C is at No 7, boasting £193.7m. Two agencies scrabbling around the middle of the top 20 – are they still important?Maurice is in no doubt that he and his brother changed advertising completely. "When we began, media buying took place in the media departments of advertising agencies. We folded all our agency media departments into one centralised media buying organisation. Nowadays, all media buying is done by centralised buying organisations. We said it would be more efficient for companies to coordinate all their marketing disciplines with one supplier; people said this could never happen, and that this was just a way for us to cross-sell different services to clients. We called it one-stop shopping. Today, they call it integration and it is the holy grail of all large marketers.""Did they change British advertising?" asks Harris. "No. They were a significant force in all those changes. I think CDP, BBH and maybe Lowe's would have embarked on the course they did anyway. All the same, the Saatchis did have an enormous impact on the Conservative party and, partly through their distinctive ads and partly for their corporate behaviour; they gave advertising a new profile in the public mind. They made advertising famous, I guess."In the 1980s the Saatchis snapped up the US agency Bates to become the world's largest with a genuine international reach. They paid the first £100,000 salary to woo the creative Geoffrey Seymour. But their ambition grew unreasonable, relying heavily on the City to fund deals, so when Midland Bank and then Samuel Hill Bank rebuffed the brothers' bids, bankers and shareholders became nervous. A falling share price led to the US fund manager David Herro launching the revolt that caused the brothers' exit. M&C was founded. Charles went on to change the art market while Maurice, still in the office four days a week, stepped in to save the Conservative party at the last election.Certainly the Saatchi story is packed with the kind of legends that make the exploits of Don Draper and co in Mad Men, back on our screens this week, seem like non-alcoholic cocktails. For one Christmas party in 1989, the agency hired the vast Alexandra Palace and recreated the whole of its Charlotte Street offices inside.Even the founding of M&C Saatchi involved some smoke and mirrors. Moray MacLennan, the chief executive of M&C Saatchi Worldwide, recalls pitching for the British Airways account, up for review when the airline protested against the brothers' removal from Saatchi & Saatchi: "There were basically a handful of us working out of a single room. BA needed a worldwide network, the kind of agency that employs 20,000 people. So we took a lease for a day on an empty building, hired a group of models to pose as staff and held the pitch there – the best looking employees I've ever seen. The building was just round the corner from BBH who were also pitching for the account and they told BA what we were up to. So they asked for a second meeting and we had to rehire the building, redress it, employ the same models and prepare loads of fake CVs. They certainly knew what we were up to, but I think they liked the chutzpah. Anyway, we won the business."Arrival in LondonChutzpah is a word you hear a lot when people talk about the Saatchis. Born in Baghdad, the brothers were pre-schoolers when the family fled to London in 1947 after a wave of antisemitism engulfed the city. Charles went into advertising, working as a creative at Collett Dickenson Pearce in the 1960s, and then set up a creative consultancy that became a fully fledged agency in 1970. Maurice was working for Michael Heseltine at Haymarket publishing, overseeing magazines including the adland bible Campaign, when Charles invited him to run