Down the paper chain

It started on Wednesday as the departure of Mick Aston from Time Team, as the Daily Mail ran with British Archaeology’s news. Yesterday the focus shifted to Mary-Ann Ochota, with misleading innuendos about the timing and nature of her departure from the same series. Today it’s moved down the paper chain, and has become a fantasy story that has no space for the subtleties of fudge. It’s what gives the press a bad name whenever anyone you know is involved in a story. It’s not the sort of thing that should concern the Leveson inquiry (that’s about criminal activity that can  be stopped with proper policing). But it is something that an understanding of how the press works can help us all protect ourselves from – so we learn what to expect, and not to take everything we read at face value.

The Express goes with an irrelevant photo:

The Mirror uses one from Mary-Ann herseslf:

And the BJP highlights a row about how some of the papers are nicking each others’ photos:

The Western Daily Press maintain a reasonably respectable stance:

But reminds us that what we tweet or put on Facebook becomes public property:

I have to end this by noting that British Archaeology is now in the shops!