reverse ferret

English

Etymology

The term originates from Kelvin MacKenzie's time at the The Sun. His preferred description of the role of journalists when it came to public figures was to "stick a ferret up their trousers". This meant making their lives uncomfortable, and was based on the northern sport of ferret-legging. However, when it became clear that the tide of public opinion had turned against the paper's line, MacKenzie would burst from his office shouting "Reverse Ferret!" [1][2][3]

Noun

reverse ferret (plural reverse ferrets)

  1. (UK media) A sudden volte-face in an organisation's editorial line on a certain issue, especially one without acknowledgment of the previous position.[1]

References
  1. White, Roland (2008 July 6) “Tabloid week: the reverse ferret”, in The Sunday Times‎
  2. Neil Chenoweth - Rupert Murdoch: The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Media Wizard - →ISBN excerpt: https://web.archive.org/web/20070704035908/http://www.randomhouse.ca/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9781400046881&view=excerpt
  3. MacKenzie performs a BBC reverse ferret - http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/news/multi-platform/news/mackenzie-performs-a-bbc-reverse-ferret/155916.article
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