Tabloid Newspaper scum.

Binomate · 07-03-2006 08:21PM #1

Why do they print such crap? This thread isn't just about this one particular story. It's about tabloid newspapers in general and their constant bullshit. I think for those of you who don't know already and can't tell from my sig, avatar and what my avatar is linked to, I am quite a fan of Michael Jackson which is why I'm using this story as an example. The following is an example of some of the complete and utter lies and crap printed by todays tabloids and is an example only. Again this thread is not specificly about this one story but tabloids in general.

His brother admits Jackson's 'thing for young children'

BY MICHELLE CARUSO
DAILY NEWS WEST COAST BUREAU CHIEF

LOS ANGELES - Jermaine Jackson feared his kid brother Michael might be guilty of child molestation, but backed him at trial because he thought the pop star would commit suicide in prison, according to a bombshell book proposal obtained by the Daily News.

In a tell-all outline shopped to publishers just weeks after Michael's arrest in November 2003, Jermaine described the Pop King as a sometimes out-of-control drug and booze abuser with a calculating mean streak and "a thing for young children."

The eight-page proposal for "Legacy: Surviving the Best and the Worst," lists Michael Jackson's preferred substances as Vicodin, Demerol, codeine, Percocet, cocaine, Jack Daniels and wine.

"Does he really know what he does with these kids?" Jermaine wondered.

"I don't want to tell you my brother's innocent. I am not certain that he is," Jermaine said in the tome-teaser drafted by author Stacy Brown, who co-authored "Michael Jackson: The Man Behind the Mask" with the singer's former publicist, Bob Jones.

But Jermaine's still-unpublished tale is the ultimate insider look at the troubled star.

He admits that the family has protected Jackson's image and says that Jackson also cheats, lies and even changed the color of his skin.

Even the pop star's behavior with his own nephews has left his family "shaken," according to Jermaine. He recounts the family coming together after the death of brother Tito's ex-wife in the mid 1990s and finding Michael sitting on a bed with Tito's young sons and holding them in a disturbing manner.

Jermaine also dished about the singer's bizarre behavior shortly before he surrendered to authorities to face charges in November 2003.

Holed up in a Las Vegas hotel room, Michael calmly watched a "Pinocchio" DVD with his three children in his lap, but he later flew into a rage, trashing the room and breaking every glass, lamp and dish in it.

The protective big brother vowed to help Michael beat the rap because "Michael couldn't survive one day in prison ... He'd commit suicide."

Other bombshell teasers in Jermaine's outline include:

# That during the Jackson 5 days, Michael's brothers feared he was gay. The brothers met lots of women while touring and all eventually fell in love. "But Michael, well, he wasn't interested. We used to quietly say that we couldn't have a gay brother."

# Michael hates Jews because he thinks Hollywood moguls Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen stole the idea for Dreamworks studio, including the boy-on-the moon logo, from him.

"But the Jews are the powerful ones and they have done a lot to put my brother in his place ... just another n
."

# That a devious and calculating Michael squashed his brothers' solo musical careers.

But the family stood behind Michael despite pain, doubts and misgivings, unwilling to give up on "our little brother."

Source: http://www.nydailynews.com/03-05-2006/news/story/396871p-336402c.html

Within 24 hours of this being published a statement was issued by Jermaine Jackson issuing this completely false. He stated that the New York Daily News never even tried to contact him to verify whether or not this information was true or not. Why the hell print it if you don't know if it's true or not? It's completely and utterly rediculous.

What percentage of the stories printed in Tabloids are actually true and who came up with the idea of selling lies to people? I reckon that Tabloid newspapers should have giant disclaimers on them, just like packets of cigarettes have. Something in bold, saying "WARNING, YOU MAY NOT BE BUYING TRUTHFULL INFORMATION" or "UNRELYABLE SOURCE OF INFORMATION" would be ideal.

tbh · 07-03-2006 08:27PM

binomate, you should check out the "street of shame" feature in the Private Eye, if you havn't already. It'll make you explode. blatent two-faced crap being published all the time, and still sell more than all the broadsheets.

Sparky · 07-03-2006 08:28PM

Tabloids dont care about proof of whether a story is true or not.

Its all about haw many papers it can sell and how much money they can make.

Read a broadsheet paper, atleast there is some mature people writing the storys

Fajitas! · 07-03-2006 08:29PM

I despise tabloids.

I remember an article in The Sun last year, describing how a scan on a baby looked like what could be an image of what Jesus Christ could have been...

