Daily Mail - scum, scum, scum

I'm part of an orchestrated campaign (apparently), because that's what Jan Moir of the disgusting rag the Daily Mail says is behind the record number of complaints to the Press Complaints Commission about her sick article about the death of Stephen Gately, the former Boyzone member.

In the article, which is basically a homophobic rant and a chance for her to have a pop at gay marriage, she darkly hints at all manner of things, and basically accuses the Spanish coroner who pronounced the death to be due to pneumonia of covering up something, choosing instead to blame it on him being gay.

Let's hope that more advertisers pull out their campaigns in the Daily Mail. Marks and Spencers have insisted their ad is pulled off that page where it was showing as a rotating banner. I'm just about to write to them congratulating them on that decision and suggesting they take it further.

Then I'm going to take it further, by writing to every advertiser that I see on the Daily Mail's site, suggesting they might want to disassociate themselves from this paper.

Not that this article is unique, the Daily Mail have been willing to publish just about any old trash if they think that's what their readers want. In this they're no different from the obviously trashy papers like The Sun. You won't get far not giving the readers what they want - "Yes CJ" (sorry, Reggie Perrin reference - oh look it up!).

I've always suspected that a lot of Sun readers don't actually expect to get news in that particular organ though. They know it's a 'bit of fun' and don't expect much enlightenment, and actually it's surprising rational about science and health stories. At least compared to the Mail, which has a long inglorious history of reporting cranks and panicking its readers. This was never more so than the recent case of the teenage girl who coincidentally died on the day she had a 'cervical cancer' vaccination.

The Daily Mail was against this vaccine from the start - claiming it would encourage promiscuity. Except for in its Irish edition, strangely enough, where it was just as rabidly FOR the vaccine, presumably because the government there was against it.

This time, they've really outdone themselves though, managing to piss off not only Boyzone fans, but gays, the Irish, Twitterers and well, me.

I'm going to compile a list of DM advertisers tonight and see if I can't persuade some other people to complain to them too. It's not a very well orchestrated campaign, but I imagine 1000s of people all over the country are doing some small thing to get back at the Mail for this filth. It all adds up.