Press & Media
Paul Sorene and his Anorak have featured on the BBC, Sky News and more.
Press Gazette February 2006: “Who needs newspapers when you have sites like Anorak? This irreverent daily mag reads the tabloids so you don’t have to. Every morning its busy bees write funny summaries of what’s in the Sun, Star, Mirror and Daily Mail, and send them out by email before 9am. It gives a sly and wry take on the world of celebrity and gossip: think heat magazine with irony and good writing. It’s perfect for those snobby journos who would rather die than be seen in public with a tabloid tucked under their arm (you know who you are). Subscribe to Anorak and you can be titillated by the tabloids in the privacy of your own office.
The Sunday Times 5 June 2005: “Anorak is another gem: it ‘keeps tabs on the tabloids’, providing witty summaries of all the news, gossip and sport that the day’s tabloids saw fit to print.”
In an article on how websites are just as likely to attract readers and break stories as the corporate-owned newspapers, magazines and television channels, Anorak featured. The site was tipped as one of the best alternative news sources on the web. In a list of 17 top news sources, Anorak was mentioned third, above such non-corporate entities as msn and google.
Mick Hume, editor, spiked-online.com and the Times columnist, writes in April 2005: “Anorak is a top quality website for all weathers…The second best site on the web.”
Web User magazine, 24 June - 7 July 2004: Lazily, we could call this gem ‘The British Onion’. We were tempted. But while Anorak shares The Onion’s snook-cocking attitude towards the press, Anorak is still about the actual news rather than a twisted mindfunk version of it. Its daily email ‘keeps tabs on the tabloids’ with a flurry of links to sassy summaries of the best stories.
You’ll love it if: You love The Sun but secretly fear buying it.
You won’t like it if: You are immune to the attractions of tabloid journalism. You fool.
World Press Review, November 2003: “Anorak is a breath of fresh air: irreverent, hilarious, often insightful, always intelligent, but never stuffy.”
Next magazine, New Zealand, December 2001: A fun (competition) open to worldwide entrants is at Anorak, a site which publishes daily summaries of articles in UK newspapers and magazines. Each week their humorous photo caption contest offers an anorak (of course!) as a prize. (Of course, we changed the prize to a mug that very week. ‘Ironic to the last, eh?’ sighed the article’s author - Ed)
What Mobile magazine, Nov 2001: Gave Anorak 5/5 in its WAP directory for news sites, saying: “An intelligent, sharp and witty take on the day’s news. Anorak digests the daily papers with more than a healthy dash of sarcasm as it ‘keeps tabs on the tabloids’ and reviews the broadsheets. No story can escape the Anorak treatment and celebrities, sportsmen and (above all) newspaper editors are all fair game.” Some of that sounds familiar… but high praise indeed from the leading independent mobile-rating mag.
UK Plus, Sept 21, 2001: The e-zine that keeps tabs on the tabloids…. SITE OF THE DAY by Jeremy Holder TODAY we salute an Internet veteran - an entertaining e-zine that’s been around for almost six years, and keeps an eye on the tabloids. In fact Anorak’s team of editors provide thoughtful digests of what both the red tops and the broadsheets are saying about the day’s big stories. Yesterday, it pointed out how the Sun had, following the terrorist atrocity in New York, returned to something like normality by bringing back its Page 3 girls. Anorak suggests that someone should pin a medal on the chest of Jakki, 23, from Staffordshire, for raising national spirits! It also had a poll on the subject and when reviewed the vast majority of readers gave the Currant Bun the thumbs up. The site also has a tough news quiz plus updates on what’s happening in Coronation Street and EastEnders, as well as their trademark treatment of the day’s big entertainment and sports stories. And there is an interesting look at how OK! and Hello! magazines have handled the less than rosy news from New York.
thebritishmuseum.org, April 2001: Annuraaq: Arctic Clothing from Igloolik, British Museum; sponsored by BP, 15 February - 27 May 2001 BP Ethnography Showcase (Room 36) Admission free.The English word anorak comes from annuraaq, meaning ‘a piece of clothing’ in the language of the Inuit of the Canadian Arctic. Like other forms of Inuit technology, Inuit clothing fascinates by its apparently simple design and great effectiveness. This exhibition focuses on the clothing made by the people of Igloolik, an Inuit community of about 1300 people some 200 miles north of the Arctic Circle.
(So now we know - Ed.)
Mikro Bitti.fi, March 2001: Ironiaa Englannista. Isossa eli englanninkielisessa maailmassa riittää lukijoita ja kaupallista potentiaalia tällaisillekin palveluille. Vuosikausia verkossa ilmestynyt Anorak on ironisesti mediaa ja urheilua kommentoiva julkaisu. Brittijulkaisu on tietenkin brittikeskeinen, mutta suurin osa aiheista on sen verran yleisluonteisia, että vitsit kyllä uppoavat. Anorakia lukiessaan ei voi kuin ihmetellä sitä, että Uutisvuodon ja Iltalypsyn tekeminen Suomessa näyttää sellaiselta päkistämiseltä ja nämä tekevät tällaista joka päivä?
According to the trusty Anorak translation service (105 languages while-u-wait): There are plenty of readers and commercial potential for this kind of services in the big English-speaking world. For several years there has been published Anorak publication which comments media and sports with a touch of irony. This British publication is focused on Britain, but most of the subjects are general that the jokes are understood by a wider audience. When reading Anorak, you just can wonder how the making of Uutisvuoto and Iltalypsy (both Finnish comedy TV programs) seem to be really hard work and the making of Anorak is so easy and it is made every day.
