Paper Monitor
A service highlighting the riches of the daily press.
It's the start of December, and Paper Monitor is surveying the daily press through the first open window of its advent calendar.
And what a pretty sight there is on the front page of the Independent, and its kid brother sidekick, i. Both papers have temporarily morphed into art galleries and carry on their fronts a commissioned painting of flowers to mark World Aids Day.
The Aids story doesn't stop there. Aids awareness campaigner Sir Elton John has been drafted in to guest edit the titles, which, in i at least, means a change of face in the daily "Letter from the editor" column.
There's a picture of Sir Elton chummily standing over the shoulder of a hack, the pair grinning as the pop star points to something on the computer monitor. ()
Oh, Caption Competition, if only you were here now...
Sadly, there's no hint of any outbreak of the balladeer's legendary histrionics. Instead, Sir Elton tells us:
"It's the first time I've had the privilege of editing a newspaper. In fact, I've never set foot inside a newspaper office before... It's been a proud achievement to spend a day in the editor's chair, right up there with playing gigs in all 52 states of America [sic]"
Hmm. What was it the late and great newspaper editor said: "Comment is free, facts are sacred."