The old, bitter, washed-up, hacks who compile Media Glass House have always believed that credit should go to where credit’s deserved.

And that’s why – with no supporting evidence whatsoever – the MGH is taking full credit for the fact that subeditors (yes, we’re assuming there’s more than one) at The Sydney Morning Herald and The Sun Herald have finally gotten their acts together!

And to be fair, who else can claim credit for those sub-editors finally getting right how they folio (number) each edition’s pages?

A quick recap. For yonks, this column has taken the piss out of those subeditors for stuffing up those folios whenever there’s a supposed four-page wrap around the real paper.

Our argument has always been simple and soundly based. When these papers have a wraparound – courtesy more often than not by Hardly Normal and the repulsive Gerry Harvey – the masthead and editorial space on the cover is still and always will be any edition’s front page! And that’s because not everyone throws that wraparound – bye! bye! Peter FitzSimons column quite often on Saturdays – into the kitchen tidy or to line the bottom of the cockie’s cage.

That means the pretend front page inside the wraparound is not and never will be any edition’s front page, even if it looks more like a real newspaper front page than the real front page on the cover. And even if it’s folioed page 1.

It’s why we’ve been pissed off mightily for a very long time when stories from these pretend front pages were labelled as originating “From front page”, especially when that pretend front page is numbered as page 3, which is the case more often than not! Repeat: a page 3 can never be the front page. Nor should “From page 1” be used for a story that flows more often than not “From page 3!

So let’s look at the two fake front covers from the past week. They’re the ones inside the real front page, the one with the masthead that has more publication information that the fake one inside. At left at top is The Sun-Herald, which the powers-that-be in their wisdom called page 1. And that’s okay; normally we wouldn’t care!

The SMH pretend front page from a week ago (right, at top) was called Page 3. And that’s okay too; normally we wouldn’t care!

But it’s only this past week that the subs at these two mastheads have, finally and apparently, learnt our lesson. Stories that were continued from the pages shown at top were said to have flowed from …. wait for it! – page 1 and page 3 respectively! Who said accuracy in subediting was a dying craft! And as mentioned at top, we are of the firm belief they have finally responded to our long-running criticisms!

Amazing! All we’ve ever asked of those subs when they start a shift – just to show their competence and professionalism, right? – was that the very first question they needed to ask and have answered: how are we numbering our pages tonight? Is our pretend fake cover page 1 or 3? Best we identify them as what they are!

It wasn’t rocket surgery, really, was it? Still, the old, bitter, washed-up, hacks who compile Media Glass House aren’t 100 per cent sure there won’t be a relapse. And they remain fearful it will be sooner than later. What’s your guess, BUGsters?

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