Paper trail
Sitting here in , a copy of The Sun on the rough hewn table that passes for my desk.
The page one footy trail speaks of Arsenal's victory and Liverpool's defeat. Rangers humiliation is a few pars on the inside back page. A clue to the edition in question.
Also on the front is a banner declaration of intent: .
It is accompanied by several pages of explanation - plus a handy pull-out-and-keep poster listing Labour's failures.
Of course, such a momentous switch needs a slogan. The paper duly supplies it with: "We're feeling blue."
Not, however, in Scotland. .
For why? Presumably because of the calculation that the Tories are not in a particularly healthy state in Scotland.
Political stance
As a marketing tool, they are flawed, at least by comparison with the brand in England. In short, the Scots Tories don't sell.
The Scottish edition of the paper, which I have perused online, does the sums.
It says: "Fifty years ago more than half of Scotland voted Tory. Today they command the support and respect of only one in six of the population."
The Scottish Sun has wrestled with its political stance before. As I recall, it flirted relatively briefly with support for independence, presumably as a counterpoint to the Labour-loyal Daily Record.
Now it appears caught between the overall abandonment of Labour and the lack of an obvious alternative.
Not the Conservatives: today's Scottish edition of the paper says that suspicion of the Tories "runs way deeper" than the newly-stated distrust of Labour.
Not, it would seem, the SNP: that same Scottish edition declares continuing support for the Union.
The Liberal Democrats, then? Behave yourself.
Instead, the Scottish paper is left urging Mr Cameron to declare what he will do for "our nation", starting presumably next week at the Tory conference.
Does all of this matter? As Gordon Brown pointed out this morning, newspapers don't vote, people do.
However, newspapers can undoubtedly lead opinion - not through their op ed articles but through dedicated, persistent news coverage aimed in a particular direction.
In short, having declared for the Tories in the southern edition, The Sun will want to end up on the winning side. They don't do losers.
In Scotland, presumably, the paper will tailor its coverage to match its nuanced position. Unless and until it reaches a clear verdict.
I'm 
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