Posted by
Axegrinder on 6 December 2010 at 09:23
Tags: Uncategorized
It was only a matter of time before someone did this.
Axegrinder’s sympathies go out to Today programme presenter James Naughtie who got culture secretary Jeremy Hunt’s name very wrong this morning.
Posted by
Axegrinder on 9 August 2010 at 10:08
Tags: Headline of the month, Uncategorized
A clear frontrunner has emerged in Axegrinder’s headline of the year competition.
It’s The Sun’s awesome headline from February this year about the news that Rap star P. Diddy had blown £220,000 on a luxury car for his teenage son - who did not even have his driving licence.
NEW CAR DIDDY KIDDY DUMB DADDY DOUGH
It has garnered more than 60 of the 100 votes cast so far.
Unfortunately, the utterly crap piece of software Axegrinder used to collate the votes so far - Polldaddy - only lets me collect 100 votes, and we have already exceeded that limit.
So I’m re-opening the voting again with a new poll widget, this time provided by Blogpoll.com
Don’t worry if you have voted already, you’re vote will be added to the new tally.
Here are the headline of the month stories and headlines from the last year, scroll to the bottom to cast your vote.
Remember to cast your vote wisely, bearing in mind that the author of the winning headline will receive a weekend at the luxury lodge on the Isle of Jura where George Orwell wrote 1984 - courtesy of our sponsors Jura single malt whisky.
September
Thelondonpaper
Actress Rachael Weisz wins rave reviews for her performance in A Streetcar Named Desire at the Donmar Warehouse.
WEISZ AFTER THE EVENT
October
Metro
A farmer has been given £500,000 to clean up the country air turning pig muck into electricity.
AND THIS LITTLE PIGGY WENT TO SPARK IT
November
The Sun
BNP activists round on BNP leader Nick Griffin after he puts in a lacklustre apperance on Question Time
DOWNFALL
December
Wembley and Kingsbury Times.
A shop owner in Kingsbury has been fined for selling fake Durex condoms.
JOHNNY ROTTEN.
January
The New Scientist
A new anklet device used in America can alert the authorities if alcohol-related offenders have breached bail conditions banning them from drinking.
THE ELECTRONIC FINK THAT WILL SQUEAL IF YOU DRINK
February
The Sun
Rap star P. Diddy has blown £220,000 on a luxury car for his teenage son - who does not even have his driving licence.
NEW CAR DIDDY KIDDY DUMB DADDY DOUGH
March
First Great Western Trains passenger magazine
Veteran tennis players to battle it out at a Masters Tennis competition
OLD BOYS’ NET WORK
April
Daily Mirror
Council chiefs and police have cut down 6,000 trees at beauty spot in order to stop couples having sex in the woods.
COPSE AND DOGGERS
May
The Coventry Telegraph
A thief conned a pensioner out of his savings before taking him out for a pub lunch.
SCUM DINE WITH ME
June
Channel 4 News
The UK political situation is finely balanced on 7 May after the general election delivers a hung parliament.
HUNG DRAWN AND COURTED
July
Daily Star
TV favourite Declan Donnelly, of Ant and Dec fame, apparently has a hair-raising talent for growing back his thinning head of hair.
IT’S ALL STRANDS ON DECK
August
Daily Star
Jeremy Clarkson was warned he could be physically attacked after he claimed on Top Gear that Muslim women wear kinky underwear under their burkas.
TOP FEAR
Posted by
Axegrinder on 6 August 2010 at 06:28
Tags: Headline of the month, Uncategorized
UPDATE:
NEW CAR DIDDY KIDDY DUMB DADDY DOUGH, is in the lead - but the bit of polling software has fallen over. Go to this new blog post to cast your vote.
It’s been a year since Press Gazette revived its Headline of the Month competition, thanks to some generous sponsorship from the nice people at Jura single malt whisky.
Now its time to pick our Headline of the Year winner.
Why? You may well ask. Because the skilful sub who wrote our winning headline will be sent away for courtesy of Jura for a weekend’s break on the Isle of Jura where George Orwell wrote 1984.
The luxury lodge costs a small fortune to rent normally so this is a prize that is really worth winning.
There’s also a fantastic prize for the person who nominated the winning headline.
Cast you votes now.
Here are the winners again, you can vote using the poll at the bottom of this post:
September
Thelondonpaper
Actress Rachael Weisz wins rave reviews for her performance in A Streetcar Named Desire at the Donmar Warehouse.
WEISZ AFTER THE EVENT
October
Metro
A farmer has been given £500,000 to clean up the country air turning pig muck into electricity.
AND THIS LITTLE PIGGY WENT TO SPARK IT
November
The Sun
BNP activists round on BNP leader Nick Griffin after he puts in a lacklustre apperance on Question Time
DOWNFALL
December
Wembley and Kingsbury Times.
A shop owner in Kingsbury has been fined for selling fake Durex condoms.
JOHNNY ROTTEN.
January
The New Scientist
A new anklet device used in America can alert the authorities if alcohol-related offenders have breached bail conditions banning them from drinking.
THE ELECTRONIC FINK THAT WILL SQUEAL IF YOU DRINK
February
The Sun
Rap star P. Diddy has blown £220,000 on a luxury car for his teenage son - who does not even have his driving licence.
NEW CAR DIDDY KIDDY DUMB DADDY DOUGH
March
First Great Western Trains passenger magazine
Veteran tennis players to battle it out at a Masters Tennis competition
OLD BOYS’ NET WORK
April
Daily Mirror
Council chiefs and police have cut down 6,000 trees at beauty spot in order to stop couples having sex in the woods.
