Daily Prophet

## The Daily Prophet

The ***Daily Prophet*** is a wizarding newspaper based in London, England. It is the primary source of news for British and Irish wizards. The current editor is Barnabas Cuffe, who works in the main office in Diagon Alley.

Because of its ability to influence the minds of many in the British (and probably Irish) wizarding community, the paper has been known to have its content slanted intentionally by the Ministry of Magic (which it has strong ties with) into telling the Ministry's preferred version of events. Unfortunately, the Prophet does not seem to have a lot of journalistic integrity, it has been known to be more concerned about sales than about factual accuracy.

The paper features a morning and evening edition, the latter of which is called the *Evening Prophet*. The weekend edition is called the *Sunday Prophet*. Additional news bulletins can be delivered quickly when important, newsworthy events occur. As news changes, an edition may magically change, too, over the course of the day, probably by means of a Protean Charm.

## Overview

### Distribution

There is only one wizarding newspaper in Britain, discounting such small circulation publications such as *The Quibbler*. The *Daily Prophet*, whose headquarters are in Diagon Alley, is delivered by owl on a daily basis to nearly every wizarding household in Britain. Payment is effected by placing coins in the pouch tied to the paper-owl's leg. Occasionally (when something particularly interesting or exciting happens, such as the illegal flight of a Ford Anglia the length of Britain) an *Evening Prophet* edition will be rushed out. Subscriptions cost 1 Knut. This paper is delivered to professors and a few students at Hogwarts in the mornings, when the owl post arrives.

The *Prophet* is not the only publication in the Wizarding World, but it is almost certainly the most widely read. Stories in the *Prophet* often colour public opinion to a great amount. When the *Prophet* published stories deriding Harry Potter and Dumbledore, most people in the Wizarding World believed what they read. The most widely read alternative newspaper in the wizarding world is *The Quibbler*.

### Journalistic Integrity

"*Anyway,* such *rumours this summer. Of course, one doesn't know what to believe, the* Prophet *has been known to print inaccuracies, make mistakes...*"
—Horace Slughorn regarding the *Daily Prophet*
While the *Daily Prophet* has been known to print facts, it has also had a somewhat negative reputation for being incredibly biassed, corrupt, and deceptive. It is clear that, as there is strong government control of the newspaper, the facts can be misleading, if not outright fabrications, and that certain means of gathering information appear to be somewhat unethical. Government control of the Ministry is shown in the way that the *Daily Prophet* appears to pressure the government and go around official sources, and several people in Harry's circles feel that the Ministry of Magic "leans heavily" on *Prophet*.

In other instances, the *Daily Prophet* has misleading journalism — information that, while accurate in fact, leads readers to the wrong conclusion. There are also occasions when the newspaper is seen to contain inaccurate or libellous content. It appears that there is little regard for accuracy in any form and there are no consequences or accountability for poor journalistic practices.

The *Daily Prophet's* unethical means of gathering information are most accurately seen with Rita Skeeter, a prominent but corrupt journalist who wrote with a complete disregard for accuracy, truthfulness and objectivity — often conducting interviews with a Quick Quotes Quill, a magical quill that writes automatically as the subject speaks. However, the quill does not record verbatim what the subject says. Instead, it takes a subject's words and creates sensational and inaccurate tales that bear little resemblance to actual events. In addition, Skeeter illegally turned herself into a beetle to spy on people and get personal information from them without being seen.

## Description

The *Daily Prophet* reports on everything going on the wizarding world (albeit not always in an unbiased way). In addition to news, the *Daily Prophet* includes a Magizoology column is run every Wednesday and a Quidditch section which features a boxed table of all the teams in the league, ranked by total number points scored, with forthcoming matches listed side by side. This section also includes articles on recent matches and other items of interest.

Wizardkind tends not to require alternative political flavours in its news coverage (which is not to say, however, that the *Prophet* does not have a political agenda). As a small, outsider and occasionally beleaguered community, wizards are, by and large, interested in the same kinds of stories: whether anyone is in trouble for infractions of the International Statute of Secrecy, what irritating legislation the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office has come up with now, and when the next Celestina Warbeck/Weird Sisters concert will take place.

