Steve Grayson emerged from the 'old scholl' of journalism. As an investigative photojournalist of more than thrity years experience, what he doesn't know about the newspaper industry isn't worth knowing
'Steve is a talented, creative and hard working journalist who knows all the tricks of the trade and is therefore in the perfect position to offer advice on celebrity self defence' - Piers Morgan
Excerpt
DON’T IMAGINE FOR ONE MINUTE THAT YOU’RE SAFE AND IT WON’T HAPPEN TO YOU!
If you’re one of those people who think you’ve got nothing to worry about because you behave well, have no guilty secrets, have nothing to be ashamed of and don’t do drugs, think again! Nobody is untouchable. You can be completely innocent and still your reputation could be sullied: if a tabloid is targeting you (and initially, you probably won’t even know you’re a target) they won’t miss a trick. It doesn’t have to be about what you’ve done, but what it looks like you’ve done or are doing. It doesn’t have to be about what you meant when you said something, but what it sounds like you could have meant when your words are taken out of context or used in such a way as to imply another meaning.
As an investigative photojournalist of many years experience, I know what I’m talking about. I freely admit I’m no angel: at one time or another, I’ve worked for all the tabloids and several broadsheets. But it’s from that background that I’m able to give the most basic, simple but effective precautions every person in the public eye can take and would be silly not to take.
I don’t mince my words and I don’t mind telling you that I’m passionately for common sense and against stupidity!There is a lot that celebrities and otherwise high profile people can do and should have been doing to defend their good name, and it’s not rocket science.
