PROFILE OF PIERS MORGAN
1.0 INTRODUCTION
I have chosen to focus on the PRINT MEDIA industry of Mass Communication. This choice has been carefully picked because I am hoping to build a career as an accomplished writer in the print media industry in the next few years.As Coles (2013) said, the place of learning from older experienced professionals cannot be over-emphasized especially in journalism profession. The case study of PIERS MORGAN, as a successful journalist will be looked at with the aim of learning how to enter, grow and succeed in the challenging print media industry while also drawing out useful lessons from his over 26-years career (Herbert 2012).
Journalism for this Harlow College alumnus began in 1980 at the age of 15 when he wrote an article about his local area cricket trip to Malta, earning him his first pay of £15 (thisismoney, 2011). This illustrates that it is vital for would-be print journalists to match their interest with corresponding action(s) early enough. This early start no doubt helped him to quickly become established in the profession while working as a reporter for The Wimbledon News and on The Sun in 1989 where he edited entertaining stories.
As a reporter right from his days in the South London Press, Morgan had the dexterity of getting to make his interviewees talk even when they do not want to. This fact was corroborated by John Mulcaster, one-time associate editor of Sutton Herald, cited in Herbert (2012) as saying that he Morgan has a way of making people say what they would otherwise not have said. “Once sent on a story, he was sure to succeed”, Mulcaster stated (Ibid: 19).
A typical example of this ability to make people open up can be seen during one of his interviews for Gentlemen Quarterly Magazine, when he had asked Boris Johnson, then Shadow Education Minister in UK, if “he could imagine having sex with Cherie Blair (wife of former Prime Minister, Tony Blair) and the former had answered in the affirmative before he knew it. (Herbert, 2012:198). This ability to get information from people even when they would not have ordinarily given such information no doubt is a potent skill for a journalist who is ready to churn up good news stories always.
Establishing his position in journalism in those early years especially during his days when he wrote and edited the “Bizarre” column for The Sun newspaper was not easy but he was determined to make a mark in the difficult terrain of journalism. His work in The Sun caught the attention of Australian businessman, Rupert Murdoch, who appointed him as the editor of the weekly tabloid, News of the World at the age of 28 in 1994. At the News of the World, Morgan knew what the readers wanted. This can be seen in him shifting from entertainment stories about celebrities in The Sun and later to more serious stories in Daily Mirror on issues like the Iraqi war. (Herbert, 2012).
On this, Pape and Featherstone (2005) noted that newspaper journalists should be close to their readers by giving them what they want to read. While it is good to give the readers what they want to read, it is important for a journalist to ensure that the rule of professionalism on the job is maintained. This is based on the fact that there is a more complex debate out there on this, as tabloids can be politicized, manipulating public attitudes and opinions to their advantage.
Even though this much vilified journalist was learning the profession well, yet he had experienced many challenges, crucial among which was making a balance between ownership interest and public service journalism. According to Harcup (2009:17), “Journalists work in a field of conflicting loyalties, all of which can influence their work”. For instance, during the case of the Iraqi prisoners alleged to have been tortured by some British soldiers during the Iraq war published in The Mirror in 2004, a consortium of American investors who had shares in Trinity Mirror, publisher of The Sun, were said to have been unhappy about the story and threatened to ‘weaken’ Sly Bailey’s position as chief executive of the group if she did not sack Pier Morgan (Morgan, 2005), though the newspaper later apologized that they were hoaxed on the issue.
Also, picturing Countess Spencer, wife of Charles Spencer, the late Princess Diana’s brother as coming out from a private clinic on treatment of “bulimia” was another case in point on the issue of “conflicting loyalties” (Harcup 2009:17) in Morgan’s journalism career (Herbert, 2012). In his memoir, The Insider (2005), Morgan noted that publishing that picture was one of the reasons why he resigned from the News of the World to join Daily Mirror.
The above stated examples further goes to give credence to Herman and Chomsky “Propaganda Model” by the view of Foley (2000) cited in Harcup (2009) that media owners determine the ‘style of journalism’ the public gets. Thus, it is necessary for today’s print journalists to know that they will be faced with making certain crucial decisions over time as it relates to public service journalism and control by certain powerful elements such as owners, advertisers etc.
However, in all these, Piers Morgan who was awarded the 2014 UK most influential online reporter by press gazette social media journalism group, never gave up as he continued to hold forth in a profession he has tremendous passion for even till date. According to Martin Cruddace, the Mirror’s former head of legal affairs, Morgan’s zeal for journalism is a major factor for his success today. However, a good number of individuals like Ian Hislop, Private Eye and David Yelland, former editor of The Sun, have constantly criticized him for his “aggressive tactics” when it comes to breaking stories (Cunningham, 2015).
No doubt, Morgan’s success in this pen profession is woven round his great enthusiasm, interviewing prowess, analytical writing ability and boldness. These qualities have turned him from one who cast headlines to an headline himself. It is therefore worthwhile for potential journalists especially in the print media to imbibe these skills and attributes so as to also make a mark for themselves in the pen pushing profession like Piers Morgan has done.

REFERENCES
BBC (2004) Profile: Piers Morgan. Available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3713857.stm (Accessed: 22 November, 2015)

Coles B (2013) Red Top, Being a Reporter: Ethically, Legally and with Panache
London: Paperbooks Ltd

‘Cunningham, J.M’ (2015) Britannica. Available at: http://www.britannica.com/biography/Piers-Morgan Accessed 21 November, 2015

Harcup, T. (2009) Journalism: Principles & Practice (2nd Edition)
London: Sage Publications

Herbert, E (2012) Piers Morgan: The Biography. London: John Blake Publishing Ltd

How Piers Morgan Made a Fortune (2011) Available at http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/article-1710949/How-Piers-Morgan-made-a-fortune.html (Accessed: 20 November, 2015)

Morgan, P (2005) The Insider: The Private Diaries of a Scandalous Decade
London: Random House

Pape S & Featherstone S (2005) Newspaper Journalism (A Practical Introduction)
London: Sage Publications

Piers Morgan Biography (2015) Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/piersmorgan21106681#personal-life (Accessed: 20 November, 2015)