Starsuckers

Description: Have you heard the one about Guy Ritchie injuring himself whilst juggling cutlery or Amy Winehouse's hair being set on fire during an electrical outage at a party? Chances are they would have appeared at one stage in the daily newspaper that flops on the floor in the morning. The connection is that they were both made up as part of an insightful documentary called Starsuckers about the lure of fame and how the media reports fake stories. The film gained infamy towards the end of 2009 after some tabloid rags took exception to being exposed as peddling lies in exchange for cash without checking their sources. This is particularly highlighted in one section where the director Chris Atkins tries to sell medical records of slebs to willing red job journos regardless of the ethical dilemmas. The reason these things occur is down to the Press Complaints Commission, a self regulating body that seeks to uphold standards in the meeja, is considered a toothless organisation that can be easily ignored. Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre is a chairman on the PCC board...that's all you need to know.