The Times have gone to town on the Tutankhamun show, and have produced some articles which do wonders to counter the glazed feeling that Tutankhamun is beginning to induce in a lot of people. A recent set of articles look at how the media dealt with the discovery of Tutankhamun in Luxor.
This article is great fun, looking at how The Times managed to get a foot in the door before anyone else:
The discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922 was one of the news sensations of the century. But behind that familiar story lies another, untold tale worthy of Evelyn Waugh’s Scoop: a story of newspaper skulduggery in a foreign land, chequebook journalism, feuding, drunken hacks, secret codes and fantastic expenses claims. It is a story of archaeologists working underground to unearth the most beautiful and sacred treasures, while above ground journalists slugged it out in an unholy media scrum.
See the above page for the full blow by blow account. Four photographs from 1922 accompany the story.
The Times Online also has this Note from Sir Harry Perry Robinson on the bitter rivalry between The Times and other newspapers covering the story. Robinson was The Times Special Writer covering the story, and this was a private note sent back to the newspaper's offices recording drunkeness and underhand tactics being employed by journalists:
On the Thursday night before the opening of the inner chamber I went out after dinner to find my postal official to get him to hold up the mail for 30 minutes later on the Friday. At a shop he was generally to be found in the evenings, Valentine Williams and Morton were standing at the door talking. As I passed and finding my postal man had not arrived, I strolled up and down. Valentine Williams who apparently had been busy champagne drinking, stopped me and wanted to know why I was following him about – which apparently showed the Combine were getting anxious. To this silly question, I remarked “Don’t be silly, as if The Times would follow you about or even care to know what you were doing; in fact, we have all the information about “Tut” we require and it is hardly likely any information you have is of any use.” Williams was apparently fuzzled and went for a night drive with Morton.
Next, there is the letter of contragulation from The Times Editor to Sir Harry Perry Robinson, dated 20th February 1923, on his contribution and the "biggst news coup brought off by The Times in the last twenty years":
The first and most important round is over, and you have secured a great triumph for The Times. Last week must have been a terrible one for you to live through, but, believe me, it was almost as anxious for us here. I personally did not know quite what to do with myself between receiving the Tompkinson telegram and Saturday morning, when I was able to compare the various papers. I have now received all your letters up to February 10. Dawson and Lints Smith have seen the whole budget. It is clear that you have had almost unbelievable difficulties, and your complete success is all the more astonishing. There is no doubt about it at all. The opposition has been overwhelmed and the battle for The Times-Carnarvon agreement has been won. You will have seen by now the very skimpy accounts of the actual opening that appeared in the rival sheets. The Morning Post was utterly eclipsed. Weigall, however, is undeniably clever. He seems to me to have made the best of a bad job, speaking purely from a journalistic point of view. I was quite clear about the winning of the battle on Saturday. It became absolutely decisive with your wonderful follow-up message, including Lord Carnarvon’s own story. I cannot recall a great news occasion on which the Daily Mail has been so completely beaten. Your big telegrams have been absolutely lapped up by the papers taking the service.
The letter goes on in the same manner.
Finally, it is suggested that the legend of the curse might be blamed on newspaper competition:
The legend that anyone entering Tutankhamun’s tomb would suffer an early death is more likely to have been the curse of Fleet Street, a story cooked up by newspapers angered that The Times had scooped them.
When Lord Carnarvon died less than two months after the inner tomb was opened, some newspapers, still smarting because he had sold exclusive story rights to this newspaper, reported that he had fallen victim to an ancient curse. In fact, he died of blood poisoning after cutting an infected mosquito bite while shaving.
The Morning Post nonetheless predicted “all kinds of disasters for those who tampered with the tombs of the Pharaohs”. Another paper claimed, wrongly, that an inscription inside the tomb read: “They who enter the tomb shall be visited by wings of death.”
To accompany the above stories there is an excellent 11-image slideshow of photographs of original documents and contemporary photographs of relevant individuals.
Thanks to The Times for a fascinating view into their archives, and a truly wonderful insight into what the media circus of the 1920s was like. I enjoyed this series of articles very much indeed.
No comments:
Post a Comment