the business side of the new operation – although he was only 24.Charles's philosophy was for a creative-led – almost a creative-only – agency. John Hegarty was a fellow founding creative, Maurice ran the business side and the account man Tim Bell (said by the late David English, editor of the Daily Mail, to be "so charming, dogs would cross the street to be kicked by him") joined – he believes partly because the brothers feared antisemitism from clients and wanted someone shot through with English respectability to be the face of the operation.From the outset they fronted things up, pitched like showmen, but Charles especially remained shy. "Charles was completely manic," says Hegarty. "At CDP they were writing great ads and then disappearing for a three-hour lunch. If you did that at Saatchi you were thrown out. We worked with a fantastic intensity."Maurice decided to grow as rapidly by acquisition as by winning accounts. When Martin Sorrell advised Saatchiis on their audacious takeover of Compton, they quickly recruited him. He helped to devise the strategy of raising funds from the stockmarket for fresh takeovers."The business was amateur and artsy crafty," he told Sam Delaney, the author of Get Smashed: The Story of the Men Who Made the Adverts That Changed Our Lives. "It had to become more businesslike and I helped them bring more discipline."The creative director, Paul Arden, is generally credited with the greatest campaigns – the debut BA ad where Manhattan seemed to fly over London, Silk Cut, Anchor Butter - but the agency is best known for its political advertising for the Tory party.Against Bell's advice, it took on the account in 1978 and produced the legendary Labour isn't Working poster – with a dole queue made up of Saatchis employees – which ran the year before the election but still inflicted heavy damage. MacLennan remembers working on the 1987 attack ad Labour's Arms Policy, showing a soldier surrendering. "[Neil] Kinnock gave an interview on Sunday saying he wouldn't really press the button, so my partner and me were in that day working up a reply. We tossed a coin to see who would dress up in the uniform and I won."Initial success was soon clouded by the fallout from the shareholder rebellion. "Charles and Maurice were entrepreneurs," says Kevin Roberts, worldwide chief executive of Saatchi & Saatchi. "There comes a time, however, when a company needs to be run by people who run companies – and the two skills are different." Roberts took control in 1997 of a debt-laden company with clients defecting to the brothers' new agency M&C. A strategic merger by its new owner Publicis in 2007 ended with the creative hotshot agency Fallon joining S&S in a single company under Roberts and the Fallon boss Robert Senior, chief executive of Saatchi & Saatchi Fallon.Most people think the agency is in rude enough health to cope with future shocks. "You have to create the right environment for creative ideas and then support them," says Senior."The brothers left the agency 15 years ago – they've haven't been involved in it for 40% of its history, but the name Saatchi is still such a powerful brand – to many people it simply means advertising," he adds. "I had a cold call email recently from a PR agency – they'd clearly sent it to everyone in town – and the subject field said: 'Do you want your brand to be famous?' I emailed them back saying: 'You're a bit late'.''Saatchi & SaatchiM&C SaatchiAdvertisingSir Martin SorrellMedia businessStephen Armstrongguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Rupert Murdoch's biographer on the hefty legal challenges he faced when his book encountered British lawyersOne of the most confounding experiences a British visitor might have in ... more