Unreal like!

godtabh · 07-03-2006 08:29PM

It’s all about sensationalism. It sells papers.

Because of crap libel laws the papers know they can publish nearly anything with out fear of being sued.

I used to read the Indo allot but even that’s getting to be a tabloid piece of crap
.

Rb · 07-03-2006 08:32PM

Tabloids(and any of the scum that work for them) are pathetic. They'll print anything to make it sell, even if the whole thing is false. Best thing to do is just stay clear of them and laugh at the people who take them seriously.
Their sales amaze me though, why so many people buy this crap I'll never know.

super_furry · 07-03-2006 08:33PM

They print it because people buy it. Simple really.

JC 2K3 · 07-03-2006 08:34PM

The braodsheets in this country aren't much better...

luckat · 07-03-2006 08:35PM

Shouldn't this be moved to News/Media?

lodgepole · 07-03-2006 08:38PM

JC 2K3 wrote:

The braodsheets in this country aren't much better...

Some of them are.

Thankfully our tabloids aren't as horrific as those in North America, but they're poor enough. Bottom line... Don't buy them.

RoundyMooney · 07-03-2006 08:50PM

@ Binomate: I can understand what you're hitting at here, and I only gave that article a quick speed-read, but it was abundantly clear to me that Jermaine Jackson was never directly quoted in that piece, despite the constant references to the book and its "authors". Anyone with half a brain would draw the same conclusion from reading between the lines as it were. A very poorly written piece from the point of view of a possible libel action, which I hope J.J. pursues without delay, despite my opinions on the Jackson family, which are irrelevant to this topic.

There are however fishwives and rednecks the world over who will read said article with finger moving from word to word and come away with a reinforced opinion that M.J. is a homosexual/child abuser/whatever " 'cos his brother right there done said so".

That's the real problem. There are many stupid people out there, and the ones who can read after a fashion buy tabloid newspapers, and believe everything they are told.

kaizersoze · 07-03-2006 08:50PM

Tabloids and celebrities are peas in the same pod. Celebs are quite happy to use them for self-promotion when they have a new album/book/film comming out or at a quiet time in their career just to get their name in the paper. Then they bitch and whine when a story is printed that they don't like, be it truth or lies.

Wertz · 07-03-2006 09:35PM

Binomate no mate of ours!
EXCLUSIVE!
Internet forum warrior, Binomate launched into an angry attack on the tabloid press in his latest effort "Tabloid Newspaper scum.", yesterday evening on a popular Irish messageboard.
The self admitted MJ fan bashed reporters for alleged libel on their piece about the aging rocker.
Shocked
Editors and staff at several popular Irish newspapers were said to be "shocked and horrified" at the cruel attack and have promised no let up in their plight to bring their readers the exclusive stories they demand. Some added that they were seeking legal advice on the matter.
Nerds
One leading reporter who wished to remain anonymous said "We pay no attention to people like this, who are critical of our articles. Let's face it, they're all nerds, sitting on their fancy internet being unkind to our paper and it's readers. Remember, we love our readers."
Younger
This newspaper thinks that Binomate may in fact have a liking for the younger members of society himself, and are currently following up on a story from a former ex-lover. Watch this space.

Setun · 07-03-2006 09:42PM

Tabloids go hand in hand with a sandwich from Centra and a bottle of coke I think for many of our esteemed brickies.

Cosine · 07-03-2006 09:42PM

I knew it!!!!

lol nice one Wertz

I dont read tabloids. I usualy read the Irish times if anything

Setun · 07-03-2006 09:44PM

LMAO wertz

:D:D

Rb · 07-03-2006 10:03PM

Lol Wertz , thats brilliant

Sparky · 07-03-2006 10:04PM

ha ha Wertz, that kinda gives me an idea.

Dave! · 07-03-2006 10:17PM

yeah I know, they're f*cking digusting, the crap they print, and they don't even need proof! Anyone working for tabloid newspapers that print this kind of sh!t should be shot. I don't know how someone could lower themselves to working for one! My conscience wouldn't permit it, and my patience would wear very thin very quickly.

DoctorEdgeWild · 07-03-2006 10:31PM

Best thing about tabloids are the wicked whispers section;:rolleyes:

What red haired boy band member was seen shopping in a fetish shop?

Or the sightings section;

Sol Campbell walking in the park...Rachel Stevens buying a coffee.

