the things Daily Mail readers said

Back in the 1920’s, that is. Part of my convalescent reading has been Graves’ and Hodge’s The Long Weekend. Here’s their account of the secret of the Mail’s success.

From Lord Northcliffe’s list of important features, some permanent lines of the Daily Mail, and consequently of middle class thought, can be construed. The Daily Mail was always on the look out for government waste and delay: two top-hatted bureaucrats labelled “Dilly” and “Dally” featured prominently in its cartoons. It also followed attentively the progress of new inventions, such as aircraft, motorboats and wireless. Spiritualism, the question of whether religion was decaying, the question of what attitude to adopt towards bottle parties, nightclubs, revues and chorus girls, and all problems involving women: those were its leading features. Northcliffe, indeed, always advised its editors to have a woman’s story in the headlines.

Graves and Hodge go on to describe the Mail as “standing permanently on the left wing of the Conservative Party”. Aside from that, it’s a pretty good run down of how the Mail operates now.