Paper Monitor
11:42 UK time, Friday, 13 March 2009
A service highlighting the riches of the daily press.
The cheaper the pricetag, the bigger the lettering. This marketing adage holds true for the papers and then some.
The Daily Star bedecks its masthead with a vast, yellow 20p the likes of which has not been seen since one's local Woolworths gasped its last. It's even bigger than the font size used for the name of the paper.
And, since the last time one noticed - admittedly, a while ago - its added the cheeky tagline "This paper costs just 20p - 10p cheaper than the Sun... why pay more for less?"
Turning to the Sun, it is indeed 30p. Still visible, thanks to spot-colour of blue numerals on a yellow background, but definitely more discreet than the Star's effort.
The Daily Mirror is sober in comparison, with a simple, black 45p nestled beneath its masthead.
And so it goes, the font size gradually getting smaller and thinner the more each paper costs. So much so the Independent's £1 pricetag is so subtle as to almost disappear.
Meanwhile, the Guardian - £0.90, in white on blue - reprints the photo of the Palin family lined up on stage at the Republican convention last year (detail reprinted right) with the following headline: "Remember this heartwarming scene in Minnesota? Guess what happened next..."
Gosh, what? The whole story is told in the subheads.
"Palin daughter breaks up with her child's father. Teenager 'doesn't want baby around white trash'."
Sniff, young love turned sour. So was it Bristol Palin or her estwhile fiance Levi Johnston who made this jab at the other, for "teenager" applies to both.
Reading on, it appears to be Bristol who regards the Johnston family as white trash, according to Levi's sister. In retaliation, the young mum issues a statement accusing the father of her child of trying to "cash in on the Palin name". Perhaps forgetting that she was already five months pregnant when the Palin name suddenly burst on to the global scene.
Continuing the theme, the Guardian - never one to hide its writers under a bushel - loudly proclaims on its front page that one of its columnists is expecting her second child. "Oops, I did it again! The day Zoe Williams discovered that she was 20 weeks pregnant."
That's about as pregnant as Bristol was during the Republican convention (see photo above). Inside, Williams - congratuations, by the way - reveals that she only twigged when she saw herself sideways in the mirror at the gym.
You can never be too careful, Paper Monitor finds. Seeing oneself during a workout is never a good idea.
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