This egalitarian attitude allowed Morgan to quickly prove his mettle and his willingness to do whatever it took to be successful in breaking stories. But he only lasted at News of the World for a bit over a year.
Though Morgan has said that he left the publication of his own accord, the timing of his exit coincided with the publication of a photo of Princess Diana's sister-in-law leaving an addiction treatment clinic,
the publication of which even Rupert Murdoch said went too far. In 1995, shortly after the photo ran, Morgan moved on to head up The Mirror, another paper owned by Rupert Murdoch.
Here, his tenure lasted much longer than it did at News of the World. The number of controversial stories he was involved in was correspondingly larger,
and as a result his profile continued to rise - even outside of Britain. It only took a year before Morgan found himself embroiled in his first major controversy at The Mirror.
The day before England was set to play Germany in the Euro '96 football championships, The Mirror ran a headline and photo on its front page that many did not find amusing.
Above a doctored image of two English players wearing World War II helmets was the headline "ACHTUNG! SURRENDER! For you Fritz, ze Euro 96 Championship is over."
Next to it was a letter written by Morgan himself in the style of Neville Chamberlain. Reportedly, Morgan also planned a publicity stunt that involved driving a tank to the German embassy.
In the ensuing uproar about the headline, that stunt was cancelled. Suddenly, Morgan found himself in a position his hard-charging personality didn't seem suited for - apologizing.
There were fears the kind of attitude promoted by the headline may incite acts of violence during the games. Though Morgan was apologizing, he was right where he wanted to be - at the center of attention.