Rupert Murdoch's biographer on the hefty legal challenges he faced when his book encountered British lawyersOne of the most confounding experiences a British visitor might have in the US is getting seriously sick without health insurance. I believe a comparable experience – a mauling, a looking glass inversion of reality, a collapse of civilised norms – for an American in Britain is a libel reading.Everybody in the UK seems to recognize the tangled condition of British libel laws – and there seems to be real interest in fixing them. Indeed, the libel tourist – that cranky, deep-pocketed, opportunistic and thin-skinned individual who makes use of British libel laws to achieve satisfaction he would not have achieved in his own country – has become nearly a cultural fixture in Britain. But I'm not sure anyone has quite spelled out the sheer obnoxiousness and absurdity and mutilations of language endured by authors and, ultimately, by readers.The British libel report into my own latest book, The Man Who Owns the News, which had already been edited and trawled over by lawyers in the US, is a massive document. Formal, dramatic, threatening in its implications. I have never successfully wheedled out of a UK publisher the exact price they pay for a libel reading, but it is certainly a wonderful payday.These external libel lawyers, without apparent access to a newspaper or to Google, flagged a passing reference in my last book to Michael Milken, the poster boy for 1980s Wall Street skulduggery and insider trading: "Please check there is evidence to prove, or he does not deny, that he was convicted of fraudulent practice." (This is not that dissimilar from having to check if the Twin Towers did, in fact, fall.)"A statement is defamatory," explains the report in a long preamble about the nature of libel law in Britain, "and thus potentially libellous if it tends to lower someone in the eyes of right-thinking members of society generally. Individuals can sue. Most kinds of corporate bodies can sue. Foreign nationals can sue here even if they live abroad, so long as the defamation has been published here and they have a reputation in this jurisdiction. No action can be brought on behalf of a dead person, although defamatory allegations about the dead … may defame the living."I am in a particularly vulnerable and testy position in terms of British libel law because I often write about wealthy men with outsized egos who are the prime beneficiaries of British libel laws. Indeed, one of the effects of the libel laws in Britain is that the law, or interpretations of the law, have rather coalesced around the behaviour of the men who use the law.London has arguably become one of the leading redoubts of the world's most obnoxious and unscrupulous because they are most protected here from anyone pointing out that they are obnoxious and unscrupulous.In some sense then, British lawyers, who in my view are among the least socially astute and media-savvy people on earth (they all seem to be hidden-under-a-rock types – a characterisation for which they might sue me for libel), become in effect PR people – of an especially dithering and nervous sort – for the people the journalist is writing about. Regarding all people as inevitable litigants, their job becomes to whitewash, sanitise, and spin the least critical thing that might be said about them.Still, I believed that, for my last book, I had an ironclad protection from being sued. My subject was Rupert Murdoch, who, in fact, as the proprietor of the Sun, the News of the World, the Times and the Sunday Times, has been sued more times for libel than anybody else in the UK. He is a defendant, not a plaintiff. Indeed, knowing as much about Murdoch and his business as anybody who doesn't work for him or is not related to him, I told the lawyers, Murdoch, simply, doesn't sue for libel. This is partly because the man has an admirably thick skin (as well as a basic disregard for what anybody says about him), partly because so many people are saying such terrible things about him at such a fantastic rate that it would occupy all his time to sue, and partly because as a libel defendant he would not want to strengthen the arguments of libel plaintiffs by making them himself.So safe? Yes?Quite the opposite. The more powerful you are in the UK, the richer you are, the more media savvy you are, the more you are to be feared in a libel court of law – even if you won't sue. Every rich and powerful guy is a beneficiary of the other rich and powerful guys who have sued. "I know you might think that this is over-cautious, but gangsters have fought and won libel cases in the UK before now," I am told, as an explanation for why I should show special courtesy to Eastern European criminals as a class. Or in another admonition: "Some amazing scoundrels have lived prosperous and much-feted lives in the gap between what is true and what can be proved in a British court."But, Rupert, he doesn't sue, ever."But he might." "But he won't."But … and here it came: "Just because he won't sue, doesn't mean he shouldn't have the protection of people who would."In essence, UK publishers and their lawyers, by anticipating what the rich and powerful will do – and invariably imagining the worst (certainly because, on the part of the lawyers, it is the most profitable and safest route) – do the work of the rich and powerful.Curiously, the fear is not so much about saying something that people don't know – about revealing terrible secrets. For the most part the worry comes about how you say what people already know. It's about the adjectives you use. It is about not offending anyone.When I characterised a group of people who had inherited shares in a company, but had assumed no responsibility and taken no interest in it, as "business know-nothings," this was changed to "all but innocent in the ways of big business".I described a consummate deal maker, famous for his faints and his crafty and arguably underhand strategies, as "tricking people". Could we make it, said the British lawyers, "outmanoeuvred?"There are, in my last libel report, exactly 408 recommendations, admonishments, and causes for grave concern. On every page of my book there was a skirmish, a confrontation, or a knock-down drag-out with the lawyers. Now, I am more belligerent, nasty and argumentative than any lawyer and, in at least half of these assaults on language, I successfully used language – dripping scorn works – to beat them back. Still, many authors might not be so perpetually loaded for bear as me – and they'll have likely lost some of their choicest words.Life is too short for this. Language is too important. Crooks ought to be called crooks. Buffoons out to be called buffoons.Change the goddamn law. And fire the lawyers.Rupert MurdochLibel reformNewspapers & magazinesguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

