Chris Blackhurst is bragging in spin-trade-mag PR Week how the Indy (circulation 133,449) is ‘flying the flag’ for British journalism by, err, re-publishing someone else’s story on lobbying. It could have been very different. Instead of the Indy editor basking in the reflected glory of his paper publishing the grandiosely named Bureau of Investigative Journalism’s scoop on dodgy lobbyists, he could so easily have been the one undone.

Back in 2005 when Blackhurst was The Standard’s business editor, Chris had lunch with two board members of spin merchant’s Weber Shandwick. He asked them for advice on moving into PR. Effectively, alas unsuccessfully, pitching himself as spinner…

UPDATE: A co-conspirator calls to say that the BIJ did shop the story around to a few places before flogging it to the Indy.