Selling your soul to a tabloid C/D?

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OK, so maybe I have a cheek after asking everyone to be happy and get along yesterday but I’m gonna bore you all to death with my problems again. Feel free to ignore or be abusive, I’m feeling strong and positive today. So, you all know the long running story of my mysterious boyf who was bad but now is good and our paparazzi stalkers? Well I have this idea that if I’m gonna be in the papers anyway (had my picture taken again a couple of times this week), maybe I should just talk to a damn reporter? Now I know that they won’t write what I say, they’ll just put their own slant on it and it could make things worse, but is it worth the risk?

― Plinky (Plinky), Friday, 8 November 2002 10:42 (twenty-three years ago)

I would, but then I'm a mentalist.

― toraneko (toraneko), Friday, 8 November 2002 10:43 (twenty-three years ago)

my dog ate me.

― RJG (RJG), Friday, 8 November 2002 10:43 (twenty-three years ago)

Is that a headline suggestion or just a statement of fact?

― Plinky (Plinky), Friday, 8 November 2002 10:46 (twenty-three years ago)

My impression is that you really need to know what you're doing - you don't know where things are going to spiral off to once you've taken their money (and you still don't know quite how they're going to represent you or use quotes you've given them). Personally, I'm not sure that I would.

― Madchen (Madchen), Friday, 8 November 2002 10:47 (twenty-three years ago)

what does the bad gone good bf think. you would have to talk to him about this for definite

if they're going to do it for definite anyway, and no one gets hurt by you doing it then i wouldnt have any problems with taking the money (i wouldnt be able to do it if it made bad stuff for another person though)

is there anyone who would prefer you not to?

― gareth (gareth), Friday, 8 November 2002 10:55 (twenty-three years ago)

Consent to be interviewed then just jump around going 'OOH OOH OOH THE MONKEY GIBBON!'. I would be intrigued to see what slant they would put on that.

― N. (nickdastoor), Friday, 8 November 2002 10:56 (twenty-three years ago)

I worry that I'll make things worse for our families, or that I'll just look like one of those poor deluded females who marry men on death row and maintain they are just misunderstood!
His parents just want it to go away, but it's inevitable it's gonna be in the papers next week. I dunno, I think I just wanna stand up and tell everyone he's not a bad person, but I doubt it would do much good.

― Plinky (Plinky), Friday, 8 November 2002 10:58 (twenty-three years ago)

Hm ask someone who has some experience of the whole thing, maybe? (NB I know N. works in the newspaper industry but I think you can safely ignore his simian-related advice).

― Tim (Tim), Friday, 8 November 2002 11:01 (twenty-three years ago)

i wouldn't do it because i'm a snob who looks down on the tabloids and their prurient interest in people's lives. i wouldn't take their money just like i wouldn't work for macdonalds or westinghouse, because i don't approve of what they do. even if they were going to go ahead and do it anyway i wouldn't collude.

― angela (angela), Friday, 8 November 2002 11:05 (twenty-three years ago)

That Monkey Gibbon thing is so weird 'n' wacky it could just possibly work - by Jove, the man's a genius!

― Plinky (Plinky), Friday, 8 November 2002 11:07 (twenty-three years ago)

if you have concern for yr family then don't do it.

― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Friday, 8 November 2002 11:10 (twenty-three years ago)

I would not do it with talking to someone from a PR firm first.

― Colin Meeder (Mert), Friday, 8 November 2002 11:11 (twenty-three years ago)

Thanks Julio, but they are already upset by it all and that's out of my control.
I'd talk to a PR firm if I had the first foggiest idea where to start! Don't they cost megabucks?

― Plinky (Plinky), Friday, 8 November 2002 11:17 (twenty-three years ago)

Max Clifford's telephone number is 020 7408 2350

― C J (C J), Friday, 8 November 2002 11:28 (twenty-three years ago)

Chortle...don't think it's really a Max Clifford type thing - whose number is that anyway?

― Plinky (Plinky), Friday, 8 November 2002 11:31 (twenty-three years ago)

It's Max Clifford's. Honest.

― C J (C J), Friday, 8 November 2002 11:33 (twenty-three years ago)

Really? I'd had this idea that he'd be difficult to get hold of, what with being a "freind to the stars" and all that. It's just a Scottish story so far though, not big time enough for him I don't think.

― Plinky (Plinky), Friday, 8 November 2002 11:38 (twenty-three years ago)

Nick Currie to thread!

― suzy (suzy), Friday, 8 November 2002 11:39 (twenty-three years ago)

"Now I know that they won’t write what I say, they’ll just put their own slant on it and it could make things worse, but is it worth the risk?"

You already seem resigned to the worst happening, so it seems obvious that it's a bad idea (ie, you know that they'll twist your words whichever way they fancy, so I don't see how a positive outcome could possibly come out of it if they do this.) I've never endured tabloid hell, but it seems that the best thing to do would be to ride the storm without feeding the press.

― weasel diesel (K1l14n), Friday, 8 November 2002 12:44 (twenty-three years ago)

It seems to me that with these sensationalistic tabloid stories, talking to the media only ever makes things worse. I can't think of a case where it did anyone a bit of good.

― Nicole (Nicole), Friday, 8 November 2002 13:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Actually I'm much better at keeping stuff out of the tabs but here is what happens.

If you go to the papers, you have to be worried about getting stitched up. They might well pay you LOADSAMONEY but also will try to get 'all sides of the story' to keep it in the news, which means looking through exes, family members, everything to get something to reverse-spin the story with. Remember in your dealings with them whatever they say, no matter how much tea and sympathy, to a tabloid hack you are news and as news are not also posessed of feelings, so will write whatever makes the best story with the info they have.

It's hard: last night I was in a situation I could easily have read about in the tabs, or if possessed of zero ethics, could've squealed on. Instead sat up til 2am with girlfriend of somebody while police made enquiries, because she had nobody else and it would be very evil to leave someone on their own in that situation.

I also had a meeting with a rich woman whose husband is friends with royals who quashed a tabloid story by ringing lady rothemere and getting Ass News to spike it twice. Third time Ass News had established public interest, so it ran.

(Nicole I can, hence Nick to thread request but that's the ONE AND ONLY time)

― suzy (suzy), Friday, 8 November 2002 13:07 (twenty-three years ago)

Yeah, Momus was the first person I thought of as well! Are those news story scans still on his site?

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 8 November 2002 16:01 (twenty-three years ago)

Thanx for the advice. I'm still undecided, all my instincts are saying no at the moment but I just know the next time I catch some asshole taking pictures of me I'm gonna loose it and want to DO SOMETHING. I think that is where this all stems from, all the stuff that has been said about him is so unfair, I wanna set the record straight and I have no way of doing it, I feel so helpless. Everyone has jumped on their moral high horses over it and he’s been tried by media, nobody has actually looked at what caused him to do it or whether he is sorry.

― Plinky (Plinky), Friday, 8 November 2002 16:12 (twenty-three years ago)

from what I've heard, if you ever find yourself with a pack of a million scum journalists on your doorstep, the only way to get rid of them is to sell your story to one of them.

in any other circumstances I wouldn't even consider having truck with them.

― DV (dirtyvicar), Friday, 8 November 2002 16:42 (twenty-three years ago)

If your boyf approves, and there is decent money in it, and if you can get it out of your mind that you have any control over, or even much influence on, how they slant the piece (i.e. you can not much care about the outcome), I'd say do it. Without those conditions in place, I suspect it's likely to be a mistake.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Saturday, 9 November 2002 16:16 (twenty-three years ago)

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