• Calls for parliament to order second inquiry into hacking• Scotland Yard to examine allegations by former NoW reporterNews International and David Cameron's PR chief, Andy Coulso... more

• Calls for parliament to order second inquiry into hacking• Scotland Yard to examine allegations by former NoW reporterNews International and David Cameron's PR chief, Andy Coulson, face the prospect of a fresh parliamentary inquiry into phone-hacking by the News of the World after Labour MPs said they plan to press for the issue to be referred to the powerful standards and privileges committee of the House of Commons.MPs who believe they have been the victims of hacking said they were considering asking the Speaker, John Bercow, to order the investigation on the grounds that there has been a breach of parliamentary privilege.The move came as Scotland Yard said it would examine allegations made by a former News of the World reporter that hacking was widespread at the tabloid and that then-editor Coulson knew about the practice.In a statement tonight Assistant Commissioner John Yates said the Metropolitan police had not been aware of the allegations made by Sean Hoare before they were published in a New York Times investigation last week. He said detectives were seeking further information from the paper and would consult the Crown Prosecution Service on whether to take further action.The latest developments came on a weekend when:• Lord Mandelson, the former business secretary, was named as the latest possible target of News of the World phone message hacking. He said today he was not the source of the story and did not wish to comment.• Pressure mounted on the Met over its failure to fully investigate leads in the original hacking inquiry, and to notify potential victims they had been targeted.• MPs indicated they would press the home secretary, Theresa May, over the apparent inadequacy of the Met's investigation of the issue during Home Office questions in the Commons tomorrow, and call on her to make an emergency statement.At least three other former ministers believe they were the victims of News of the World phone hacking, including Chris Bryant, Lord Prescott and Tessa Jowell. Prescott has been pressing the police for days to give him details of its inquiry into whether his phone was hacked. Today he produced detailed invoices showing that News International consultants were paid to make inquiries into him.But Yates insisted tonight there was no evidence that Prescott's phone had been hacked by Glen Mulcaire, the private detective working for the News of the World, or Clive Goodman, the paper's royal correspondent. Both were jailed for hacking the phones of members of the royal household. Yates said the Met could not hand over documents relating to the investigation to Prescott unless it was ordered to do so by a court.The prospect of a further investigation by the standards and privileges committee emerged after MPs argued that a precedent may have been set by the decision to mount a privileges committee inquiry into the arrest of the Tory MP Damian Green in his Commons office in 2008 over the alleged leaking of documents from the office of the home secretary.It would be for the Speaker to decide whether to grant an inquiry, but Labour MPs claimed there now appeared to have been a wholesale attempt to break into MPs' phone messages, and the response of the Met had been shown to be inadequate.One Labour source said: "A precedent has been set with the Damian Green affair. This is about the conduct of government, and if it was good enough for the Tories in the case of Green's arrest, it should be good enough in this case."Detailed legal advice will be sought this week from parliamentary sources.A previous culture select committee inquiry concluded that senior figures at News International management suffered from collective amnesia about the details of the hacking. The more powerful privileges committee could demand greater co-operation from witnesses.Today the Guardian publishes a detailed account of the police investigation into the original hacking claims that shows how detectives sought to limit the scope of the inquiry and failed to alert public figures who had been targeted by Mulcaire.A note of a case conference between police and the CPS records that detectives recommended that "the appropriate strategy is to ringfence the case to minimise the risk of extraneous matters being included".In a briefing note for ministers produced earlier this year, Dean Haydon, Yates's staff officer acknowledged: "Minimal work was done on the vast personal data where no criminal offences were apparent."The Conservatives continued to argue that the latest spate of allegations of widespread phone hacking, prompted by a New York Times four-month inquiry, did not break new ground or was based on unreliable witnesses.The specific allegation that No 10 communications director Andy Coulson had known about phone hacking when he was editor of the News of the World were "recycled", a senior cabinet minister, Michael Gove, said.He said the police decided "there was no case to answer" over claims public figures had their phones tapped while Coulson was editor.Coulson resigned at the time saying he would take responsibility even though he had not been aware of the methods that were being used by one of his reporters. His claim of ignorance has been challenged by some former News of the World staff, including some unnamed reporters cited by the New York Times.News of the World phone-hacking scandalAndy CoulsonNews of the WorldHouse of CommonsNewspapers & magazinesNational newspapersPoliceNewspapersPatrick WintourNick Daviesguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

The October issue of Essentials has gone on sale with nary a celeb or model in sight – 100% 'real' women from front to back"It felt like the right time to do it, and right for us, ... more

