Locked up myself and forced to eat journalism.
Complainant Name:
Resolved - Mr Iain Harris v Love It
Clauses Noted: 1
Publication: Love It
Complaint:
Mr Iain Harris complained that the magazine had used an inaccurate front page headline for an article in which his wife described her struggles with anorexia. It stated: “Locked up by my hubby and forced to eat”. In fact, his wife was sectioned under the Mental Health Act via a process that was controlled by a consultant, a GP and other medical staff.
Resolution:
The complaint was resolved privately by the parties, including through the magazine sending a letter of apology to the complainant, accepting that he had not behaved in any way improperly as to his wife’s sectioning and that the process was under the control of properly qualified medical staff.
But apart from that the story was true, right? Doubtless his wife was paid for her story; he by the looks of things has ended up with a big fat zero.
Love It! is owned by News International, and is handily summarised by its sadly vandalised Wikipedia page, which ought to be saved for posterity:
Love it! is a weekly magazine produced in the UK. It was launched on February 7, 2006 by News Magazines Ltd, News International's magazine division.
Entering into the so-called real life category, it is aimed at women aged 18-35 who have about two brain cells, combining inspirational real-life stories, sick stories about child abuse and rape with those on fashion, beauty and sex, including an advice column from a so called 'sexpert'.
The magazine has been heavily promoted by The Sun, News International's daily tabloid newspaper (Now there's a surprise!). Each week an article is lifted from the forthcoming magazine and published in The Sun to coincide with its release.
The Sun itself has also been heavily featured by the PCC of late:
Homophobia it seems is more acceptable above the border, or at least the Sun's hacks think so.
Ah yes, now I remember why the Sun calls itself the forces' paper and why the likes of ARRSE love it so.
Complainant Name:
Resolved - Mathew Shaw v The Sun
You have to hand it to the Sun: more or less admitting that your article was pilfered from the Torygraph is a novel defense. It must be true, it was in the Telegraph, a serious newspaper! Still, who knew that Robert Mugabe lived in the same house as a fictional dog?
Labels: churnalism, how journalism works, journalism, Love It, Press Complaints Commission, Scum-watch, Sun-watch
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