COPSE AND DOGGERS
May
The Coventry Telegraph
A thief conned a pensioner out of his savings before taking him out for a pub lunch.
SCUM DINE WITH ME
June
Channel 4 News
The UK political situation is finely balanced on 7 May after the general election delivers a hung parliament.
HUNG DRAWN AND COURTED
July
Daily Star
TV favourite Declan Donnelly, of Ant and Dec fame, apparently has a hair-raising talent for growing back his thinning head of hair.
IT’S ALL STRANDS ON DECK
August
Daily Star
Jeremy Clarkson was warned he could be physically attacked after he claimed on Top Gear that Muslim women wear kinky underwear under their burkas.
TOP FEAR
<a href=”http://polldaddy.com/s/0200972816EABC6C” mce_href=”http://polldaddy.com/s/0200972816EABC6C”>View Survey</a>
Posted by
Axegrinder on 7 July 2010 at 15:00
Tags: Uncategorized
Axegrinder firmly believes that a story is not old until it’s told, so is happy to pass on the curious tale of a gun crime incident which mistakenly featured in a press release sent out by Joanna Burns PR to promote a film about, er, street violence.
The original press release was sent out on 18 March following the premiere of a film about gang warfare set in the near future called Shank. It appeared under the subject line: “FILM PREMIERE DRAMA - STAR’S EARLY EXIT (GUN AT VENUE IN BRIXTON)”.
It stated:
…upon arrival Grime music star Bashy was seriously threatened by a gun by another party reveller, prompting the actor/musician to leave the party.
Curiously, the next day the following release was sent out by the same agency:
Following the press release (18th March 2010) “Skins Star Kaya Scodelario bravely parties on….” we have investigated this story further. It transpires that this has been a case of Chinese whispers leading from misinformation.
The evening itself was very successful and apart from a minor altercation outside the after party venue, the evening was trouble free, receiving praise from both the Metropolitan Police and the venues used.
We understand that it is our responsibility to control media and public perceptions of the talent, the film and all related events. We have worked very hard to ensure both the film and it’s moral message are not lost or misrepresented. It is on that note that we would like to retract any statement or release surrounding the Shank premiere that may imply any negative connotation and apologise to all involved for any inconvenience.
I’ll let you draw your own conclusions!
Posted by
Axegrinder on 14 June 2010 at 12:44
Tags: Uncategorized
Staffing cutbacks and a new production system were blamed for a production error which saw dummy copy appear on the front page of the Bedford Times and Citizen.
But what possible excuse could the FT have for this headline in a leader in its European edition last week?
Posted by
Axegrinder on 27 April 2010 at 09:59
Tags: Uncategorized
Which esteemed national newspaper political journalist’s bottom is this?
Axegrinder will be answering this, and other pressing questions from “Election 2010″ in a special report from the campaign trail appearing in the May edition of Press Gazette magazine.
Posted by
Axegrinder on 30 October 2009 at 10:01
Tags: Uncategorized
Strange goings on at The Nation newspaper in Bangkok which is carrying a picture caption from new Thailand national manager ‘Byran Robson’ alongside a picture of the late great England manager Bobby Robson.
Do they perhaps mean new Thailand national team manager Bryan Robson?
Posted by
Axegrinder on 6 October 2009 at 11:26
Tags: Uncategorized
Suffering from journalism?
Help is at hand from the pharmaceutical industry apparently, in the form of a new drug called Printoxafin.
Hear all about it in this bonkers video produced by Glasgow-based journalist Tristan Stewart-Robertson of W5 Press Agency.
Posted by
Axegrinder on 2 August 2009 at 21:04
Tags: News of the World, Uncategorized, the News
When the News of the World ran a story claiming a brothel was being run in a flat above Labour Party offices in Kent, naturally the local paper had to follow it up.
The News in Rochester made the story its page three lead (pictured above), and reporter George Nott excitedly told readers that police were investigating claims of a vice den at 73b Maidstone Road, just above the office where Bob Marshall Andrews MP holds his surgeries.
“Our photographer was yelled at and told to leave while taking pictures for this article,” wrote Nott.
It is puzzling that the News appears so surprised at what is going on in the upstairs flat. A certain local paper in Kent is currently running an advert in its Adult Services section from an enterprise called A Touch of Class (pictured below). A quick phone call from Axegrinder reveals two girls are available at 73b Maidstone Road where ”specialist services” start at £60.
The name of the local paper running the ad? Why the News, of course.
Posted by
Axegrinder on 28 July 2009 at 20:58
Tags: Construction News, Emap Inform, Nick Edwards, Simon Middelboe, Uncategorized
It was was red faces all round at the usually yellow-topped Construction News this week as a production error led to the previous edition’s page 2-3 spread being repeated.
Readers had the questionable pleasure of wading through editor Nick Edwards’ leader for the second week on the trot, while the contents page certainly had a sense of déjà vu about it.
The mistake was particularly embarrassing for Emap Inform chief executive Simon Middelboe, who has been at the forefront of centralising all production desks across the division.
His dream of sub-editors beavering away in isolation from the reporting teams has cut costs but has now resulted in the worst rick in the mag’s 140-year history.
Axegrinder understands a furious Edwards tried to get the edition pulped and reprinted but thousands of copies made it out to bewildered readers.
UPDATE: A regular reader of Construction News contacted Axegrinder on Thursday to reveal a fresh twist to the unfortunate saga: “They have now sent out a replacement issue for last week’s magazine, which has just landed on our desks along with this week’s issue. If, as you suggest, they knew that they had messed up and decided not to pulp and reprint the issue, why did they do it afterwards, adding postage costs to their woes?”
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