The October issue of Essentials has gone on sale with nary a celeb or model in sight – 100% 'real' women from front to back"It felt like the right time to do it, and right for us, really," says Jules Barton-Breck, editor of Essentials. The October issue of her magazine, already on sale, is claimed to be a UK first – a glossy that's entirely model- and celebrity-free.Despite the fanfare, rejecting models and celebrities in favour of "realness" is nothing new. Dove launched its Campaign For Real Beauty in 2004, using "real" women in its ads, and tying them in to a global awareness-raising project of promoting female body-acceptance. Debenhams now bans airbrushing in its swimwear ad campaigns, claiming the aim is "to help customers make the most of their beauty without bombarding them with unattainable body images".Other magazines claim the same commitment. Last year, Tesco's customer magazine started to feature readers on its covers; and Alexandra Shulman, who has spent most of her 18 years as editor of British Vogue arguing that clothes look better on slim women, expressed her outrage that sample sizes were getting smaller and smaller, writing in a letter to designers: "We have now reached the point where many of the sample sizes don't comfortably fit even the established star models."BacklashAnd it's not only in the UK that this media backlash against models is becoming increasingly widespread. This year, the bestselling German glossy, Brigitte, began using only amateur models in its shoots. Andreas Lebert, the editor-in-chief, criticised the trend towards thinner models and declared: "For years we've had to use Photoshop to fatten the girls up, especially their thighs and decolletage. But this is disturbing and perverse and what has it got to do with our real reader?"Even US Vogue, that bastion of haute couture, while sticking adamantly to the principle of using professional models, bowed to reader pressure and began using plus-size women for its annual Shape issue."People [in the UK] have done this on the cover, or for their fashion, but not all the way through," points out Barton-Breck. "That's what's different about Essentials' October issue. It's not just the cover, it was everything inside. There wasn't even an agency model shot, just pure readers – ordinary women."That includes a "naked body confidence" feature. "We have a health feature about three women – one woman who lost a leg in a motorbike accident, another had a double mastectomy, and another had lost all her hair," she says. "They were very positive and confident, and just reading about them, they were just such inspiring role models. You think, what on earth am I moaning about? And they look so fantastic. They're brave enough to take their clothes off and say, 'Hey, I'm great as I am'.""Real women" is a phrase that Barton-Breck avoids: "It sounds like, well, what are these other women made of? It's unfortunate in this day and age that it's a catch-all phrase. We do try to avoid the words 'real women' in the magazine and refer to them as 'women like you' or 'readers'. What we're talking about is non-celebrities and non-models. That's what the issue's about, really."The nationwide search for the October cover stars started with Essentials asking readers, and other women via a social media campaign, to tell the magazine why they were amazing enough to appear on the front cover. Hundreds of women applied and a shortlist of 30 were invited to a casting session with the editor and style director for the selection of the winning trio. They wanted "a range of ages and sizes", and "who had the best story" was also taken into account.Even though all future issues will feature readers on the cover, inside you will find the same models as usual. "From November it will be an Essentials reader on the cover. Inside, no," says Barton-Breck. "Logistically, we're a very small team, and it's taken about three months planning this issue, and it costs a fortune. It's actually more expensive than if we used models because of all the travel and hotels. We can't really do that. If things change in the future maybe we would. Going forward, we'll just have our reader cover star."Barton-Breck is adamant that the reader photographs won't be subject to the cosmetic retouching usually associated with glossies' images of celebrities and models. "I am categorical. I will swear on the Bible that there was not one bit of airbrushing – nothing. If you look at them, they've got their wrinkles, they've got their bags and sags. There is no airbrushing, no Photoshopping, no tweaking, no making anyone look slimmer, no getting rid of anything. They are there warts and all. That will be the same with our reader covers."Realistic imagesThis stance is likely to be popular – last year, US Glamour gained plaudits for refusing to retouch an image of the plus-size model Lizzie Miller. Even so, Barton-Breck doesn't see herself or her magazine as part of a larger movement towards projecting a healthy body image for women. "We're not on a campaign here, but our aim is to show realistic images of women in Essentials. That means keeping them looking like themselves. People are probably trying to get me to go down a campaign route. I'm not. This was never about an anti-model, anti-celebrity campaign."Since taking over at Essentials six years ago, Barton-Breck has been committed to "celebrating our readers and women like them", and she sees this development as just as the next step in a natural progression. The sales figures demonstrate that it's been a successful path to pursue – Essentials is the fastest-growing magazine in the women's monthy mag market, with an ABC circulation of 115,432 for the first half of this year, up 12.9% on 2009. "What I'm pleased about with this magazine," she concludes, "is it gives women on the news-stands more choice and it differentiates us from our competitors as well. Positively, I hope."MagazinesNewspapers & magazinesWomenFashionCarrie Dunnguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Fast craft sailings between the Isle of Man and Liverpool and Dublin today (Monday) have been cancelled. The Steam Packet said the decision was taken because of strong to gale... more

Fast craft sailings between the Isle of Man and Liverpool and Dublin today (Monday) have been cancelled. The Steam Packet said the decision was taken because of strong to gale force winds forecast in the Irish Sea.

