The Media Column: Why the papers have gone cold on 'Big Brother'

For many people last year the one word "Helen" conjured up, not the owner of the face that launched a thousand ships, but a ditzy Welsh blonde, possessed of that appalling thing, a "sense of fun". Helen of Troy was a woman of mystery, Helen of Swansea was a woman of no mystery at all.

No institution was as devoted to the cult of the modern Helen, originally created within the Big Brother house, as the Daily Mirror of Piers Morgan. The TV show's second series was covered in a depth that made the wartime reporting of the Blitz look half-hearted. Morgan's organ went so far as to adopt an inmate – Brian, a gay air steward – and prosecuting his cause. When, helped by the gay vote and the fact that women invariably vote against other women, Brian won his place in history (and children's TV presenting), it was a victory for Morgan and for his erstwhile Muse, Triviality.

Then came Morgan's much-awarded conversion on the road to Kabul. The sinner became saint, and began to preach against sin itself. Last week the Daily Mirror, once the "Official Big Brother Newspaper", rebranded itself the "Official Anti-Big Brother Newspaper". Which, of course, meant that it could do what the broadsheets have always done – write endlessly about Big Brother while slagging it off (a stance, incidentally, which is still preferable to the grisly sound of grown-up commentators professing to enjoy the programme).

At the weekend the Sunday Mirror didn't bother with BB at all, despite the show's absolute determination – as evidenced through its cast selection – to make this the most salacious and rancorous series so far. The Mirror had the infinitely more serious business of another Angus Deayton allegation to splash. Its stable-mate, The People, was not so squeamish. Bigger than the jubilee, bigger than the World Cup, bigger than anything, were the Tits of Jade. Jade Porn Photo Shock (having watched Jade for about two minutes meant it certainly wasn't any shock to me) and Jade's Naked Shame (pages 4 and 5) showed bosom pictures that were very similar to the later topless photos that simply illustrated "Why Robbie's So Hot For Rachel".

The People was hedging its bets, including 10 reasons to hate Big Brother and 10 reasons to love Big Brother, accompanying a picture of a naked house-mate called Spencer with hands cupped over his bollocks. But the paper didn't give you 10 reasons not to give a flying f... one way or the other. Here is a programme as exciting as putting a webcam in a teenager's bedroom. In it, young people lie on the bed, lie on the sofa and – in what I think are called "peak moments" – go and lie by the pool.

But it was always this way. Why would a reader who had bought a newspaper regularly on the basis of its Big Brother stories, now agree to be told that his or her former interests were signs of moral and intellectual weakness, and that from now on John Pilger was the new Helen?

It is extraordinary how newspapers expect to manipulate the poor sods who fork out their 20p every morning. But the truth is that journalists, and tabloid journalists in particular, are always neurotic about leading popular trends or missing them. They want to see themselves as tribunes, not as surly camp-followers to the people. They do not like it when, as at the time of the Princess of Wales's death, the people do something big without them.

Trying to call the jubilee, for example, has been a problem. Should there be more or less? What happens if there are no street parties when editors have gone nap on affection for Her Majesty? Or if they predict no bunting and then millions turn out to wave flags?

At the moment it looks as though Big Brother's viewing figures (though small) are up on the last series. And the awful reality seems to be that the show is now kept aloft by instant tradition, like Lulu and the National Lottery. Which means, among other things, more articles like this. For the moment we have it covered either way.