18 bemused reactions to the Telegraph’s bizarre front page
The Conservative Party is in the fortunate position of having some of the press squarely in its corner – do or die, you might say – and the Telegraph is at top of the list. On the day of the Tory electoral campaign launch, the Telegraph’s front page splash, and quite a splash it is too, is an unusual quote from one of its columnists – Boris Johnson.
This is the headline they decided to run with.
The front page of tomorrow’s Daily Telegraph: Boris Johnson launches Conservative campaign exclusively in The Telegraph #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/2gw5mWPo2t
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) November 5, 2019
As Sky News’ political correspondent put it …
What? pic.twitter.com/Faw2jpgoCc
— Lewis Goodall (@lewis_goodall) November 5, 2019
Exactly! There were a few things puzzling people about the front page; for a start, there was the look of the thing.
1.
This headline typeface is what happens when you leave the intern alone in the office with Microsoft Paint. pic.twitter.com/QocNnn5wX2
— Stephen McGann (@StephenMcGann) November 5, 2019
2.
Who laid this out? It looks entirely unlike a newspaper in 2019. Striking, I grant you, but not something you could do more than once. pic.twitter.com/M4B5jH8xpa
— Michael Moran (@TheMichaelMoran) November 5, 2019
3.
Why is this headline formatted like when you accidentally turn the whole paragraph into a link in the CMS? pic.twitter.com/omRPMeuF8f
— Rob Manuel – follow @fesshole (@robmanuel) November 5, 2019
And then there was everything else.
4.
a) that’s a ridiculous statement
b) calling Corbyn a Stalinist is dangerously cynical
c) why does this look like bad HTML code from 1998? pic.twitter.com/Lf9Fqd3O9n— Greg Jenner (@greg_jenner) November 5, 2019
4.
If he wanted an example of a politician sneering at people who are worried about profit I’m pretty sure there was a leading MP who said ‘fuck business’ not that long ago. pic.twitter.com/eEv4M4Ln4T
— Sean Kemp (@Sean_Kemp) November 5, 2019
5.
(1) What an odd way to launch a campaign
(2) This whole Boris/Telegraph pact is just weird
(3) Above anything else, that’s a horrible layout for a front page https://t.co/maSikqHIfe— Adam Parsons (@adamparsons) November 5, 2019
6.
Genuinely curious as to whether any other major country has ever had a President or prime minister that retains the propaganda services of a major newspaper that has paid him millions as a columnist. I can’t think of one. pic.twitter.com/BHBok2Pgfr
— Tom Peck (@tompeck) November 5, 2019
7.
If that is the best pull quote they could get out of him – some nonsense about Stalin – this really must have been a feeble interview. pic.twitter.com/Vtu0Pi81kv
— Stig Abell (@StigAbell) November 5, 2019
8.
Occassional reminder that Munira Mirza – Director of Number 10 policy unit is a former member of the Trotskyist Revolutionary Communist party. The only Commies round here literally wrote the Conservative party manifesto. pic.twitter.com/8Yz8YpOPnO
— Otto English (@Otto_English) November 5, 2019
9.
I wonder about playing the Stalin card so early in the campaign? I mean, where do you go from there? pic.twitter.com/Nnw7bhNJV8
— General Boles (@GeneralBoles) November 5, 2019