High morals and low life of the first tabloid hack
MUCKRAKER: THE SCANDALOUS LIFE AND TIMES OF W.T. STEAD BY W. SYDNEY ROBINSON (Robson Press £20)
By Bel Mooney
PUBLISHED: 18:12, 25 May 2012 | UPDATED: 18:12, 25 May 2012
Hold the front page: Journalist W.T. Stead
Hold the front page: Journalist W.T. Stead
In essential ways, little has changed since the time of William Thomas Stead – the notorious editor and pioneer of investigative journalism who nobly aimed to expose the trafficking of children, yet used methods that were callous and exploitative in the extreme.
At a time when the Leveson Inquiry provides many shocks, this timely, well-written biography of the brilliant, flawed Victorian journalist – who made up quotes and twisted the truth in order to right wrongs – vividly demonstrates that breaking rules can lead to fame but also to downfall.
Nobody could have predicted that the awkward, studious, religious, eccentric young cleric’s son from the Newcastle area would make headlines, hobnob with international leaders, and become one of the founding fathers of popular journalism.
