Paul Callan
Encyclopedia
This article is about the British journalist. For the television character, see Miracles
.
Paul Callan (born 13 March 1939) is a British journalist and editor who has worked on many national newspapers.
in the 1960s, and subsequently raised establishment eyebrows with the sharply written Daily Mail
diary column. He achieved a succession of scoops, and was largely responsible for training up a generation of gifted young journalists, notably the irreverent gossip columnist, Nigel Dempster
.
Callan himself later moved to the mass circulation the Daily Mirror where he wrote the "Inside World of Paul Callan" column which broke a number of major stories embarrassing to their subjects.
star in the last forty years, and members of the ordinarily tight-lipped British royal family
.
He is credited with the shortest interview ever published. Meeting the reclusive Greta Garbo
at the Hotel du Cap Eden Roc near Cannes
, Callan got as far as, "I wonder . . " before Garbo cut in with, "Why wonder?", and stalked off. The story ran across a full page in the Daily Mail.
Access to the great and the bad was enhanced by his marriage in 1973 to the prominent New York journalist, Steffi Fields, who moved over from being London correspondent of the fashion bible Women's Wear Daily
to the position of news editor of the London bureau of the NBC
television network
.
are credited with inventing a new form of radio, albeit unintentionally. At the launch in 1973 of the London Broadcasting Company, or LBC, the pair were pitched as co-presenters of the breakfast show. The intention was to contrast the urbane Callan with the less couth Street-Porter, whose accents were respectively known to studio engineers as "cut-glass" and "cut-froat".
In the event friction between the ill-assorted pair led to an entertaining stream of one-upmanship
that became required listening for many Londoners. The programme was the first in the UK to combine interviews with celebrities and heavyweight political figures on the same show, blurring the line between classic British comedy
and analysis of international affairs.
's approach to television Callan has since developed a technique known as "news colour" in which a hard news story is reported in a feature style. It has the effect of placing the reader as if he is actually witnessing the story, and is now taught in journalism school.
As one of the last representatives of old Fleet Street
he cuts an unmistakable figure, clad in pinstriped suit and trademark spotted bow tie regardless of geography or climate. In 1991 he moved to the Daily Express
where he combines feature writing with news colour as well as contributing regularly to the comment pages. Callan is also a familiar face on television, remembered as a brilliant and frequent contributor to the What the Papers Say programme.
Callan is also known for his acerbic book reviews despite being described by the critic Clive James
as "having the literary sensibilities of a vampire bat".
Miracles (TV series)
Miracles is an American drama television program starring Skeet Ulrich and Angus Macfadyen. Created by Richard Hatem and Michael Petroni, the series has sometimes been dubbed a "spiritual version of The X-Files" by its creators...
.
Paul Callan (born 13 March 1939) is a British journalist and editor who has worked on many national newspapers.
Early career
Despite an early setback when caught imitating his editor, who affected a phony upper class English accent Callan first reached prominence as editor of the "Londoner's Diary" in the Evening StandardEvening Standard
The Evening Standard, now styled the London Evening Standard, is a free local daily newspaper, published Monday–Friday in tabloid format in London. It is the dominant regional evening paper for London and the surrounding area, with coverage of national and international news and City of London...
in the 1960s, and subsequently raised establishment eyebrows with the sharply written Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
diary column. He achieved a succession of scoops, and was largely responsible for training up a generation of gifted young journalists, notably the irreverent gossip columnist, Nigel Dempster
Nigel Dempster
Nigel Richard Patton Dempster was a British journalist, author, broadcaster and diarist. Best known for his celebrity gossip columns in newspapers, his work appeared in the Daily Express and Daily Mail and also in Private Eye magazine...
.
Callan himself later moved to the mass circulation the Daily Mirror where he wrote the "Inside World of Paul Callan" column which broke a number of major stories embarrassing to their subjects.
Celebrity interviews
Tiring of the gossip columns, Callan moved over to the celebrity interview. Callan's amiability and nose for a story made him a favourite of actors and publishers alike, and he has interviewed virtually every major HollywoodCinema of the United States
The cinema of the United States, also known as Hollywood, has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...
star in the last forty years, and members of the ordinarily tight-lipped British royal family
British Royal Family
The British Royal Family is the group of close relatives of the monarch of the United Kingdom. The term is also commonly applied to the same group of people as the relations of the monarch in her or his role as sovereign of any of the other Commonwealth realms, thus sometimes at variance with...
