Tuesday, January 28, 2014

'Shock and Law' - the front pages

Jude Law 'betrayed', a flood of protest and Beyonce's Grammy outfit in papers

Metro front page, 28/1/14 Images of actor Jude Law appear on many front pages after his appearance at the News of the World phone-hacking trial, which heard the paper had paid a member of his family for details of his private life. The Metro leads with the story.
Daily Telegraph front page, 28/1/14 The Daily Telegraph pictures Law with ex-partner Sienna Miller, who the News of the World reported had an affair with James Bond actor Daniel Craig. The Telegraph's lead says the UK economy is growing at its fastest for seven years.
The Times front page, 28/1/14 The Times uses a similar photograph. It has an interview with UKIP leader Nigel Farage, in which he suggests his party has too many "Walter Mitty" characters and that it needs a "disciplined election machine" ahead of the summer's polls.
The i front page, 28/1/14 "One has overspent" is the i's headline on a report suggesting that the Queen "broke the Royal Household budget by £2.3m last year". It says MPs have called on the Treasury to intervene.
Daily Mail front page, 28/1/14 The MPs want Buckingham Palace to be rented out for commercial events in a bid to get a "firmer grip" on royal finances, suggests the Daily Mail. It says this could prevent taxpayers from having to foot repair bills for royal residences.
Independent front page, 28/1/14 The Liberal Democrats will wage "war on the rich" in their 2015 manifesto, reviving plans for a "mansion tax" on properties worth £2m or more and pledging to cut the sum people can save tax-free for pensions, says the Independent.
Financial Times front page, 28/1/14 Problems at state-owned bank RBS leads the Financial Times. The paper uses graphics to explain how £3bn of extra litigation and compensation payments are likely to reduce the bank's capital, affecting its share price.
Guardian front page, 28/1/14 Leaked secret documents suggest intelligence agencies have developed capability to target smartphone apps - such as Angry Birds - which transmit users' private data over the internet, according to the Guardian.
Daily Mirror front page, 28/1/14 The Daily Mirror leads on the story of a mother it says died after undergoing gastric bypass surgery to help her lose weight. However, it quotes her husband as saying that without the operation, she would not have given birth.
Daily Express front page, 28/1/14 The Daily Express reports another boost in the treatment of diabetes, quoting a British academic who believes the disease could be wiped out within a generation thanks to research currently being carried out.
Daily Star front page, 28/1/14 Once again, the Daily Star leads on a story based on events in Channel 5 show Celebrity Big Brother. It quotes contestant Lee Ryan saying that he fears a backlash over his behaviour on the reality show.

Actor Jude Law's turn in the witness box at the News of the World phone-hacking trial secures him a place on the front page of many papers.

And most focus on the revelation he was "betrayed" by a family member, who sold details of his personal life to the now-defunct paper.

A couple of less high-profile, but more weighty, appearances - those of Prime Minister David Cameron and shadow business secretary Chuka Ummuna at the Federation of Small Businesses conference - are confined to the inside pages.

And the Financial Times says both the Conservative and Labour pitches "need more work". Despite Mr Ummuna's promise of a US-style body to champion small firms, the FT quotes one director as saying: "I don't think [Labour] are sending the correct message across to small business yet."

Sketchwriter Ann Treneman, in the Times, focuses on "Scissorhands" Cameron's pledge to cut red tape. "He's been cutting red tape - or at least talking about it - since May 2010," she writes.

The Independent's cartoonist Dave Brown gives his interpretation of the speech, picturing Mr Cameron as St George swiping a sword through green garlands marked "green belt", "building standards" and "safe waste disposal".

In its leader column, the Daily Telegraph applauds the PM's intentions but warns: "One of the aims of cutting back building rules, for instance, is to encourage more construction.

"But the same motivation lay behind the removal of restrictions on building on flood plains 20 years ago, the consequences of which have been expensive and miserable for inundated home owners."

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Flood of complaints
Owen Paterson confronted by protesters during his visit to Somerset

Environment Secretary Owen Paterson was among those feeling the effects of a decision taken nearly two decades earlier when he found himself "engulfed by critics", as the Guardian put it, during a visit to the flood-hit Somerset levels.

"Cut off and furious," is how Philip Johnston, in the Daily Telegraph, finds locals who are demanding the Environment Agency resume the dredging of rivers after an 18-year hiatus, despite bosses insisting it would do little to help.

The minister found himself amid a "storm of anger", with campaigners describing his visit as a "publicity stunt", according to the Independent. Some complained he "kept his smart city shoes dry" and didn't bring any wellies, says the Times. The Daily Star has little sympathy, using the headline: "Floody idiot."

