Media: The Word on the Street

IT WAS a good week for Richard Addis last week. First, his old employers, Express Newspapers, settled a legal action between him, The Express, his former deputy, Ian Monk, and the publishers, Michael O'Mara. The action was about how The Express came to have a pre-publication copy of Alan Starkie's biography of Fergie which had been sold to The Mail for pounds 101,000. Then Addis gets a new job, joining his old mate Ian Wright at The Mail on Sunday as consultant features editor. All is forgiven then.

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SOMEWHERE IN Granadaland, you can hear a press officer getting an ear- bashing. Last week, satellite channel Granada Sky Broadcasting released a press release promoting its new morning chat show, Livetime. The press release read: "Forget Richard and Judy, the chemistry has started to build between the latest presenting duo, George Hamilton and Julia Carling on Granada Breeze's Livetime." Er, Richard and Judy present of This Morning, one of Granada's most important franchises. Bet they're pleased to be so casually cast aside by their own company.

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CLASSY ADVERTISING from Iron Curtain Security: "Have you been burgled yet? Someone's home is broken into every five seconds... Your home could be next. Worst of all, you or your family could be asleep in bed when it happens... it's bad enough having your home violated, strangers... relieving themselves in your front room, without thinking about what might happen if you confronted them... These drug-crazed animals are so desperate they will stop at nothing... There are some very strange people loose... Who knows how they choose their next victims for assault and rape?" The firm said this isn't frightening people into buying their security grilles because there had only been two responses to 6,000 leaflets. So that's all right.

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CLASSY TELEVISION from Channel 5: to coincide with the BBC's Eurovision Song Contest night, Channel 5 is to air A Thong for Europe, bringing together eight contestants from across Europe to strip off in front of a room of female judges. The winner, who will receive the title "King Thong", will do a "full Monty". According to Channel 5, Britain is a world leader in male stripping - one wonders if it's an industry that made it on to Chris Smith's creative industries list.

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TONY PARSONS revealed to Mirror readers that George Michael has struck him off his list of friends after 14 years "because ultimately a star and a journalist can never be friends". Mr Parsons says that Mr Michael wanted him to act like a publicist so they fell out. Certainly the falling- out could be nothing to do with the column Mr Parsons penned last April, when Mr Michael was caught in a Los Angeles public toilet. The column described the incident as "sordid' and "squalid".