Two faces of the Daily Mail

Irish editions of UK tabloids can be quite different. In a quite substantial example of this, Ben Goldacre, writer of the Guardian's Bad Science articles, has caught the Daily Mail out on the issue of the cervical cancer vaccine.

In the London edition it's scare headlines, as Goldacre writes:

First we have some inevitable scare headlines from the Daily Mail about the cervical cancer vaccine in the London edition. "Revealed: The serious health concerns about the cervical cancer jab" ... "Alert over jab for girls as two die following cervical cancer vaccination" ... "Twelve-year-old girl paralysed 'after being given cervical cancer jab' " ... "How safe is the cervical cancer jab? Five teenagers reveal their alarming stories". That's enough.

And it the Irish edition it's used to bash the government:

But get this. In Ireland, where the government refused to fund the vaccine, the Daily Mail is campaigning - vigorously - for the jab. Apparently it's lifesaving: "Join the Irish Daily Mail's cervical cancer vaccination campaign today" [etc]

[via boards.ie]

Comments

[Tom]

Bit of a case of more than my jobs worth.

Well straightaway we can see economies of scale. Just use one reporter to tell the same story so that the left hand knows what the right hand is doing and they can all sing happily from the same hymn sheet.