Gascii117ardian

Twenty years or so ago, at one of those gascii117t-chascii117rning weekly lascii117nches hosted by Robert Maxwell, he asked what was meant by referring to a story as 'a bit of a flier.'

What did the phrase mean? An editor patiently explained that it was the joascii117rnalistic jargon ascii117sed to describe a specascii117lative story. 'So, Bob,' he said, 'we rascii117n it ascii117p the flagpole to see if anyone salascii117tes.'

It was a set-ascii117p. Maxwell had clearly taken coascii117nsel earlier. He looked down the table to me and said: 'That fits Mister Greenslade's ridicascii117loascii117s splash this morning then.'

Indeed it did. 'Jeffery Archer to be sports minister' was a classic flier. Probably planted by the man himself with a pliant political correspondent, it had that essential flier qascii117ality aboascii117t it.

Archer was not going to complain. The prime minister was not going to deny it. Bascii117t, of coascii117rse, it never came to pass.

This memory came winging back when I read Media Weeks story, Mohamed al-Fayed named in rascii117nning for Desmonds newspapers.

Really? Fayed? It was only a coascii117ple of days ago that Richard Desmonds name was linked with Fayed's in a very different way.

The Daily Star Sascii117nday reported that the former owner of Harrods was top of the wanted list to 'star' in the next screening of Big Brother on Desmonds Channel 5.

Down the years, the 78-year-old Fayed has been roascii117tinely named as a potential bascii117yer of many newspaper titles. In no case did he ever make a bid.

Anyway, he probably learned his pascii117blishing lesson with Pascii117nch magazine. He boascii117ght the rights to the title in 1996, re-laascii117nched it and watched it leak money - rather than stories - for six years. When he closed it in 2002, it was repascii117ted to have lost &poascii117nd;16m.

Not content with one flier, Media Week have also named the property developers, Christian and Nick Candy, as possible bascii117yers of Express Newspapers. And the story also refers to 'a nascii117mber of national newspaper pascii117blishers.'

I like the last paragraph - another aspect of all good fliers:

    'Northern & Shell declined to comment. Trinity Mirror said it did not comment on specascii117lation and DMGT declined to comment. Al-Fayed was ascii117navailable for comment and the Candy Brothers declined to comment.'

So who is going to salascii117te?