Recently in acts of the hacks Category

Forgive me for being confused. Last week, of course, the Mail was raking Caroline Flint over the coals for her profligate wearing of more than one outfit - clear evidence that she was a brazen hussy in addition to being possibly a bit crap at housing policy.

But today, they've changed their tack: Labour ladies, it seems, are unacceptably dowdy, particularly in contrast with the delicate blooms of the Conservative Party.

When Morrissey sang "I bear more grudges than lonely high court judges" on his 1994 hit "The More You Ignore Me The Closer I Get" he certainly wasn't joking. Since the New Music Express alleged that his views on immigration could be construed as a little bit racist the fun hasn't stopped. First came the threats of legal action, then there was the Love Music, Hate Racism business, now if Moz has his way, NME editor Connor MacNicholas is going to find it hard to find a place to sleep in Los Angeles.  

This article about Amy Winehouse clinching a gig to play for Roman Abramovich in Russia is fascinating and brilliant. And not because Amy is obviously the most interesting person in the world right now, nor because Abramovich apparently thinks she'll actually show up, and not even because it insinuates that she and Scabby Pete are having an affair (hope they're precautioning! for all our sakes) but because it is apparent that it took three entire journalists to write a 250-word article with a singular, straight-from-the-press-release quote.

On a not unrelated note, the London Paper, substrate for that article, seems to have lost Rupes more than 17 mil in 10 months. Sweet as.

[Photo: Creative Commons]

I would have thought that after Caroline Flint's document-flashing faux-pas this week that Daily Mail journalists everywhere would have been hugging their knees and rocking with pleasure at yet another Government snafu. The entire edifice is crumbling. The pieces should have written themselves.

But, yet again, I underestimated their zeal. Not to mention their keen awareness of their heavily-female readership. Thus, the Mail has surpassed expectations, hitting out at Flint where they know it really hurts a woman: her wardrobe. 

You can always count on the Sundays to deliver some really incisive stories, but several outdid themselves yesterday:

- Cupcakes! We love them! The phenomenon of these diminutive treats was attacked with true journalistic verve, leaving no stone unturned, with the team of journos consulting Professor Richard Shepherd of the University of Surrey, who sheds light on the burning question of why people like cupcakes: "There is also a strong underlying psychological association between these small cakes and childhood." Freudian (The Mail on Sunday).

- Kate Moss wears dresses, has very little to say, mysteriously unbylined journalist concludes, "As Moss says, when asked if she's varied the way she dressed as she's got older: 'Ha! No!' She pauses. Then she laughs. 'I still think I'm 17.' So do we!" And journalist then presumably stabs self in eye with pencil (The Observer).

- Enough revelations in one article to make your head spin: hairdresser Nicky Clarke is heterosexual, employs ladies of the night, is very thrifty (NOTW).

Some hard feelings in the blogosphere after a talented blogger, Natalie Lue, got content-mugged by Laura Topham (left) of the Daily Mail.  During the interview, Natalie says she explicitly told Laura she didn't want to be included if it was going to be some kind of cheapo sensationalist revenge piece. Clear? Clear.  The result: Dont get mad, get E-Venge!

So OK, maybe it was just those pesky subs unspringing Laura's sprightly prose with some lame metaphors and eyebleed title. She was, after all, Student Journalist of the Year 2005 - surely she wouldn't clobber a nice lady who helped her out with her article by casting her as a foaming manhater? The article opens: 'Natalie Lue would be the first to agree that hell hath no fury like a woman scorned...'

Well, alright. We've been here before, it seems like. And to complete the sense of deja-vu, Natalie said that reading the Mail that day, she felt like she was going to throw up [image from thisismoney and the Mail].