How To Get A Five Month Old Story In The Sun Without Trying

Well it’s been quite a week, what with one thing and another.  And I’m still deciding what I’m more proud of- gaining a University MA or the family getting a ‘splash’ in Britain’s biggest selling national newspaper.

The media hurricane has blown through and we’ve all survived unscathed. It’s been fascinating to experience. And as a journalist with 28 years under his belt it’s been quite an eye-opener to be part of the story from the other side of the net curtains.

So, let’s have a closer look at just how a five month obscure blog entry on my company website evolved into the rather breathless  ‘Soft Porn Shock In Family Garden’  headline in Saturday’s edition of the soaraway Sun with accompanying picture of a leggy lovely ‘tackle out’ apart from a rather nice summer hat.

What I have found particularly interesting to observe is how the original version of the story on the Questing Vole blogsite  transformed into a titillating tale fit for publication in a tabloid.  And how did our humble abode suddenly- and to the great delight of my accountant- become a ‘countryside village estate’.

Most importantly, how would the original version  be tampered with when all they had was the blog’s basic facts.  My line throughout – to any journalist  who asked- was to add no additional information whatsoever other than to verify the blog’s accuracy. And did anyone care that my blog entry was written in April? (nope) 

The evolution of the story, as someone who has worked in the regional media in the North of England for over two decades, followed a traditional pattern. First the local newspaper, the Teesdale Mercury, printed this after tracking down my blog on the village website.  

The next day, the Northern Echo called. Was my wife called Joanne? Erm, no. They duly published  their version.  And then we were off and away.  First I got a call from North News, an agency who essentially flog stories and pics to anyone who’ll pay for them. Did I want to do any photographs with our horse? (No thanks). Despite this an hour later a photographer from the agency arrived. “I’m just doing my job” came the standard line. Which was fine. God loves a trier. And I’ve used it on hundreds of occasions in the past.

Then the man from the Express called. Could they confirm our ages?( no) “We can check it from electoral records you know”. (Good for you). I didn’t take to him at all and played a straight bat throughout the conversation. Lesson: be nice to people and they might be nice back.

On Friday morning I got a call from The Press Association. I directed them to the blog and left it at that. My mobile burst into life early the following morning when friends started to text. We were in the Daily Telegraph. Then the postman  turned up. “You’re In The Sun. I’ve never delivered mail to a famous house before. By the way are the dancers still here?”

And that’s been about it. The kids are now legends at school and have been asked for their autographs. No lasting emotional damage we hope.

Looking fresh at the Sun version of the story this morning it does stretch the truth to incredible lengths and gives the whole incident a faintly grubby overtone. It was anything but. The girls were quite delightful and didn’t deserve that.  This tabloid’s distortion of the facts clearly had an impact on readers perceptions of the incident according to their online forum :

“That group should have told the family the sort of pictures they will be taking…how disgusting they did that when they saw the 13-year-old lives there. You’d think they’d cover up a bit when the boy was around…disgusting…”

“Another crowd of slappers…..Christ Almighty Britian seems to be heaving with them!”

Others thankfully had a sense of perspective:

“It’s good to see that the Glovers are down to Earth and can see the funny side. Unlike the story of the woman who had to sit down outside a sweet shop whilst her husband had a go at the owner because the pictures on some Maoam sweets looked like the fruits were having sex!”

“I bet the horse didn’t complain LOL!”

So there we have it. How to get in The Sun without trying. Coming soon “The day U2’s  tour bus broke down and they played a private concert in our stables”

**FOOTNOTE**- Data shows traffic to my blog has increased in the last seven days by 736.84% while visits to my company website at http://www.lushplacesmedia.com have soared . Which is good.

Press Pack Swoop On Questing Vole’s Blog-Latest

****STOP PRESS**** Here’s the story from this morning’s Northern Echo.  I’d like to thank the ongoing coverage in all media outlets for raising the profile of Lush Places Media and bringing me the most visitors to my blog in the year it’s been up and running.  Amidst all yesterday’s doom and gloom about Teesside’s vulnerability bouncing back from the recession and other weighty issues it’s comforting to know that some bare arses still grab the regional headlines. Funny old world. Must go, someone’s at the door. No it couldn’t be…..could it?

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In recent days the Vole’s daytime snooze has been disrupted by phone calls from various seekers of the truth wanting to know more about an obscure blog entry written by me in the Spring. I’m sure regular readers will recall the unexpected arrival of a troupe of burlesque dancers at the house as they took a break from dance rehearsals at the village hall over the road. The scantily clad ‘cowgirls’  wanted to have some publicity photos taken with one of our menagerie (the horse, not our leopard gecko) surprising not only family members but the two fellas building our garden fence.

And so the months slipped by and the incident became a distant memory. Until now. So how does a five month old story written on a personal blog turn up in the Teesdale Mercury, our local weekly newspaper, and probably tomorrow’s Northern Echo- the biggest selling regional newspaper in the North East.

It’s a convoluted tale but stick with it. A fortnight ago the village held its annual Hoppings. I contributed by filming the event and posting the end result on You Tube  and the village website. A hot shot hack from the Mercury spotted the video, clicked on my company website alongside the video and started reading the blog which is linked to my site. Now I’ll leave it to you to decide why, of all the myriad categories to select from, he chose ‘burlesque’ and not perhaps ‘middle aged despair’….

I got a call, the story was verified, and his take on events duly appeared in this week’s edition (on Page 3!!) under the racy headline ‘Photoshoot Surprise Leaves Villagers Blushing’. (Thankfully I was not quoted as ‘gorgeous pouting Andy, 23, from Hamsterley’). When it actually happened was a detail which did not feature. Which I guess is fine. Look through most tabloids of a morning and you’ll find when and where stories happen is only mentioned in the final paragraph- if at all.

The reaction- not a lot to be honest. The kids got a bit of ribbing at school and that’s been about it. Until today- when the heavyweights rang. The Echo were interested.  Did I want to be photographed? (er, no) Did I know where I could find the girls now? (regretfully not). And so I went through it all again. Expect more of the same tomorrow. I hope it’s on page three again.

I’m currently considering offers to appear on Lorraine and as Piers Morgan’s first guest on his new CNN show. Perhaps they’ll also invite our horse on. He’s got an agent now. 

There is, possibly, a wider and more serious point to all this- how amateur ‘citizen’ blogging and hyperlocal nonsense such as mine plays a part in modern newspaper content gathering. Are we crazy loons sitting in our spare room in our underpants (frequently yes) or do we play an increasingly important role as newsrooms cut staffing and reavaluate ways of working in a truly social media world where audience and reporter now enjoy real-time collaborative engagement and debate.  I have just written an MA dissertation on this very subject. All 16,403 words available on request.    

One final thought, I wonder if the IT security people at the Mercury and Echo will soon be alerted by repeated newsroom computer search requests including ‘horse’ and ‘burlesque’ . Try it, it’s an education.