I greeted the news that Trinity-Mirror is to reduce its editorial staffing at The People as any journalist might do, with a measure of sadness. After all, journalists don't like to hear that journalists are being made redundant. But the feeling soon passed. I am sorry for the 14 who will be sacrificed, but I am also sorry for those 86 who remain. Surely they cannot enjoy working for The People in 2006. It is one of the nation's worst papers, without any merit whatsoever, and I cannot imaagine - beyond financial necessity - why anyone would want to work for it.
How many people reading this have read The People lately? It is not a newspaper in the sense that we know it. It certainly isn't the crusading, investigative paper that was required reading by millions of people in the post-war years under editors such as Sam Campbell, Bob Edwards, Geoff Pinnington, Ernie Burrington and Richard Stott. It is now a pathetic excuse for a paper, making not a ripple on the waters of British society. It is a disgrace, an unpolished, unprofessional and sordid imitation of the News of the World, and that's saying something! The People has no redeeming features, no humour, no clout, no point. And its demise, which I hope is sooner rather than later, wouldn't matter to anyone except the poor bloody people who earn a crust from producing it.
For once, I think Sly Bailey, the ceo of Trinity-Mirror, has failed to cut savagely enough. Closing the Irish office! Can she be serious? Close the London office. Close every office. Close it down. Put everyone out of their misery. Let the decreasing number of readers who take it choose between the Sunday Mirror, which still tries hard, and the NoW, which at least does what it says on the tin. Pick up the axe again, Sly, and slash away.
That having been said, I couldn't help but note the nonsensical, suit-speak issued by Trinity Mirror to justify the staff cuts. A spokesman is quoted as saying: "In the face of intense competition, The People has successfully maintained its position as one of Trinity Mirror's key titles." (A key title? With the largest sales slide of any title in its stable, not to mention the rest of Britain?) Anyway, he went on: "In order to secure The People's long-term position and competitiveness, we need to make sure the resources we direct into the newspaper are used to maximum effect."
Maximum effect to do what? To publish a splash, as it did on Sunday, about comic Jimmy Tarbuck being "rushed to hospital" in a heart scare? Since denied. To publish a piece about Kerry of X Factor hiding a secret heartache? Who cares? To publish a column by Eamonn Holmes? Sunday's began with the immortal line: "This week I am talking junk!" Need I say more?
Well, I do. Just one more observation. There will be those who will doubtless think The People, despite its worthlessness, is not as bad as the Daily Star on Sunday or the Sunday Sport. The difference, however, is that no-one could ever imagine that those two titles deserve to be called newspapers while The People, having a proud history, still masquerades as one. So I reiterate: The People is Britain's worst national newspaper.