Manx Radio is launching a new 'suite' of Facebook pages this morning (Monday).The aim is to strengthen interaction with listeners and spread the word about the station's unique mix... more

Manx Radio is launching a new 'suite' of Facebook pages this morning (Monday).The aim is to strengthen interaction with listeners and spread the word about the station's unique mix of programmes.

Two MHKs will be travelling to Kenya this week to address colleagues in the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.Infrastructure Minister Phil Gawne and fellow Rushen MHK Juan Wat... more

Two MHKs will be travelling to Kenya this week to address colleagues in the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.Infrastructure Minister Phil Gawne and fellow Rushen MHK Juan Watterson, who are both members of the Isle of Man Branch of the CPA, will give presentations at the Commonwealth's largest political gathering.

The fued between the Liberal Vannin Party and its former member Bill Malarkey, over his decision to take a government position, has been reignited.In a newsletter to constituents M... more

The fued between the Liberal Vannin Party and its former member Bill Malarkey, over his decision to take a government position, has been reignited.In a newsletter to constituents Mr Malarkey has explained why, two years after he was elected to the Keys in 2006, on a Liberal Vannin ticket, he abandoned the party.

Three inquests are being opened by the coroner this morning (Monday).Alastair Montgomerie will look into the deaths of a visitor to the Island for the Manx Grand Prix, and a Laxey ... more

Three inquests are being opened by the coroner this morning (Monday).Alastair Montgomerie will look into the deaths of a visitor to the Island for the Manx Grand Prix, and a Laxey man whose body was found towards the end of last month.

Manx Grand Prix rider Olie Linsdell is continuing to make progress in hospital.

Mark Wahlberg thinks he went off the rails as a teenager because of a lack of role models in his life. Mark Wahlberg was violent as a teenager as h...

Katy Perry believes English women are ''the dirtiest girls'', because of what her fiance has told her about his past sexual exploits. Katy Perry th...

'Tamara Drewe' actress Gemma Arterton says she's a ''punk rock star underneath that's dying to come out''. Gemma Arterton says she's a "punk rock s...

Zooey Deschanel loves holidaying in Hawaii and despite two trips there in the last year, is desperate to return. Zooey Deschanel loves Hawaii. T...

Christina Aguilera writes love notes to her husband in lipstick as a way of keeping their relationship ''fun''. Christina Aguilera writes love note...

Labour's five leadership candidates have used a televised debate to distance themselves from the Blair/Brown era.

The Ministry of Defence has confirmed the deaths of two British soldiers - one in the UK and one in Afghanistan.

Northampton earned the early-season East Midlands bragging rights as tries from props Soane Tonga'uiha and Brian Mujati paved the way for a 27-19 Aviva Premiership win over champio... more

Northampton earned the early-season East Midlands bragging rights as tries from props Soane Tonga'uiha and Brian Mujati paved the way for a 27-19 Aviva Premiership win over champions Leicester at Franklin's Gardens.

Wayne Rooney's career will not be affected by allegations about his private life, publicist Max Clifford said.

Police were investigating the contents of a computer memory stick said to contain sensitive anti-terror material which was reportedly found in the street outside a police station.

Police will consider any new information in the News of the World phone-hacking case and consult prosecutors on whether any further action should be taken, a senior Metropolitan Po... more

Police will consider any new information in the News of the World phone-hacking case and consult prosecutors on whether any further action should be taken, a senior Metropolitan Police officer said.

A pensioner on a mobility scooter was run over by a vintage tractor at a country show, police said.

Wakefield's Ireland international centre Sean Gleeson has become Salford's eighth signing for 2011.

Rafael Nadal made smooth progress into the fourth round of the US Open with a straightforward win over Gilles Simon on Sunday.

THE UK is facing a shortfall of nearly a million homes but the number of properties being built has dropped to its lowest since the 1920s, a trade body warned today.

Nicky Burridge counts the cost of car insurance fraud to the rest of us

THE government may be attracted by a last minute move by Peel Holdings in plans to shake up economic development in our sub region.

A P MOLLER-MAERSK, the Danish-owned shipping and energy giant, is getting ready to refinance its loans, according to banking sources.

THIS is what the Scottish town of Braemar is like during the first weekend in September. . .

Former Prime Minister Tony Blair has launched an attack on the liberal prison policies being pursued by the coalition Government.