There is also an editorial section of the newspaper, where only few get responses, and are usually brief. The best letter is under the headline *STAR LETTER*. A classified advertisements section is in the newspaper, with subheadings of JOBS, FOR SALE, and LONELY HEARTS. Birth and death notices also appear on this page. The advice section of the *Prophet* has a variety of experts in differing fields answer readers' questions. Some topics covered in the past have been Medical Queries, Emotional Dilemmas, Legal Problems, and everyday magical problems. Sometimes, the *Daily Prophet* has a "fiendishly difficult" crossword puzzle, and usually has a Magic lottery and a Magical Symbols Game.

The *Daily Prophet* also allows advertisements in their newspaper by businesses. some of these ads include: Nimbus brooms, clothing, Floo Powder accelerator, and O.W.L. crammers. The Ministry also uses ad space in the *Prophet*. The Ministry posts various warnings, classes on advanced Defensive spells, and spells that can be used to safeguard your home.

### Evening Prophet

The *Evening Prophet* was the name of the evening edition of the Daily Prophet. Presumably, this edition included different features, compared to the morning edition or *Sunday Prophet*.

Evening editions that are can apparently be delivered very quickly after an important story breaks. A witch or wizard anywhere in Britain can have a copy in hand within a short time of publication. For example, when Ron Weasley and Harry Potter were spotted by Muggles flying the Ford Anglia, Snape had a copy of the hogwarts, story continued in his hand after they arrived. One of the Muggles who spotted them was in Peebles, which is relatively close to Hogwarts, so the story couldn’t have been more than an hour old at that point.

### Sunday Prophet

The *Sunday Prophet* is the name of the weekend edition of the *Daily Prophet*. Presumably, this edition includes different features, compared to the daily edition.

## History

### Creation

The *Daily Prophet* has been producing papers since 1743, the year when it famously described Gideon Flatworthy, head of an extremist anti-Muggle group, as "*less a wizard, more a lazy walrus-like object who lies all day on a rather smelly cushion, and expects people to admire him for it*".

### Mid 20th Century

#### 1940s

The *Daily Prophet* covered the rise of Gellert Grindelwald's rise to power, questioning if then Minister for Magic Hector "Flamboyant" Fawley was doing enough and detailing the increased security measures taken at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

The newspaper also reported Arcturus Black III's charitable donation to the Ministry of Magic after the war was over. There was an article covering his subsequent reward, an Order of Merlin, First Class, which Black received for the large amount of money he put up to rebuild magical Britain after the fall of Grindelwald.

At the time, Arcturus Black was scrutinised by the greater wizarding community for putting up such funds, and some pure-bloods saw this as a condemnation of Grindelwald and everything he stood for. This caused a major political scandal for the House of Black, which required a statement from the Head, Sirius Black II himself, to settle the debacle. His words were printed in the *Daily Prophet* on the second page, writing that *"my son's charitable donation was not meant to be seen as representative of the Family's views or political standings. It was but a choice of his own to help the needy in the Wizarding World, after a conflict which has no doubt desecrated many. I urge the greater Wizarding community to view the contribution without boundaries, as the British Wizarding World rebuilds itself after such devastation and loss of life."*

#### 1950s

The subject of Phyllis Macmillan's marriage to Paschal Parkinson, a twice-widower, was discussed in heavily in the 1950s and 1960s. Rumours began to swirl (mainly encouraged by Marvin Macmillan, father of Phyllis) that Parkinson's suspicious status as a twice-widower was due to the fact that he might have had an involvement in the deaths of his former wives, but in the *Daily Prophet,* these were dismissed as conspiracy theories.

According to the Prophet at the time, Phyllis Parkinson bore Paschal two sons, but then passed away while giving birth to Augustus Parkinson, prompting a Ministry investigation which yielded nothing.

#### 1960s

The *Daily Prophet* continued to smear Marvin Macmillan well into the 1960s. He was painted a conspiracy theorist, even as he continued to insist that his daughter, Phyllis, had been murdered. The newspaper faced backlash for continuing to report on the story from the Selwyn and from the Yaxley families, who both claimed that Macmillan was fabricating details of investigations that never actually occurred. In response, the newspaper began to refer to Macmillan as "Mad Marvin".

