Watching brief - Amanda Platell on the fall of Conrad Black
Published 24 November 2003
The downside of Michael Green (ex-Carlton) buying the Telegraph is that he's a mate of Max Hastings, who knows where the bodies are buried and would be keen to bury more
The newly appointed editor of the Daily Telegraph, Martin Newland, must think he's the unluckiest man in town. He could certainly be one of Fleet Street's shortest-serving editors following Conrad Black's
resignation as chief executive of Hollinger,
which owns the Telegraph titles.
All the broadsheets splashed on the story - some with glee (the Independent: "Black faces illegal payments inquiry"), while others were more measured (the Financial Times: "Black's Hollinger reign ends" and the Times: "Telegraph boss will repay £4m to save his empire"). Not surprisingly, the Telegraph ran one par in its blurbs at the bottom of the front page, referring readers to its business pages, all of which appeared to have been written by lawyers.
Once again, the Guardian provided the best coverage, without a trace of malice and with much analysis. On media stories, the Guardian doesn't just lead the pack, it laps it.
All the newspapers have a vested interest - the Express and Mail groups in buying the Telegraph, the others a purely competitive interest as to who will become the next owner.
The Sun's coverage was classic. Over a picture of Black in a cardinal's outfit, the headline read: "Telegraph boss faces jail for £19m scandal". A box of the runners and riders put Richard Desmond at 2:1, the Daily Mail at 10:1 and News International at 100:1. Only time and the new ownership regulations that take effect at the end of next month will tell.
Newland is in a difficult position, not having had time to show what he can do as an editor - though anyone who can cut Anne Robinson down to size (he halved her column, though I doubt the same happened to her fee) has got something going for him.
The outsider in the race for the Telegraph is Michael Green, who left Carlton with an estimated £150m. The upside is there would be no monopolies and competition issues; the downside is that he is a great mate of Max Hastings, who not only knows where all the bodies are buried but is understood to be keen to bury a few more.
Forget Bin Laden or Saddam Hussein, there can be no sight more chilling for Tony Blair than the face of Rupert Murdoch staring out from the television set, warning him that he could be next. Murdoch was on BBC2's Newsnight, telling Blair that he cannot count on the support of his newspapers at the next election and that he might, horror of horrors, support the Tories. Talk about kicking a guy when he's down. As if Tone doesn't have enough to contend with, poodling, sorry, pootling around after George Bush while he's in the UK.
The withdrawal of the Sun's support at the next election would be devastating for new Labour. It is not just about how the paper eventually tells its readers to vote. The real damage is done in the run-up to the election, in the daily and ritual criticism and humiliation the Sun has turned into an art form. Blair would have to rely on the Daily Mirror to reach the party's core voters at election time, which could prove to be a problem, since the Mirror/new Labour relationship these days is only slightly warmer than that between Ulrika Jonsson and Nancy Dell'Olio.
When faced with the choice between a meeting with a president or with a proprietor, editors would do well to remember that politicians come and go; proprietors, like the royal family, tend to longevity. Even Conrad Black lasted 37 years at the helm of his global publishing empire, twice Margaret Thatcher's reign.
So when the Times editor, Robert Thomson, faced such a dilemma, he turned down the offer to accompany the editors of the FT, Telegraph and Press Association to an audience with Bush and went over the plans for his new business magazine with Murdoch instead. Wise move.
A couple of pages of Bush are unlikely to increase any newspaper's circulation: a new business magazine just might.
There is also word that the Times is dummying its own tabloid version after the great success of the Independent. Interesting times, indeed.
Bush's media team has a reputation for ferocity, as demonstrated during preparations for his appearance on Breakfast With Frost. The half-hour interview caused fury among American broadcasters, as Bush has given only a handful of one-on-one interviews during his presidency. So there was a great deal of anxiety from his advisers.
The whole venture nearly crumbled when one of Frost's people tried to remove the red flowers from behind the president's head and replace them with a yellow arrangement.
"The president only gets photographed with red flowers," the adviser growled. So that's where I went wrong.
Much as his rivals harrumph and complain about how they would do it better, no one pulls presidents like David Frost.
Post this article to
We want to encourage people to comment on our content and to exchange views with other readers and hope this will be done on a courteous basis. However, if you encounter posts which are offensive please let us know by emailing comments@newstatesman.co.uk and we will take swift action where necessary.
