The feral beast: Confused.tom's naked terror
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Your support makes all the difference.Tom Newton Dunn is known as confused.tom in the lobby since becoming The Sun's political editor. His nickname puns on the insurance firm whose logo is a frazzled-looking man.
The Old Marlburian has brought his shouty Wapping ways to Westminster, apparently bawling out civil servants who fail to give him a story. But cockiness comes before a fall – I'm told there are pics of Newton Dunn in the buff from his time as a Mirror trainee, when he was sent to follow naked rambler Stephen Gough and he is "absolutely terrified" they could surface. They must be worth a bob to a few MPs.
Waiting for...Gallagher
Hats off to Tony Gallagher, new editor of The Daily Telegraph. Everyone wails he is a Daily Mail hatchet-man, but I'm told he is also a fan of absurdist theatre, and wrote his university thesis on the plays of Samuel Beckett. So he must, at least, be a patient sort.
'Telegraph' noses out of joint
The musical chairs at the Telegraph have left some noses out of joint. Editor Will Lewis sent an email to seven executives announcing Gallagher as his successor only 45 minutes before the news broke. And some say Benedict Brogan's ascendancy to deputy ed had been planned since he joined. Simon Heffer, the associate editor, who has just landed a book deal, is said to be "in a sulk", and if the Telegraph is not careful they may find Royal editor Andrew Pierce the object of offers from elsewhere.
BBC goes back to the age of print
Panic stations at the BBC as the £2bn computer system teeters on the verge of collapse. The idiocy lies in the decision to link the computer and phone systems, so that if one fails they both go. After one BBC3 newsreader was forced to read the news from her iPhone, chief operating officer Caroline Thomson sent an email reassuring staff that Siemens was fixing the problem. "I would strongly urge everyone to continue to save all work," said Thomson (salary £333,000), "and print out any critical documents you may need." So much for multi-media.
'Standard' backs news vendor
Intriguing to see London's Evening Standard worked up about a newspaper vendor facing eviction from Sloane Square. A page-lead on Friday reported the council is trying to evict Mark O'Brien after 30 years. Strangely, the article omitted to mention the scores of job losses among news vendors across the capital in recent months – dismissed by, er, the Evening Standard.
Blow our own trumpet? Us?
Journalists returned to Fleet Street on Tuesday to battle it out for the annual Pelham PR quiz, held at the old Reuters building, which has been turned into Lutyens – a restaurant, bar and private members' club – by Terence Conran. The BBC won after a tie-breaker with the Financial Times, and I'm happy to report this paper came third, trouncing the Times, Telegraph and Evening Standard – as we do in so many ways.
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