The Daily Mail features three "sorry tales" that explain the fury: of a farmer who says loss of grazing land could cost him £30,000, a family flooded twice in two years and a mobile hairdresser who's been unable to work for three weeks.

Some papers say the Environment Agency spent £31m on a bird sanctuary but would not cough up the £4.5m needed for dredging. It's "time to put people first," argues the Daily Express in its leader column.

Guardian cartoonist Steve Bell offers his view of where Conservative priorities lie. He pictures Mr Paterson in a dinghy, floating past a "Vote Dave" billboard, while shouting through a megaphone: "Don't worry, madam - we can see you're drowning in red tape and badgers."

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Bum notes?
Singer Beyonce and rapper Jay Z perform onstage during the 56th Grammy Awards

Another week, another award ceremony. And this time it's the Grammys that excite and enrage in equal measure.

The Daily Telegraph records the "outcry" among Christian and conservative groups over a mass wedding ceremony at the bash which saw 22 couples - both gay and straight - tie the knot on TV. Rapper Macklemore's hip-hop lyrics that "the right-wing conservatives think it's a decision, and you can be cured with some treatment and religion," only inflamed things, it notes.

Meanwhile, it was star turn Beyonce's "suggestive poses and gyrating around the stage in a sheer leotard," that upset those quoted in the Daily Mail. "Is this really what little girls should aspire to, Beyonce?" it asks, recording the online backlash.

The Daily Star has no such misgivings. "Bey's got a hot new thong," it reports. That said, it didn't think much of the dress she arrived in. It gives her a big red cross in a spread of the "hot frocks and fashion shocks". Madonna and Jessie J fare no better, whereas Rita Ora, Taylor Swift and Katy Perry get the white tick vote of confidence.

On the other hand, the Daily Express reckons Beyonce "looked incredible after a 22-day vegan fast". In similar vein, the Daily Mirror plays on a Destiny's Child song title, declaring her a "Thindependent Woman".

The Guardian focuses on the winner of the main award - Daft Punk for their album Random Access Memories - and enjoys Sir Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr reuniting on stage as they collected a lifetime achievement award.

Meanwhile, the Sun is agog at the number of celebrities Macca was happy to pose with, publishing a sequence of shots featuring the former Beatle with - among others - singer Pharrell Williams, actors Julia Roberts and Jamie Foxx, and "some bloke from Liverpool" next to the shot of him with Starr.

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A royal mess?
The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh outside Buckingham Palace

While Sir Paul was performing recent single Queenie Eye, the papers had one eye on the royal finances.

"The Queen's household finances were at a 'historic low' with just £1m left in reserve," the Daily Telegraph says, citing a report by the Commons public accounts committee.

MPs suggest the Royal Family help fund repairs to their residences, some of which are in a dangerous condition, by renting out Buckingham Palace for commercial events, according to the Daily Mail.

"The report castigates the Royal Household for being profligate at a time of constrained public spending," reports the Independent, recalling that when Parliament tried to "regulate" the revenues of the monarchy in 1642, it led to the first battles of the English Civil War.

The Daily Mirror blames the Treasury for not properly serving the Queen by allowing the royal finances to get out of control but says the problem can't be fixed by "giving Her Majesty yet more public money". It argues: "Schools, hospitals, low earners, the jobless and pensioners are at the front of the queue."

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Albert Square makeover
The Eastenders set in 1985

"Eastenders makes a move upmarket," says the Daily Telegraph, reporting that executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins has announced the BBC One soap will soon "better reflect the more fashionable areas of east London beloved of young professionals", giving a flavour of the "creeping gentrification" of east London.

"Albert Square prepares for an influx of Shoreditch chic," says the Independent, namechecking the once-deprived, now-trendy neighbourhood and quoting Treadwell-Collins as saying the show's set has been "frozen in aspic for too long".

"Fancy a Frappuccino with that?" is the Guardian's take, imagining what might become of the soap's gritty cafe once the show moves to its new set in 2018.

It revisits the show's most watched episode, from Christmas Day, 1986, and pictures Pat Butcher in the Queen Vic. "Good cook are you?" she asks a customer. "I thought so. I've seen you down the Spanish deli ordering the jamon iberico," she adds, before admonishing "dot.cotton" for lighting up, and telling her to try an e-cigarette instead.

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Making people click

Guardian: NSA and GCHQ target 'leaky' phone apps like Angry Birds to scoop user data

Times: Is a sweaty workout a better workout?

Independent: Pope's white doves of peace attacked by gull and crow after being released over St Peter's Square in peace gesture

Daily Mail: British woman killed herself after bombarding hairdresser with demands for appointment because she feared her hair had turned red

Daily Telegraph: US billionaire compares treatment of rich to Nazi persecution of Jews


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