The feral beast: Enemies in high places
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Your support makes all the difference.Musical chairs at the Mail titles will prompt more tongue wagging over the succession to Paul Dacre.
Ted Verity returns from Ireland as No 2 on The Mail on Sunday, while Eric Bailey is shunted off West. The hot new plat du jour is Paul Field, an ex-Associated man who quit as news editor at The Sun after a year of amassing enemies, and joined National Enquirer in New York where he rose to editor. Sacked in 2006, aged 34, he then pulled off the rare feat of re-entry at the Mail. How far will he go this time?
Murdoch + Thatcher = Cameron
Roll up, roll up – Rupert Murdoch is coming to town. The great man is to give the inaugural Margaret Thatcher speech at the Centre for Policy Studies on 20 October. The Beast understands insiders at the right-wing think-tank are cock-a-hoop. The CPS was founded by Margaret Thatcher and Keith Joseph in 1974, and is currently chaired by Lord Saatchi. Thatcher and Murdoch are, of course, both allies of the Prime Minister – and with this much notice he's got no excuse not to attend.
A first for Brooks
In other senior News Corp news: is there no stopping Rebekah Brooks? Her latest decoration is an Honorary Fellowship from the University of the Arts London in recognition of her "Exceptional services to journalism and the media". According to Who's Who, Brooks once studied at the Sorbonne but it's thought she doesn't have a degree, making this her first. The ceremony is on Tuesday, and pics of Rebekah in cap'n'gown are promised. Can't wait.
Who are you calling ageist?
The Telegraph got all excited about its piece by Selina Scott accusing the BBC of sexism and ageism. Older women are frequently passed over for younger models, she says. Next to her article was veteran writer Fay Weldon's piece on why she prefers showers – tastefully illustrated with a pretty young girl in a bubble bath.
Guardian hacks could be hacked
Are Guardian journalists at risk of having their emails hacked? According to the expert in this field, Julian Assange, The Guardian's email system is not at all secure, because it has the same low-grade protection as ordinary Gmail accounts. An IT technician at The Guardian dismisses the suggestion as "complete rubbish", but there were knowing nods when the Wikileaks founder made his suggestions at a talk 10 days ago, where several Guardian journalists were present.
Alton's ex gets the last laugh
Wide-eyed comedian Helen Lederer has gone back to doing stand-up, with a show running at the Jermyn Street Theatre in London. Included in her repartee are, I'm told, gags about her ex-husband; Lederer was once married to Roger Alton, former editor of The Independent, who has just started at The Times. What better night out to break the ice with his new colleagues?
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