Rarely can the press appetite for generating cheap copy from
the broadcasters, pretending not to go for sales and clicks by pushing the
Phwoarr! Factor, and obsession over What Other People In The Media Are Getting
Paid have come together with the force of the
arrival at ITV’s breakfast offering of former BBC presenter – and Strictly performer – Susanna Reid.
Susanna Reid
The travails of ITV in this area are well-known: a previous
raid on the BBC to secure the services of Adrian Chiles and Christine Bleakley
went down like the proverbial lead balloon, and Daybreak has not done well since, meaning the Beeb, despite all the
media mud slung in its general direction after the move to Salford Quays, has
taken a significant lead in the ratings.
So what is the press’ problem here? Strangely, nobody has
taken issue with the name of the soon-to-be-revamped show, Good Morning Britain, which was the name of the initially ill-fated
TV-am offering trounced by the BBC before being rescued by Roland Rat. No, the
real problem is that Ms Reid is getting paid Serious Money, an area where free
market economics becomes A Very Bad Thing Indeed.
Cue faux
outrage and good old-fashioned envy from the Mail: “Can breakfast TV
viewers really relate to '£1million' signing Susanna Reid?” it sneers,
telling readers “Poised, polished and
posing in an eye-catching dress, Susanna Reid looks every inch the '£1million'
breakfast television presenter” and referring to her as “Miss Reid” despite the fact that she is
a 43 year old mother of three.
Then, playing both sides of the field with ease, the Mail grumps “according to her predecessors, no one will be impressed with the extra
added gloss. In fact they think Miss Reid’s alleged huge salary will prompt
viewers to switch off altogether” before giving the full lowdown on her
dress and how aspiring fortysomethings can buy one like it. Over at the Telegraph, meanwhile, there
is faux concern.
“Susanna Reid has
dismissed talk of the ‘curse of Strictly’ and said she is confident that her
on-screen chemistry with her new co-stars on ITV will win over audiences”
it tells. Yeah, it’s such a curse that Strictly
made her hugely bankable. Indeed, the Tel
describes her as “one of television’s
hottest properties”, and to illustrate what this means, readers get a
suitably Phwoarr-related photo.
And Phwoarr was the name of the game at the Express, where
readers were informed that “SUSANNA
Reid has undergone a serious makeover ahead of her new role on Good Morning
Britain, and it's certainly bound to set some hearts racing”. Meaning the
press, who can’t race fast enough to generate cheap copy on the back of someone
else spending money.
Woman secures well-paid job in competitive market. Nah, nobody’ll read about that.
Andy Coulson said in the hacking trial that the NOTW astrologer earned £200,000 per year, presumably for about 52 forecsts. There hasn't been much complaint in the papers about thst. The amount of work a breakfast presenter puts in looks like very good value by comparison.
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