Britain's got talent, but the Daily Mail seems short of prescience

The Mail prophesied the end of Simon Cowell when Britain's Got Talent was being outperformed by The Voice. So much for the power of the press to influence events
Britain's Got Talent Live Semi-Final
Simon Cowell: a talent to succeed. Photograph: Ken McKay/Rex Features

The supposed power of the press? Here's a chastening example from everyday life, one without a smidgen of politics on display. Begin at the end of March as Britain's Got Talent and Simon Cowell are caught in the headlights of a supposedly omnipotent Daily Mail. Look back and see The Voice from the BBC "soaring" as BGT fails. Oh what "a blow for Cowell"! His "reign as the king of Saturday night TV" is looking vulnerable. Maybe "Television's Mr Nasty has a made a fortune but lost his soul". Maybe his "botched botox" job is the final humiliation. "Will Simon Cowell have the courage to put himself out of his misery?"

Thus, as May crept onto our screens, the Mail's diagnosis couldn't have been clearer. Cowell was washed up. His show was getting walloped in the ratings. His new press adviser (hired from the Daily Mail, as it happens) didn't stand a chance. The Voice was the winner, loud, clear and thumping.

Except that, of course, it wasn't. The Voice's audience plunged to below 6m. Cowell's Got Talent wound up on 11.9m. "If there's a happier, more family-friendly TV show, then I missed it," cooed the Mail's Jan Moir. God bless Simon, and Alesha, and David Walliams, and the incredible dancing Pudsey. It's a 180-degree turnaround. And caused, power-mongers please note, by nothing more complex than ordinary viewers in their millions flicking a remote from one channel to another. Simple is as simple does. Just one finger does it.