Crabcakes wrote: ↑Thu Oct 24, 2024 10:47 am
It’s no wonder he’s pushing so hard for some sort of US job, given he’s incinerated so many bridges over here - as soon as anyone hires him, they find out he does absolutely fuck-all and phones it in while demanding top dollar.
Even if Dacre loves him, I can’t see his Mail contract getting renewed given they’re paying through the nose for stuff worse than Littlejohn belches out.
If "insiders" are to be believed, there's a lot of ill will out there from the rank and file - not just in the newsroom but in the finance offices too. He didn't shift the dial on election polling, his exclusives have been largely crap, the bulk of his articles a rehash of the "quirky fact - inalienable rights of the honest yeoman - glorious English history - spoilsport Starmer - FREEDOM!" template, and his name or photo doesn't increase sales* (has that even been a thing in recent years?).
As the old saying goes, if they sack you after a few weeks, they screwed up. If after a few months or years, you screwed up. He can't write another autobiography for a while, and tales of cosying up to iffy foreigners for free shit will not go down well with the readership. I'd not be surprised if they graciously part company in the near future.
*While I'm aware that in the 80s and 90s, a picture of Princess Diana was supposed to add a few tens of thousands onto a daily sales total, is there anyone or anything capable of doing so in the digital/Covid age? Conversely, if Johnson is away for a week, does the Saturday Mail have a sales slump? Personally I find it hard to believe that anyone buys a paper for one particular columnist or feature, and brand loyalty covers so much more than big names - there's political stance, price, reputation, force of habit and much more. Very hard to unpick.