The things they print as news are just ridiculous. For me, the net is the only place to find out the news, that or the TV but it isn't always as convienient or up to date.

Sad thing is, tabloids will probably just get more and more sensationalist as the internet squeezes their readership.

Atrocity · 07-03-2006 10:53PM

It's all crap but then again, everything is crap nowadays.

constitutionus · 07-03-2006 11:01PM

yeah, wouldnt even trust the broadsheets at this stage. thats whats happens when about five blokes own all the media:mad:

i usually try to get as much info as possible from as many media as i can, profits the bottom line now, and not embarassing the boss/owner:rolleyes:

i mean look at all the scandals in this country, its not exactly the establisment uncovering all this but small independant magazines like phoenix and UTV for gods sake, a foreign tv station.

Terry · 08-03-2006 12:20AM

aww, come on. the sun has tits and a great tv guide (if you have sky digital and want to see what's on tv while you're on the jacks).
like someone already said, it's scandal and sensationalism and that's what sells.

Fighting Irish · 08-03-2006 12:35AM

Binomate wrote:

Why do they print such crap? This thread isn't just about this one particular story. It's about tabloid newspapers in general and their constant bullshit. I think for those of you who don't know already and can't tell from my sig, avatar and what my avatar is linked to, I am quite a fan of Michael Jackson which is why I'm using this story as an example. The following is an example of some of the complete and utter lies and crap printed by todays tabloids and is an example only. Again this thread is not specificly about this one story but tabloids in general.

Source: http://www.nydailynews.com/03-05-2006/news/story/396871p-336402c.html

Within 24 hours of this being published a statement was issued by Jermaine Jackson issuing this completely false. He stated that the New York Daily News never even tried to contact him to verify whether or not this information was true or not. Why the hell print it if you don't know if it's true or not? It's completely and utterly rediculous.

What percentage of the stories printed in Tabloids are actually true and who came up with the idea of selling lies to people? I reckon that Tabloid newspapers should have giant disclaimers on them, just like packets of cigarettes have. Something in bold, saying "WARNING, YOU MAY NOT BE BUYING TRUTHFULL INFORMATION" or "UNRELYABLE SOURCE OF INFORMATION" would be ideal.

:rolleyes: Don't read the bloody things if you don't like them, would you do something you didn't like over and over again? no

Terry · 08-03-2006 12:50AM

[obvious trolling]
michael jackson is a kiddie fiddler and his music sucks [/obvious trolling]

don't take these things to heart.
i'm a U2 fan and have been for 23 years. my friends used to rip the piss out of me when i was a teenager and it annoyed me a bit. these days people rant about bono being a wanker and what not. i couldn't care less. as long as they keep making music that i enjoy, i'll be happy to listen to them. (all that you can't leave behind was sub-par).

*kiddie fiddler comment has no basis in fact and is merely my opinion.

jimmycrackcorm · 08-03-2006 12:50AM

If only a tabloid could be taken to court and fined a half a years sales or such like, they wouldn't print such crap. The papers here whinge about how they are restricted so much by teh strict libel laws here, but that's the only thing that keeps them from getting as low as the English trash.

Binomate · 08-03-2006 01:01AM

Fighting Irish wrote:

Don't read the bloody things if you don't like them, would you do something you didn't like over and over again? no

I gladly ignore these types of things every single day, however it's more the fact that people buy this stuff every day and the fact that they have no problem making money off making other people's lives a complete misery that disturbs me. Fair enough if they're going to be telling the truth about their subjects and doing a fair job of reporting what ever is being reported, but they're not. They're making things up. I just find the whole thing (as do most as seen in this thread) completely disturbing and completely rediculous.

Think about it this way. If a college lecturer were to start lying to you about what he was teaching he would be fired. Tabloid newspapers on the other hand emply people to lie. I know that obviously the type of responsibility is different for a newspaper than it is for a teacher, however they are still both responsible for the accuracy of the information they preach.

tbh · 08-03-2006 08:11AM

jimmycrackcorm wrote:

If only a tabloid could be taken to court and fined a half a years sales or such like, they wouldn't print such crap. The papers here whinge about how they are restricted so much by teh strict libel laws here, but that's the only thing that keeps them from getting as low as the English trash.

agreed. If they are caught lying, they should be banned from publishing for a certain amount of time. Do you think they'd take the law seriously after that?

