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Times Hack Got Me Fired
- Toby Young sabotaged The Times internal system by guessing the editor-in-chief's password and sending prank messages, which led to him being escorted out and sacked as a trainee after six months.
- He recounts the exact prank: logging in as "top man" and sending a message telling his boss to "move your effing car," then being caught by IT police.
Why 1980s Print Was A Golden Time
- Late-1980s journalism was fertile because Murdoch's battles with print unions lowered printing costs and spurred new papers, creating many entry-level opportunities.
- Toby credits that era's entrepreneurial explosion for the chance to start magazines and try varied roles.
Modern Review Built From A Bedsit
- Toby co-founded the Modern Review in 1991 to treat mass culture seriously, modeled on the TLS but about Madonna and Schwarzenegger instead of Anthony Trollope.
- Launched from his Shepherd's Bush bedsit, it sold ~25,000 copies internationally at its peak pre-internet.