Media Diary: Max gives Tom a brisk caning

Magazine journalism

This week's Spectator smartly commissions that opponent of press intrusion Max Mosley to review the latest work by investigative journalist Tom Bower.

No Angel: The Secret Life of Bernie Ecclestone is, Mosley says, "a fascinating story, brilliantly told". But being Max, he can't resist giving Bower a few strokes of the cane for his "many trivial errors". He lists 10 of them to make his point ("The first turbo car was a Renault, not a Ferrari; there was never a race on the Barcelona waterfront" etc). Then he hands out more punishment, listing some "more serious errors" and finally something he has got "seriously wrong". But Bower should savour the review and learn from it. No pain, no gain after all.

An audience fit for a prince

Barb

"The marriage of the son of the heir to the throne in April is likely to create interest," is a brilliant piece of intelligence from Barb. Odds from William Hill have a 25 million-plus TV audience at 6-4, suggesting the wedding could be a record breaker. Charles & Di pulled in 21.7 million in 1981.

Gone...but not forgotten

Books

The Lost Tribe of Fleet Street by Nicholas Jones is a new ode to the once-elite industrial correspondents. The tribe included Bernard Ingham, Andrew Neil and Peter Sissons.