Mirror owner Reach defends its tabloids over Caroline Flack coverage
The boss of Daily Mirror owner Reach today stood by its reporting on Caroline Flack following fierce criticism of the tabloids’ role in the TV presenter’s death.
Jim Mullen said he had launched an internal review into the group’s reporting in the lead-up to Flack’s suicide. He told the Standard: “I could only imagine how her family and friends are feeling about this and we are completely sympathetic to that. We have got a very strict governance approach to how we deal with the story so we feel like we have dealt with it properly.
“I asked editorial to sit down and go through the stories that we’ve printed, go through the archives of our online content. It’s still up there, we stand by it, the story itself and the interest around celebs is something we report on so we have looked at it.”
Laura Whitmore, who succeeded Flack as host of Love Island, said earlier this month: “To the press, the newspapers, who create clickbait, who demonise and tear down success, we’ve had enough.”
Mullen, who joined last August, unveiled his strategy for the publishing group. He will focus on creating targeted content for readers and signing them up as registered users, rather than further newspaper acquisitions.
Reach reported a 5.3% fall in like-for-like revenues for 2019, with total revenues down 3% to £702.5 million. Profits rose 6.1% to £150.6 million in the first year since the acquisition of the Daily Express and Star titles.
Mullen said the deal had helped deliver cost savings. A strong increase in online page views had emboldened him to hire more journalists, he said.
The group took an £11 million hit from payouts related to the phone-hacking scandal. It has paid £86.5 million and set aside £21.1 million to settle future claims.
