Will the Sun cover up Page Three asks the search marketing team at Clickmate?
The UK’s most popular red-top is under intense pressure to cover up its Page Three girls. It comes not only from a number of active pressure groups, but also after the example of its Irish sister-mate who has dropped topless women from its pages.
The editor of the Irish Sun, Paul Clarkson, decided to drop topless women after he felt that the use of models was against the principles of the more socially conservative and predominantly Catholic readership. They had featured on page three ever since the launch of the newspaper in Dublin in 1992.
Clarkson told the Irish media: “There are some cultural differences. We are, whether we like it or not, a more Catholic and conservative country traditionally than the UK.
“Basically it’s not just the ideal fit for us. There is a huge swathe of people who have this misconceived idea of what the Irish Sun is about. We want these people to see the paper is more than about one page.”
This acknowledgement from the Irish Sun has fuelled campaigners in the UK who have asked the Sun to drop using pictures of topless women on its pages. Up until now, the editor of the Sun, David Dinsmore, has resisted calls for him to take a stance.
One of the main pressure groups, No More Page Three, said it was a : “…huge step in the right direction…taking the lead in the dismantling of a sexist institution…We are hoping that the UK Sun will follow suit and ultimately hope for an end to all objectifying images and a truly equal representation of women within the British press.”
Media experts reckon the final decision will be made by Rupert Murdoch and it will be hard for the newspaper to resist calls to cover up over the coming months.