Paper Monitor
10:41 UK time, Monday, 7 January 2008
A service highlighting the riches of the daily press.
Phew. Monday looks like it could be a very busy day for vast swaths of the UK population. If you are unhappily married, in debt, want a new job or fancy a holiday, today is the day you are most likely to do something about it.
It's the busiest day of the year for divorce lawyers, with the strains of the Yuletide proving too much for thousands of couples. It's also the busiest day of the year for Citizens Advice, with inquiries about dealing with debt hitting an annual high, and the day you are most likely to look for a new job or book a holiday.
But something has clearly been forgotten from this busiest-days-for-whatever-a-PR-company-can-come-up-with list. It's also the busiest day for journalists writing about the busiest-days-for-whatever-a-PR-company-can-come-up-with stories. The Times devotes the whole of page three to busiest-day stories. Spare a thought for the unfortunate - and extremely busy - hack who had to write it.
But for all the discontented out there - a story that will warm the cockles of your heart and make you feel all warm and fuzzy about life again. If you like the ahhhh-factor in your stories, the papers are spoiling you.
The Telegraph and Express run the story of the Royal Marine Commando, Sergeant Paul Farthing, who rescued two stray dogs in Afghanistan, smuggled them across the border and brought them back to the UK.
Left in the country they would have faced the daily abuse of dog fighting and scavaging for scraps to stay alive. Instead Tali and Nowzad are now living a "happy and safe" existence in Devon with Sgt Farthing. He's also set up a charity to rehome stray dogs in Afghanistan and provide medical supplies for them.
Now, Paper Monitor does not know if Sgt Farthing is married, but he is guaranteed several hundred - if not thousand - proposals of marriage when this nation of dog lovers read his story today. How does Paper Monitor know this? Because of the well-known media formula - ahhhh-factor + bravery + sensitivity + saving animals = phwoar-factor.
The 
