Paper Monitor
09:51 UK time, Wednesday, 10 January 2007
A service highlighting the riches of the daily press.
It's a right Royal feast for The Express this week. For the first time in years it had what many people would consider its first genuine reason for having Diana splashed across the front page on a Monday. Today, it has a genuine reason for putting Mrs Prince William on the front - her 25th birthday.
It maintains standards by managing to get "controversy" into the headline about Kate Middleton's big day. PM is just glad her birthday didn't fall on a Monday, the paper would have faced a real dilemma about whose picture to run with. Of course, we all know who'd win.
But the Express isn't the only paper that must be happy with its front page today. The Daily Telegraph has stories on school catchment areas, the fight against road pricing and the iPhone, as well as a plug for a feature inside on how to look chic on the ski slopes. Only the inclusion of a picture of a posh pin-up could have improved things for its readership.
The free poster/sticker/wallchart/DVD/book wars have kicked off big style in 2007. The offerings from the Daily Mail - a free Reiki DVD - the Daily Telegraph - a free Beatrix Potter book - and the Independent - a wallchart on how to stop smoking - are laughable when compared to the Daily Mirror. It's offering a wild animal DVD, plus posters, plus stickers. And PM thought the Guardian was spoiling us with its recent salad wallchart.
Oh, and Sienna Miller is supposedly dating an actor who is not famous. Is that news? You'd better believe it, worthy of the prime Page Three slot in the Sun. But then again, its front page "exclusive" is about Jade Goody having liposuction. Suddenly that salad wallchart is looking a bit more interesting.
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