### Late 20th Century

#### 1990s

"*All right, Fudge is leaning on the* Prophet*, but it comes to the same thing. They won't print a story that shows Harry in a good light. Nobody wants to read it. It's against the public mood. This last Azkaban breakout has got people quite worried enough. People just don't want to believe You-Know-Who's back.*"
—The *Daily Prophet's* role during the campaign to discredit Albus Dumbledore and Harry Potter
During the Ministry's campaign to discredit and slander Albus Dumbledore and Harry Potter, the Prophet was an instrumental tool of the Ministry in their goal to convince the public that Albus Dumbledore and Harry Potter were fear-mongering or simply mad. The Ministry of Magic was responsible for the unfair journalism of that summer as Cornelius Fudge strove to discredit Dumbledore's account of the return of Lord Voldemort.

Hermione Granger subscribed to the paper to keep on top of the Ministry's agenda and see what the enemy was saying. Some people, such as Augusta Longbottom, cancelled their subscriptions due to believing in Dumbledore and Harry over the Ministry. Originally, Harry kept getting his subscription only to skim through the front page for information about Voldemort's movements, as he was unaware of the Ministry's denial. Because of this he missed out on the slip-ins of him and Dumbledore being antagonised. Upon realising what was happening, Harry ceased his subscription.

After Fudge was forced to admit that Voldemort had returned, the *Prophet* changed its stance overnight, calling Harry "a lone voice of truth". The newspaper even bought, from *The Quibbler*, Harry's interview on Voldemort's return and claimed it to be exclusive.

#### Second Wizarding War

"*The* Prophet*? You deserved to be lied to if you're still reading that muck, Dirk. You want the facts, try* The Quibbler*.*"
—Ted Tonks insulting the biassed prophet
After the Battle of the Department of Mysteries and the Ministry was forced to accept the Rebirth of Lord Voldemort, the *Daily Prophet* reported on all the tragedy and terror affecting wizards and Muggles alike. This included reporting the murder of Amelia Bones and Emmeline Vance, the incorrect arrest of Stan Shunpike, and the arrest of Mundungus Fletcher for impersonating an Inferius.

When the Death Eaters took over the Ministry, they also took over the *Daily Prophet*, and subsequently they stopped reporting deaths that Death Eaters were responsible for. They also printed biassed, bogus news such as articles on Muggle-borns stealing magic from true wizards. As such, many resistance members turned to other programmes for news, such as Potterwatch and *The Quibbler*.

When Kingsley Shacklebolt became Minister for Magic in 1998, the *Daily Prophet* was de-corrupted.

## Job Positions

* Editor
* Security Editor
* Sports Editor
* Reporter
* Photographer
* Photographer's Assistant
* Senior Quidditch Correspondent
* Chief Consulting Magizoologist
* Advice Columnist (General)
* Advice Columnist for Legal Problems
* Advice Columnist for Personal Problems
* Advice Columnist for Medical Problems
* Advice Columnist for Magical Problems
* Op-Ed Columnist

## Articles Written

### Important Articles

#### Between the Wars (1981-1995)

* *GRINGOTTS BREAK-IN: LATEST* (6 Sept. 1991)
* *BREAK-IN AT GRINGOTTS: Gringotts' Security Breached* (12 Sept. 1991)
* *WOMEN FLOCK TO LOCKHART SIGNING* (5 Aug. 1992)
* *FLYING FORD ANGLIA MYSTIFIES MUGGLES* (1 Sept. 1992)
* *ENQUIRY AT THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC* (25 Dec. 1992)
* *MINISTRY OF MAGIC EMPLOYEE SCOOPS GRAND PRIZE* (4 Jul. 1993)
* *SIRIUS BLACK ESCAPES AZKABAN: LATEST* (11 Jul. 1993)
* *STILL AN OUTCAST: Mother of Escaped Criminal Seeks Black's Recapture* (15 Jul. 1993)
* *BLACK STILL AT LARGE* (6 Aug. 1993)
* *SIRIUS BLACK SIGHTED* (9 Sept. 1993)