.net magazine, March 2001: Take The Guardian’s ‘The Editor’ Friday supplement, mix it with more sarcasm and give it a tabloid slant and, hey presto, you have Anorak, an e-zine which twists the main stories of the day into an on-line fanzine.
BBC Best of the Web, January 2001: Tear through all the papers in the time it takes the average person to read The Sun. The Anorak offers separate write-ups on the contents of the tabloids, the broadsheets, sports pages, and the cream of showbiz. The style is brisk and breezy and has bags of personality. It’s well written and doesn’t take itself too seriously. So who is the face behind the anorak?
Cool Tricks And Trinkets Newsletter (US), January 2001: The National Enquirer and Star Magazine are small potatoes compared to the British tabloids. Notorious for their cheeky headlines and outrageous accusations, they are the black sheep of journalism. Enter Anorak (Britspeak for parka). In true Brit fashion, this site pokes fun at the local and national newspapers and tabloids offering brief reviews of recent news items, often accompanied by news photos with hilarious captions.
Evening Standard’s Top 10 Sites of 2000, December 2000: “Recently given a trendy revamp, this is one of the best news sites in the ‘hood for people who can’t be bothered to read the papers. A brief and very cheeky daily review of the papers split into four categories: Tabs (tabloids), Broads (broadsheets), Sport and Showbiz with links to shopping sites, Anorak is published daily on the net at 11am.
Old chestnuts
Revolution, September 1999: “A great satirical look at the news. The site covers just four subjects and is short and witty - a perfect balance to MSN, and easier than any of the tabloid offerings to digest. This is one of those hidden gems, and it is obvious that these guys have fun doing it and it makes me laugh. Hopefully, they can find a way for greater exposure without losing their passion. This is just the kind of thing I would love to receive through my phone or palm pilot.
The Scotsman, January 12, 1999: “Anorak is a humorous summary of the day’s news as it appears in the UK papers. It’s a bit like standing in the newsagents skimming all the headlines, but I can do it from my desk. I wish I knew who was responsible for this site - I’d send them a thank-you note.
Publishing, January 1997: “Anorak is a daily newspaper for men too busy to read daily newspapers, or who just want to filter out the agony columns and get to the sports page, bizarre news stories and other titbits of information tailored specifically for them.”
New Media Age, September 19, 1996: “Anorak is still a hugely enjoyable experience. The daily site not only selects the best of the tabloids, but is now casting an editorial eye over the broadsheets. Quirky humour and logical links … make this a great online magazine.”
The Daily Telegraph’s Connected, September 3, 1996: “Having created much mirth by poking fun at the tabloids, the Anorak Web site has decided to turn its hooded waterproof gaze onto the broadsheets. Here’s the deal: Anorak chops up the day’s silliest news stories into easily digested, bite-sized chunks, rather like that bit at the end of Newsnight …only it’s even more sarcastic than Jeremy Paxman and you don’t have to wait up until 11:15 at night to see it.”
Campaign Interactive, January, 1996: “My favourite is the tabloid round-up which gives surfers a taste of the UK’s finest journalism in an ironic, easy to swallow format. Too many mainstream media owners seem to use the wrong tone of voice for the Web but Anorak really hits the spot.”
The Web, January 1996: “A UK news e-zine that’s clever, intelligent and funny. With a breakdown of tabloid newspapers each and every day, cartoons, sports pages, amusing opinion and quizzes, Anorak is superb.”
Media Week, September 1995: “The day of the Anorak is nigh. A new site catering for the tabloid reader should alert publishers to what they are missing. Anorak contains a witty summary from the tabloids, competitions and other bits and pieces including an archive of Alex cartoons. It has personality and suitability to the medium that is missing from traditional media owners.”
Mecklermedia’s I-World (US), January 1995: “Yes folks, the scandal and gossip of the infamous British tabloids has arrived on the Web. You may not be up on the latest British scandals or pop culture but you may be interested in visiting Anorak, an entertaining, well-designed site. Hats off to the Brits for this daily dose of news as only they can report it.”
Fame Of Sorts
The Economist, Nov 10, 2001, pp36-37: Strange… but true! Anorak was asked by heavy-hitter The Economist to comment on tabloid coverage of the war since September 11, for a story on the ramifications for the red-tops after a judge’s ruling that the existence and details of a sexual relationship were “confidential”. Here’s what the magazine (which, incidentally, does have a red top) said:
“…In the days after the terrorist attacks of September 11th, there was much soul-searching about the introspective nature of the celebrity culture on which these newspapers subsist, and grave pronouncements from media commentators of the beginning of a more serious news agenda.
The Mirror, to be fair, has put the anti-terrorist campaign prominently on its front page more often than not ever since. The Sun, by contrast, kept it up for under a fortnight: it came full circle from “Becks in fury over Posh boob taunt” on the day of the attacks to “Elton John: I fancy girls” 13 days later.
As Rupert Youngman at Anorak, an online magazine that tracks the tabloids, points out, the naked page-three girl, “the barometer of business as usual” (nice quote - Ed), was back by September 20th. Should this ruling hold, the implications are grim for those in the business who have picked up again where they left off.”
If you see a review or mention of Anorak, please let us know…