.
He is credited with the shortest interview ever published. Meeting the reclusive Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo , born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson, was a Swedish film actress. Garbo was an international star and icon during Hollywood's silent and classic periods. Many of Garbo's films were sensational hits, and all but three were profitable...
at the Hotel du Cap Eden Roc near Cannes
Cannes
Cannes is one of the best-known cities of the French Riviera, a busy tourist destination and host of the annual Cannes Film Festival. It is a Commune of France in the Alpes-Maritimes department....
, Callan got as far as, "I wonder . . " before Garbo cut in with, "Why wonder?", and stalked off. The story ran across a full page in the Daily Mail.
Access to the great and the bad was enhanced by his marriage in 1973 to the prominent New York journalist, Steffi Fields, who moved over from being London correspondent of the fashion bible Women's Wear Daily
Women's Wear Daily
Women's Wear Daily is a fashion-industry trade journal sometimes called "the bible of fashion." WWD delivers information and intelligence on changing trends and breaking news in the fashion, beauty and retail industries with a readership composed largely of retailers, designers, manufacturers,...
to the position of news editor of the London bureau of the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
television network
Television network
A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...
.
Radio
Callan and the writer (later national newspaper editor) Janet Street-PorterJanet Street-Porter
Janet Street-Porter is a British media personality, journalist and television presenter. She was editor for two years of The Independent on Sunday. She relinquished the job to become editor-at-large in 2002...
are credited with inventing a new form of radio, albeit unintentionally. At the launch in 1973 of the London Broadcasting Company, or LBC, the pair were pitched as co-presenters of the breakfast show. The intention was to contrast the urbane Callan with the less couth Street-Porter, whose accents were respectively known to studio engineers as "cut-glass" and "cut-froat".
In the event friction between the ill-assorted pair led to an entertaining stream of one-upmanship
One-upmanship
One-upmanship is the art or practice of successively outdoing a competitor.The term originated as the title of a book by Stephen Potter, published in 1952 as a follow-up to The Theory and Practice of Gamesmanship and Lifemanship titles in his series of tongue-in-cheek self-help books, and film ...
that became required listening for many Londoners. The programme was the first in the UK to combine interviews with celebrities and heavyweight political figures on the same show, blurring the line between classic British comedy
British comedy
British comedy, in film, radio and television, is known for its consistently quirky characters, plots and settings, and has produced some of the most famous and memorable comic actors and characters in the last fifty years.-Film comedy:...
and analysis of international affairs.
Innovation
In parallel with David FrostDavid Frost
Sir David Frost is a British broadcaster.David Frost may also refer to:*David Frost , South African golfer*David Frost , classical record producer*David Frost *Dave Frost, baseball pitcher...
's approach to television Callan has since developed a technique known as "news colour" in which a hard news story is reported in a feature style. It has the effect of placing the reader as if he is actually witnessing the story, and is now taught in journalism school.
As one of the last representatives of old Fleet Street
Fleet Street
Fleet Street is a street in central London, United Kingdom, named after the River Fleet, a stream that now flows underground. It was the home of the British press until the 1980s...
he cuts an unmistakable figure, clad in pinstriped suit and trademark spotted bow tie regardless of geography or climate. In 1991 he moved to the Daily Express
Daily Express
The Daily Express switched from broadsheet to tabloid in 1977 and was bought by the construction company Trafalgar House in the same year. Its publishing company, Beaverbrook Newspapers, was renamed Express Newspapers...
where he combines feature writing with news colour as well as contributing regularly to the comment pages. Callan is also a familiar face on television, remembered as a brilliant and frequent contributor to the What the Papers Say programme.
Callan is also known for his acerbic book reviews despite being described by the critic Clive James
Clive James
Clive James, AM is an Australian author, critic, broadcaster, poet and memoirist, best known for his autobiographical series Unreliable Memoirs, for his chat shows and documentaries on British television and for his prolific journalism...
as "having the literary sensibilities of a vampire bat".
Further reading
- Street-Porter, Janet. Fall Out: A Memoir of Friends Made and Friends Unmade. London: Headline Review, 2006. ISBN 0-7553-1495-6.