Atrocity · 08-03-2006 06:29PM

The broadsheets are just full of boring Irish political crap

"News Just In, Mary Harney Went For A sh*t"

lodgepole · 08-03-2006 06:34PM

Atrocity wrote:

The broadsheets are just full of boring Irish political crap

"News Just In, Mary Harney Went For A sh*t"

Have a read of The Irish Times tomorrow, just flick through cover to cover and you'll see how false that statement is.

ateam · 08-03-2006 06:47PM

If the tabloids are such trash..why are the broadsheets losing sales and resorting to tabloid style papers in order to increase sales. People don't have time to read full articles in The Irish Times for instance...people just want a quick news digest which tabloids provide.

lodgepole · 08-03-2006 07:01PM

ateam wrote:

If the tabloids are such trash..why are the broadsheets losing sales and resorting to tabloid style papers in order to increase sales. People don't have time to read full articles in The Irish Times for instance...people just want a quick news digest which tabloids provide.

People have lost interest in current events. Younger people especially. I know more people who buy tabloids than broadsheets (i'm 25) but I don't know any who buy them for the political stories. They go straight to the back and throw it away when there's no more sports to read about.

Sales don't mean quality, which is unfortunate.

Atrocity · 08-03-2006 07:09PM

I do read the Irish Times from time to time, talk about biased political coverage and pseudo-intelligence. It's only worth buying for The Ticket. At least when you buy the Sun you're expecting crap

Dooom · 08-03-2006 07:35PM

Isn't it part of human nature to eg. buy a paper you despise, just to read it's crap and fell more hatred towards it?

It's either part of human nature, or some sort of aggression seeking complex. Everyone does it though, I never really noticed it until this week for some reason. Even I do it.

Wertz · 08-03-2006 08:46PM

Spike wrote:

Isn't it part of human nature to eg. buy a paper you despise, just to read it's crap and fell more hatred towards it?

It's either part of human nature, or some sort of aggression seeking complex. Everyone does it though, I never really noticed it until this week for some reason. Even I do it.

I'll grab a colleagues' Sun at lunchtime for a cursory glance, and just to see what sh*t they're talking that particular day. I don't buy any newspaper as a rule but when I do it's a UK broadsheet...the tabloids (Irish OR english) are nothing better than comics. Anything and everything they report has to have an angle....they always have to add an opinion (for those incapable of having their own), it should almost always have a celebrity attachment or a "won't someone think of the children/furry animals" arms in the air reactionary piece to make it into the first 10 pages. The agony aunt stuff is written in-office, most of the quirky news bites are lifted off the Net.
I don't hate them; they serve a purpose to the people who buy them and take in what they have to say...what I hate is people who take what they print as gospel and attach importance to celebrity/sports star gossip; there's a whole world of real news out there, that should have a lot more bearing on your lives than the witless twitterings of the overpaid.

constitutionus · 08-03-2006 09:02PM

actually that raises a point . is there any news paper out there now that doesnt have an opinion piece in it some where

personally i think youve a better chance of finding a quality investigative journalist:)

Wertz · 08-03-2006 09:28PM

constitutionus wrote:

actually that raises a point . is there any news paper out there now that doesnt have an opinion piece in it some where

personally i think youve a better chance of finding a quality investigative journalist:)

Editorial pages are one thing....but tuppence ha'penny worth of implied opinion tacked on to the end of a paragraph by the offending hack is downright unnecessary. Newspapers are supposed to be somewhat unbiased in their reporting...journalists are entitled to an opinion, but it shouldn't be intertwined with the facts or "facts" they're reporting on...I'm not saying every piece in the tabloids is written like this but many are...and I'm not talking about their editorial apge (or what passes as one)...

RoundyMooney · 08-03-2006 11:08PM

Spike wrote:

Isn't it part of human nature to eg. buy a paper you despise, just to read it's crap and fell more hatred towards it?

It's either part of human nature, or some sort of aggression seeking complex. Everyone does it though, I never really noticed it until this week for some reason. Even I do it.

I buy the Independent. Enough said.

pbsuxok1znja4r · 08-03-2006 11:19PM

The funny thing about Taboids is that half of their articles are basically bitching about how some presenter or minor celebrity snubbed their journalist/paper by not working with them. The petty bitterness is rife.

Would I be right in assuming that more females than males buy these celebrity-obsessed rags? (With the possible exception of the Sun 'cause of pg.3)

08-03-2006 11:24PM

I picked up the Indo today, and in one article there were 2 or 3 typos/misspellings. That's just not on. =/

Tabloid Newspaper scum.

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