Hotel Beacon New York

DSK swallows a bird, but the tabs won't eat crow

Report hit in time for other papers to pick up the story for today's editions, but too late to make the papers that hit newsstands in France this morning. Never mind, the news is dominating television and the web over there, and basically every politician ever has weighed in and had their quotes picked up in the papers here.

I won't go through what precisely the new revelations are; open your eyes in front of any television set or computer screen and you'll get the details whether or not you want them.

But the best thing by far about the cover of today's Post is the photo they managed of D.S.K. himself (which does not appear to me to be credited?). They've put his silhouette in the lower left-hand corner, which is the right decision because he looks like he's looking right at you; the grin on his face and his chubby, liver-spotted hands clenched and joined so that he looks a bit like Boris from Bullwinkle awaiting the detonation of a bomb.

Daily News: called D.S.K. "Le Perv" and now it looks possible he could escape his stringent bail requirements, or that the district attorney could drop the case altogether?

First of all, it hasn't happened yet. Second of all, as bad and vague as "Le Perv" was as his nickname, it remains, in a way, true; this is not the first time he's gotten in trouble for having sex with someone, even if the previous event concerned what appeared to be a consensual affair.

"'CASE GONE TO HELL'" is the headline, in black, with a fairly nondescript silhouette of a troubled-looking D.S.K. set against a red block with knockout-white type that reads "Sources: Maid in sex attack not credible."

It's worth mentioning that the News also flags a story about Alicia Keys: a concert review from last night's Beacon Theatre performance. That's one way to get a pretty lady on the cover. And there's also a Subway Series curtain-raiser advertised in a skybox at the top that is the width of the page.

Observations: If D.S.K. looks like the cat who swallowed the bird, readers (especially ones with sympathy for what seems to have emerged as the "French point of view" on the case in the last six weeks) will be unhappy to see how little crow the tabloids are eating this morning. But as I say, it would be premature. And what's more, it reflects a misunderstanding of the tabloid aesthetic to consider it possible that they would.

The tabloid by its nature must follow every current lead as though it is the most amazing and shocking possible piece of news; having zigged too far in one direction, when revelations redirect the course of the story, only allows them to zag yet more dramatically the other way.