Tabloid

A tabloid reports on a "freak storm" above Royal Hope Hospital. (TV: Smith and Jones ^[+]Loading...["Smith and Jones (TV story)"], PROSE: The Secret Lives of Monsters ^[+]Loading...["The Secret Lives of Monsters (short story)"])

A tabloid was a form of newspaper.

History

Journalist James Stevens worked at the Daily Chronicle tabloid until being fired in 1970. Its editor was Sir Peter Wise. A tabloid motto was to never let "the facts get in the way of a good story". (PROSE: Who Killed Kennedy ^[+]Loading...["Who Killed Kennedy (novel)"])

Following a cover-up that blamed him for the killings of his fellow astronauts on Mars, Alexander Christian was the subject of several tabloid stories throughout the 1970s. However, by 1997, he had been forgotten and overshadowed by stories of other killers such as Myra Hindley, Rosemary West, and the Yorkshire Ripper. (PROSE: The Dying Days ^[+]Loading...["The Dying Days (novel)"]) Similarly, the tabloids also focused on the Capricorn Killer in 2002, with the "tear-stained" face of the mother of one of his victims on the front pages of every paper. (PROSE: I Was a Monster!!! ^[+]Loading...["I Was a Monster!!! (short story)"])

After the explosion at the Tate Modern in 2004, the tabloids were instead focusing on naked polaroids of a Big Brother contestant. (PROSE: The Tomorrow Windows ^[+]Loading...["The Tomorrow Windows (novel)"])

Following the destruction of Henrik's in 2005, the tabloid newspaper the Mirror were prepared to pay £500 for Rose Tyler's story. (TV: Rose ^[+]Loading...["Rose (TV story)"], PROSE: Doctor Who: The Encyclopedia ^[+]Loading...["Doctor Who: The Encyclopedia (reference book)"])

Various diseases from the planet's changing environment were simply called "the plague" by the tabloids. (PROSE: Iceberg ^[+]Loading...["Iceberg (novel)"])

When Royal Hope Hospital was transported to the Moon by the Judoon, (TV: Smith and Jones ^[+]Loading...["Smith and Jones (TV story)"]) one 'red-top' tabloid instead reported that politician Harold Saxon had declined to appear on the Big Celebrity Dance Mania reality show. (PROSE: The Secret Lives of Monsters ^[+]Loading...["The Secret Lives of Monsters (short story)"])

New stars emerging in the sky were called "Chaos Bodies" by the tabloids, which the Tenth Doctor considered a good name. (PROSE: Beautiful Chaos ^[+]Loading...["Beautiful Chaos (novel)"])

Other references

Hamlet Macbeth suspected tabloids of inventing stories. (PROSE: The Left-Handed Hummingbird ^[+]Loading...["The Left-Handed Hummingbird (novel)"]) The Tenth Doctor stated that he "never liked" sensationalist tabloids, (PROSE: Peacemaker ^[+]Loading...["Peacemaker (novel)"]) and considered them a force not to be argued with. (PROSE: Beautiful Chaos ^[+]Loading...["Beautiful Chaos (novel)"]) Liz Shaw also disliked tabloid journalism, (PROSE: Who Killed Kennedy ^[+]Loading...["Who Killed Kennedy (novel)"]) referring to the time journalists came to Ashbridge Cottage Hospital during the so-called "meteor man from space scare" (TV: Spearhead from Space ^[+]Loading...["Spearhead from Space (TV story)"]) as not one of their "greatest moments". (PROSE: Who Killed Kennedy ^[+]Loading...["Who Killed Kennedy (novel)"])

The Fourth Doctor thought nobody believed what they read in the tabloids. (PROSE: The Sooner the Better ^[+]Loading...["The Sooner the Better (short story)"])

"Extreme" topics such as UFOs, corn circles and inexplicable disappearances were regarded as the "daily diet" of the tabloids. (PROSE: The Highest Science ^[+]Loading...["The Highest Science (novel)"])