The Mirror has continued its sudden onslaught on celebrity PROs,
conceding that it is 'at war' with the PR industry over copy
approval.
Citing soap stars as the worst culprits in the trend to see interviews
doctored, Mirror associate editor Peter Willis said: 'It's insulting to
journalists at the top of their profession - there's no way we'd tell
them how to act and do their jobs.'
He added: 'People are requesting the pettiest changes because they want
to be seen in the best possible light.'
The final straw for the paper followed exceptional changes requested by
TV couple Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan, which resulted in the paper
publishing edited and original versions of the interview
side-by-side.
Hot on the heels of the copy approval spat, The Mirror launched a
furious attack on LD Publicity chief executive Bernard Doherty.
Doherty was the subject of a full-page rant from the tabloid's showbiz
hacks The 3am Girls after Doherty okayed a story linking his client Mick
Jagger to actress Amanda de Cadenet.
Upon publication, the story was met with a firm denial and a demand for
an apology, prompting The Mirror to lash out at Doherty, publishing both
chats the paper had with him.
Doherty was not available for comment as PRWeek went to press, but
Willis described the incident as 'outrageous'.
'PROs have got to be consistent - we rely on them to tell us if we're
going in the right direction,' he said.
Asked if the events of last week had soured the paper's relationship
with PROs, Willis said: 'We want to trust them (PROs) but we can't
always do that.
'We'll trust individuals until we learn otherwise,' he added.
