May 8, 2008
Every year, national tabloid journalists gather together for a largely secret ceremony (secret in the sense that it goes completely unreported in the regular media as one doesn't tend to piss on one's own chips).
It is now known as The Shaftas but was originally and fondly known as the Princess Margaret Awards.
That original title dates back to a story written in the 1980s in the Daily Star by a chap called Geoff Baker, now a PR man (after leaving the world of reportage, he was Paul McCartney's "spokesman" for many years).
Geoff won the inaugural award for greatest piece of bullshit in a newspaper that year for claiming that Princess Margaret was to appear in the old Midlands soap opera, Crossroads.
Of course, that was in the days of a reckless, fantasising, out of control, drink sodden media who would be barely recognised in the shiny new world of 24/7 today, wouldn't it?
Er.
Well.
Make your own minds up.
Here's a taste of what happened at this year's ceremony earlier this week:
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/mediamonkey/2008/05/monkey_goes_to_the_shaftas.html
08/05/08 @ 10:41