Media: The Word on the Street

ONLY THE cynically-minded would surmise that Max Hastings' by- line is appearing more regularly in his Evening Standard because he is worried about his job. Nevertheless, it is worth noting that the Hastings name has appeared 12 times in the three months since the death of Lord Rothermere and the ascension of Paul Dacre to Emperor of all Kensington, or whatever his title is. By comparison, Mr Hastings swapped his shotgun for his pen only three times in the previous three months, and five times in the three months before that. Pure coincidence, no doubt. Insiders insist he will see out his five-year contract until 2000.

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NOT SURPRISINGLY, Carlton television was not keen to hear from The Guardian as it prepared to publish its report into The Connection documentary last week - the documentary The Guardian exposed as a fake. David Cameron, Carlton's head of corporate affairs, refused to take or return phone calls from The Guardian's media correspondent four days in a row. Eventually, he seems to have inadvertently picked up his own phone. After The Guardian reporter introduced herself, she was confronted with the amazing sound of someone who sounded a lot like David Cameron maintaining that he was called "John Smith", and just happened to be walking past the 'phone.

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THE TRADITION of investigative journalism at The Observer took a bit of a bashing last week when the team known as The Gangsters - Michael Gillard, Lucy Johnson, David Connett and Jonathan Calvert - jumped ship together to join The Express. They were tempted by Lord Hollick's money, or were feeling unloved by The Observer, depending on who you believe. That they were not among the18 people who lost their jobs at The Observer a few weeks ago, would seem to rule out the former. Mr Gillard was last at The Express 21 years ago, when he was sacked for being brave enough to investigate one of the then proprietor's friends. We must presume Lord Hollick and all his friends know precisely what they are getting.