The former head of the Army, General Sir Richard Dannatt, has launched an attack on Ministry of Defence bureaucrats, accusing them of being detached from the reality of life for fr... more

The former head of the Army, General Sir Richard Dannatt, has launched an attack on Ministry of Defence bureaucrats, accusing them of being detached from the reality of life for frontline troops.

Britain is a nation of wasters who throw out hundreds of pounds of food each year, a new study reveals.

The Pakistan batsman who accused team-mates of fixing matches has said he had only repeated what he read in the newspapers.

Education Secretary Michael Gove has "failed the fairness test" with his academy school policy by directing more funds at schools which are already performing well at the expense o... more

Education Secretary Michael Gove has "failed the fairness test" with his academy school policy by directing more funds at schools which are already performing well at the expense of those with the greatest needs, Labour's Ed Balls said.

A popular diabetes drug is still being prescribed two months after a safety body recommended its withdrawal amid concerns the drug can increase the risk of heart attacks, it has be... more

A popular diabetes drug is still being prescribed two months after a safety body recommended its withdrawal amid concerns the drug can increase the risk of heart attacks, it has been revealed.

Immigration minister Damian Green is expected to promise "smarter" controls on entry to the UK, when he releases research showing that tens of thousands of people admitted on stude... more

Immigration minister Damian Green is expected to promise "smarter" controls on entry to the UK, when he releases research showing that tens of thousands of people admitted on student visas were still in the country five years later.

Manufacturing firms were enjoying "buoyant" trading conditions amid rising demand from overseas customers, leading to better job prospects, according to a new report.

Condoleezza Rice ordered George Bush not to return to Washington after the 9/11 attacks before hanging up the phone, the former national security advisor has revealed in a document... more

Condoleezza Rice ordered George Bush not to return to Washington after the 9/11 attacks before hanging up the phone, the former national security advisor has revealed in a documentary interview.

A British soldier killed by a rocket-propelled grenade in southern Afghanistan and another who died in hospital in the UK are due to be named by the Ministry of Defence.

A former boarding school head is due to be sentenced after being convicted of abusing boy pupils during the 1970s and 1980s.

Wayne Rooney's career will not be affected by allegations about his private life, publicist Max Clifford said.

TRANMERE have a little way to go before they can be regarded as the “horrible” opponents manager Les Parry wants them to become.

The coalition Government is due to face its first big test in the Commons as MPs return from their summer break, when plans for electoral reform could spark a backbench rebellion.

Andy Murray's bid for a first Grand Slam title came to an end after an extraordinary match with Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka at Flushing Meadows.

A BUSY road was sealed off for hours after unknown chemicals were found at a flat.

Rafael Nadal was not the sole focus of Spanish attention for once, but the world number one was more than happy to share the spotlight at the US Open.

A PRIEST paid tribute to his murdered brother describing him as his “guardian angel”.

LIVERPOOL FC has finally succeeded in its attempt to trademark the Liver Bird.

BUSINESS leaders today raised concerns that UK students would flock abroad to work if the Government introduced a “graduate tax”.

RETAILERS support the creation of Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) but warn they must not create more red tape or confusion.

HUNDREDS of women who may have had botched bladder surgery at a Liverpool hospital were given a second chance to take legal action.

SAFETY and survival equipment supplier Survitec Group has acquired a marine sales and servicing firm with a base in Wirral.

JUST 16 “free schools” will be ready to open their doors at the start of the next academic year in September 2011, Education Secretary Michael Gove has revealed.

A P MOLLER-MAERSK, the Danish-owned shipping and energy giant, is getting ready to refinance its loans, according to banking sources.

THE retail sector takes centre stage this week, with Morrisons and Argos owner Home Retail Group releasing figures, while online player Ocado gives its first update as a listed company.

WITH over half the UK population online at least once a day it’s no surprise that internet spend is soaring.

AUCTIONEER Sutton Kersh will serve up seven pubs at its latest sale this Wednesday.

LOBBY group Professional Liverpool (PL) is to outline a “future strategy” for its survival after losing 80% of its annual funding.

LIVERPOOL marketing agency Black and Ginger has been appointed by London-based beauty brand Nail Girls to undertake its website redesign and develop its creative marketing strategy.

