Paper Monitor
10:27 UK time, Thursday, 12 April 2007
A service highlighting the riches of the daily press.
When the papers put the boot in often you feel a bit sorry for the target - more on actress Antonia Okonma later. But sometimes it makes you jump with joy. A case in point? HSBC. The bank's decided its branch at Canford Cliffs, Dorset, can only be used by customers who have savings of at least £50,000, a £200,000 mortgage or a £100,000 mortgage plus a £75,000 salary. Everyone else can use the cashpoint outside or pay £19.95 a month to become a member. Bargain.
The bank - which reportedly made a record £11bn profit last year - is feeling the full wrath of the press this morning. BANK BANS THE POOR, screams the Mirror, ONLY THE RICH ARE WELCOME, trumpets the Daily Mail, THE BANK THAT LIKES TO SAY...PUSH OFF, says the Guardian - and it goes on. Oh how it must be regretting the decision to use the advertising slogan: the world's local bank. Yeah, if you're loaded.
But Paper Monitor feels a bit of compassion for former Bad Girls actress Antonia Okonma. Several papers are running a story about her borrowing a £750,000 apartment in Knightsbridge and making out it was her own on the 91Èȱ¬ show Through The Keyhole. She actually lives in a two-bed former council flat in west London, with her mother, brother and a friend.
According to the Mirror it was a "desperate bid to regain fame". It says she's been working in a call centre to earn cash after being axed from Bad Girls last year. The invitation to be on the daytime show was "a chance to get my face on TV again". But it leaves you wondering just who is the most "desperate" in this little scenario, Ms Okonma - struggling actress, why wouldn't she say yes? - or Through The Keyhole - with a long list of celebrities and stars to pick from - for asking her to be a guest? You decide.
And finally, have you heard? It looks like it's going to be a hot summer. The Express knew weeks ago and now it seems all the other papers do as well. Even the Times gets a cheeky "sizzle" in a headline. But it means the Express needs to turn up the heat on the story to still claim ownership of it, and they don't disappoint. DROUGHTS THREATEN BRITAIN announces the front page headline. Superb.
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