Today, Daily Express readers are treated to the following fascinating news:
HIGH Street store Debenhams has announced it will sponsor Channel 5’s flagship serial Neighbours.
Wow. Tell us more:
Before and after each episode, and either side of advert breaks, characters will be seen mirroring the opening credits of the hit Australian soap, like enjoying a barbecue but swapping sunshine for a typical British winter.
In case you’re unaware, Richard Desmond, owner of the Daily Express and a number of pornographic titles (including the Daily Star), bought Channel Five last year with the intention of using his publications to promote the channel.
I don’t have the print version of the Express so I can’t tell you what page this story appears on, but it’s featured fairly high up on the Express’ website.
For a bit of context, it’s worth noting that this story is featured higher up than:
- A story about the ongoing investigation into Joanna Yeates’ murder
- Two stories (1, 2) about a shooting in Arizona, in which a United States Congresswoman was severely injured and six people were killed
- An article about how scientists believe that rising sea levels will result in Cambridge being on the coast
Do you really think a television show acquiring sponsorship from a high street retailer is bigger news than any of these?
Of course, Desmond has every right to use his publications to advertise his other projects, but this particular tactic clearly shows that he values promoting Channel Five more than he does reporting news. And that he has contempt for his readers, but we already knew that.
As Tim Fenton at Zelo Street noted on Sunday, when all the other papers were covering the Arizona shooting, Desmond’s rags were nowhere to be seen. Now they are finally covering it, they place the articles well below this utter non-story.
And this isn’t the first time Desmond has used his newspapers in this way.
One of the Express’ columnists, Leo McKinstry, who usually writes about politics, devoted an entire column to how much he liked The Mentalist, a television show that is broadcast on Channel Five.
In August, the Express reported that Don’t Stop Believing, another Channel Five programme, had received “record voting figures for a Channel Five talent show“ (my italics).
Also in August, Tabloid Watch documented a number of occasions in which the Daily Star, another of Desmond’s rags, shamelessly promoted Channel Five programmes.
Surely it won’t be long before both papers start advertising for Channel Five on their front pages…