MERSEYSIDE Labour Party members have begun the process of electing the leader who will take their fight to the Tories at the next General Election.

LIVERPOOL Chamber of Commerce has welcomed a bid by private developer Peel Holdings for Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) status for its Atlantic Gateway scheme.

THE FIRST residents will move into the new estate to replace the demolished Victorian properties on Liverpool’s Edge Lane at the end of the month.

SIGHTSEERS were taken to hospital after a yellow duck marine bus accident in the city centre.

A GLITTERING black-tie dinner brought an end to an emotional weekend for Liverpool FC legend Jamie Carragher as his testimonial raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for Merseysid... more

A GLITTERING black-tie dinner brought an end to an emotional weekend for Liverpool FC legend Jamie Carragher as his testimonial raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for Merseyside charities.

LIVERPOOL council is set to keep its controversial joint venture with BT for the next seven years.

Rafael Nadal made smooth progress into the fourth round of the US Open with a straightforward win over Gilles Simon on Sunday.

CHESTER FC are today celebrating a first ever competitive win after victory over Wakefield.

ANDY MURRAY’S bid for a first Grand Slam title came to an end tonight after an extraordinary match with Switzerland’s Stanislas Wawrinka at Flushing Meadows.

Wakefield's Ireland international centre Sean Gleeson has become Salford's eighth signing for 2011.

ST HELENS Recs are champions of the Second Division after their 81-run win at home to Ainsdale.

THE race for the Bridging Finance Solutions Liverpool Competition Premier League crown took another dramatic twist as Lytham reclaimed top spot with two games to play.

LEIGH’S promotion from the First Division was confirmed after their two-wicket victory at Formby.

PROMOTED Wirral made a great start in North One West League with this derby victory over New Brighton.

PERHAPS not the start they would have wanted but Waterloo should not be too disappointed with an 18-11 scoreline against a side who always proved difficult to beat on home turf las... more

PERHAPS not the start they would have wanted but Waterloo should not be too disappointed with an 18-11 scoreline against a side who always proved difficult to beat on home turf last season.

LIVERPOOL ST HELENS suffered a first day reverse in North One West at Altrincham Kersal.

JAMIE RAINFORD continued his rich vein of form by netting the winner for Marine at Frickley Athletic.

THE outcome of this North One West contest was clear from the start when Vale’s full-back Neil Foster burst through a paper thin defence for the first of his side’s eig... more

THE outcome of this North One West contest was clear from the start when Vale’s full-back Neil Foster burst through a paper thin defence for the first of his side’s eight touchdowns

A CLOSE National Three North encounter went the way of Sandal at the Upper Park.

POWER-PACKED Anselmians got their South Lancashire/Cheshire One programme off to a flying start at Widnes.

WIDNES VIKINGS’ season ended with a whimper as they were embarrassed by Barrow Raiders in Cumbria in the Co-operative Championship Play-off.

IT was easy for Chester in their opening match in National Three North.

A MAIDEN half-century for Luke Procter carried Lancashire Lightning to an entertaining four-wicket Clydesdale Bank 40 win over Worcestershire Royals at Aigburth on Saturday.

THERE was no joy for Leigh in their opening match in North One West as they went down 46-22 at Broughton Park.

MARKAB may have run his last race of the season following his impressive victory in Saturday’s Betfred Sprint Cup.

WORLD champions England did their best to put cricket’s week of crisis behind them as they returned to the Twenty20 format with a five-wicket victory over Pakistan.

TRANMERE have a little way to go before they can be regarded as the “horrible” opponents manager Les Parry wants them to become.

Rafael Nadal was not the sole focus of Spanish attention for once, but the world number one was more than happy to share the spotlight at the US Open.

Andy Murray's bid for a first Grand Slam title came to an end after an extraordinary match with Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka at Flushing Meadows.

A RELIEVED Saints coach Mick Potter was happy to secure runners-up spot and a home play off tie after the pulsating victory at Knowsley Road.

NEW Commonwealth featherweight champion Stephen Smith has warned British ruler Martin Lindsay to prepare for the fight of his life – as he revealed John Simpson’s reign... more

NEW Commonwealth featherweight champion Stephen Smith has warned British ruler Martin Lindsay to prepare for the fight of his life – as he revealed John Simpson’s reign was shattered with a broken hand.