Question: Why did you write for the sun when its the worst paper ever

Matt Bilton answered on 11 Nov 2014:

Well …I was 18. And they paid quite well. Plus I didn’t really write for them – I was a sub-editor so I mainly copied and pasted text – except for a few headlines and picture captions!

On a serious note, one evening whilst I was working I noticed a reference in an article to MRSA – the antibiotic resistant strain of the bacteria S. aureus – as ‘the virus’. I brought this to the attention of the night Editor, although as the factually correct alternative – ‘the bacteria’ – was deemed to sound less punchy, it was decided it should not be corrected.

On this basis it might seem that anyone with high aspirations should steer clear of working for the tabloids. On the other hand The Sun has the highest circulation of any newspaper in the country – in large part due to its easy to digest nature and attention grabbing headlines. Perhaps it would be a good thing if there were more tabloid journalists – and editors – with science PhDs.