The feral beast: Editor's immoderate offspring
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Red faces at The Guardian, where a moderator of the Comment is Free website has been reprimanded for likening Melanie Phillips to a character from Little Britain.
Defending the comments left by BellaMack, a spokesman says staff "cannot be expected to be automatons", but admits the moderator "was reminded of guidelines". So who is the mischievous BellaM? Step forward Isabella Mackie, or, as her birth certificate records, Isabella Rusbridger, daughter of Alan, editor of The Guardian. As she wrote in one thread: "Eff me, I'm famous. But not in a good way. Or maybe in a good way. Depends."
Sun never sets on name typos
An inauspicious start for Dominic Mohan as editor of The Sun after his paper was forced to issue a humiliating apology for misspelling Jacqui Janes's name on its website, having monstered Gordon Brown for doing so the day before. But some comfort emerges for the baby-faced new ed – on Tuesday The Sun celebrated its 40th birthday by giving readers a facsimile of its first edition. And what's this in a theatre listing on page 9 – Sheila Hancock and John Shaw starring in a "So What About Love?". Er, that would be John Thaw, the actor who later married Hancock. It seems mis-spelling names is something of a tradition.
Tension breaks at 'The Times'
Whispers reach me that tensions between Times editor James Harding and his media editor, Dan Sabbagh, have come to a head, and Sabbagh is moving on. The difficulties are said to go back to when Harding was business editor. There is talk of Sabbagh moving elsewhere on the paper, but he fails to return my calls. His replacement has already been decided, I'm told, and is described as "an unlikely candidate". The mind boggles.
Pick a Vaughan, any Vaughan
Fans of English classical music are promised a rare treat on the contents page of The New Statesman, an article by the long-dead composer Vaughan Williams. He is billed as writing a piece on cultural institutions, perhaps a long-lost stab at journalism from a man better known for his symphonies. How disappointing then to discover it is an error: the writer is in fact Vaughan Allen. What a lark, ascending.
Poet's not sitting on his laurels
Andrew Motion isn't wasting any more time after 10 years' mothballed away as poet laureate. Last week he became chairman of next year's Man Booker prize, enough to keep the most avid reader occupied, and he continues to teach. Now Sir Andrew has signed up to write a column for digital men's magazine Outre. His cultural reflections may sit surprisingly beside features on super yachts and expensive watch advertising. But presumably it pays more than a few crates of sherry.
A meeting of Euro minds
Is it a first? The Guardian and Daily Mail ran the same splash headline on Friday – "The great EU stitch-up". So much for Europe being divisive.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments