Adultery News...

In my life as a professional word butcher, I get sent all sorts of PR rubbish from idiots aiming for publicity. But I fear this is a new low with a plug for an adultery website masquerading as scientific research.

Enjoy, particularly if adultery is your thing. And, yes, I do realise I am sort of promoting this nonsense but it's through astonishment rather than acceptance.

Huge rise in UK female infidelity, says AshleyMadison.com

* Over 1m UK members have joined AshleyMadison.com, the world’s largest extra-marital dating site

* 51.2% rise in women sign ups to AshleyMadison.com over past 12 months

* 84% of adulterous women don’t want to leave husband

* Profile of an adulterous woman revealed

Ashley Madison.com, the world’s largest extra marital dating site, now has a UK membership of more than 1,000,000, fuelled by married women joining the site.  There has been a 51.2% increase in female sign-ups in Britain over the past 12 months alone – all seeking an affair outside marriage.

A survey of 2,683 AshleyMadison.com women members reveals unique data on the changing face of female infidelity in this country.

The profile of a typical adulterous woman is someone in her 30s or 40s, who’s looking for a long term relationship extra to marriage. She’s had one or two affairs so far, lasting three months or more, she’s in love with her long term husband or partner and doesn’t want to leave him – but she feels emotionally neglected. So she’s looking to fulfil her needs outside marriage and actually believes that her affair/s make it easier to stay in the marriage.

‘Our data is a unique resource used by academics worldwide, there’s no other way to gather information on infidelity,’ says Noel Biderman, founder of AshleyMadison.com. ‘For instance, the fact that the female demographic is getting older in the UK as adulterous women are now most likely to be in their 40s. It seems that women are stepping into the male arena when it comes to infidelity.’

Around 44% of AshleyMadison.com UK members are women, higher than the global average of one third women to two thirds men.  The only other country with a similar pattern is Australia.

More from the AshleyMadison.com Female Infidelity Survey:

What are you looking for in your affair?

Long term relationship, extra to marriage 70%

One night stand/s 21%

How many affairs have you had?

3 – 37%

2 - 29%

4 -12%

Would you leave your long term partner if you could?

Yes 16%

No 84%

AshleyMadison.com was founded by Noel Biderman in Canada in 2002 and is the fastest growing social network after Facebook, Currently the site has 1,106,224 UK users and over 27 million in 38 countries globally.

How Journalism Works...

In my professional life as a journalist, I get some pretty desperate emails from some pretty desperate PRs hungry to whore their clients in order to get them any form of publicity.

And I get the deal... They want to keep the profiles of their clients as high as possible and they're only doing their job. And the fact that many of their clients are talent-vacuum oxygen thieves with no real or discernible skill, whose only real claim to fame is appearing on some reality TV show, doesn't actually seem  to matter.

But every once in my while the mechanics of my industry still has the power to shock. Take today as a case in point...

A work colleague asked me to come and look at some pictures and, when I arrived at his screen, I was presented with semi-naked pictures of a sixtysomething soap star sunbathing topless. The shots looked like they were long-lens shots and clearly taken without the poor actress concerned's permission.

As far as I know, the actress concerned isn't any sort of publicity whore and she generally keeps a low public profile. She's quite good at what she does and she's part of a show with a huge fanbase. She certainly doesn't make herself a target for this sort of attention.

So what topless long-lens pictures of her were doing for sale on a photographer's website is somehow beyond me. I was genuinely appalled to see them. And appalling me is quite a feat these days...

Then I started thinking the thought process of the photographer concerned through, and I got even more appalled because I realised that he must have thought these were a sellable commodity. And that he had the right to sell them. With no consideration for the person concerned. And all for a quick buck.

Human beings are capable of amazing things, but when I see stuff like this happen I fear that Bill Hicks was maybe right. Maybe we are just a virus with shoes and we deserve to be wiped out.

Fortunately, the Leveson Report demanded some quite sweeping changes that will help outlaw this sort of practice. So thank God, Cameron and his mates are implementing them. Oh... Hang on... They're not, are they?

We're doomed...

How Media Works...

My journalistic career as it is sometimes laughingly called has had many low points but I'm pleased to say that at least it will never plumb the barrel-scrapingly awful depths of an email I got earlier today.

Apart from the fact that what it suggests is an awful idea, it should also give non-media folk an idea of how the desperate quest for celebrity works and what depths some folk will sink to in order to keep their talent-free zone faces in the limelight.

The email reads as follows:

'Never underestimate the power of sisterhood' says Lauren and Nicola Goodger from hit ITV reality TV series - The Only Way is Essex.

TOWIE's most famous sisters, Lauren and Nicola Goodger are to recreate the looks of some of the worlds most iconic sisters in an exclusive media shoot.

Successful sisters go back generations; think Joan and Jackie Collins in the 80s, Kylie and Dani Minogue in the 90s and what would the noughties be without Kate and Pippa Middleton?

Regardless of the decade, the support and solidarity of sisterhood is what has helped make these women successful, which is why ‘The Only Way Is Essex’s’ sisters Lauren and Nicola Goodger are looking to recreate the looks of some the worlds most iconic sisters in an exclusive photo shoot.

'Team Goodger' are rapidly proving a force to be reckoned with here in the UK and this iconic photo shoot is set to put these two sisters on the map as the sisters who will be 'doing it for themselves' in next decade.

We're looking for one media outlet who would like to commission this exclusive photo shoot and interview.

I fear for humanity. It's fin de siecle time and these are the vinegar strokes.

Hacked Off...

It's been many years since I decided I would make a conscious effort to never fund anything associated with Rupert Murdoch.

I'd rarely bought any of his papers anyway but I think it was about the time of the NOTW paedophile campaign, headed by then NOTW editor Rebekah Wade (now Brooks), that I decided I should make a conscious effort. From what I could see this dangerous campaign launched a lynch mob mentality and created such a climate of hatred that a paediatrician was attacked when some thicko couldn't tell the difference between a sex offender and a medical professional.

I appreciate the fact I won't have Sky in the house or buy The Sun or The News Of The World or The Times, etc, probably doesn't make too much of a difference to the News Corp coffers, but it's me exercising my power as a consumer not to add to Murdoch's profits. And it may be a pointless gesture but I'd still rather be pissing against the Murdoch wind that buying into it.

So it genuinely impressed me the other day to see the Milly Dowler phone hacking scandal so disgust a group of people that they've set up a campaign on Twitter designed to hit News Corp where it hurts and encourage advertisers not to spend money on News Corp titles. Ford cars have already dropped their adverts and other companies are said to be reviewing their policies in the wake of the scandal.

And there's more... the Murdoch bid to buy outright control of Sky could now be in jeopardy because their is a clause about being a 'fit and proper' body when buying a major media company and the behaviour of senior NOTW executive clearly casts doubt on their suitability.

The sad thing in this, obviously, is it's taken sideshow events surrounding the murder of a schoolgirl to stir people into action and that her family are now being forced to relive the horror of it all yet again.

When The Sun screamed the headline The Truth across its front page in 1989 then proceeded to accuse Liverpool fans of looting dead bodies at the Hillsborough disaster, the paper suffered a circulation decline in Liverpool that it never recovered from.

I hope the rest of the country follows this example and makes News Corp and the NOTW and its sister titles such as The Sun pay not only for its criminal activities but for its arrogance in thinking it is above the law.

Go people power! Hit them where it hurts...

Power Of The Press...

My journalistic career – as it is sometimes laughingly called – has reached a new low. And this is even lower than being forced to interview two former soap stars by one particularly pushy PR for interviews that were never going to appear anywhere. Ever. It was just to make the ex-soapies feel more wanted. And important. And I was the fall guy. A sort of fluffer for damaged egos.

Today I have been invited to attend a party at London lapdancing bar Spearmint Rhino.

But in order to get in and get free champagne I first have to stand outside and form an interested crowd with other professional liggers as various F-List celebrities enter the building. Then after they've entered I can go in, neck free booze and interview the said F-List celebrities.

It's the lowest point in a career that has had many lows. And to make matters worse I'm not even invited for my journalistic prowess. Part of my reason for being invited is to be part of a crowd. And I have to be an interested part of the crowd too. I probably won't be going...

The Missus also just phoned. She’s been invited to attend an event as well. Hers is a swish polo party with the stupidly rich and the properly famous. The difference in events sums up our marriage. I've traded up and she's traded down.

At times I recall I once thought about a career in teaching. I could have been a teacher doing something useful. It must be better than this...