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English

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Etymology

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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

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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

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  1. 1.0 1.1 White, Roland (2008 July 6) “Tabloid week: the reverse ferret”, in The Sunday Times[1]
  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