To feel a bit angry at the media at grenfell

[normastits5]

I have just watched Martin bashir ask a poor father what he thinks has happened to his missing family? F&&ok sake!! Really martin must he spell out the dread he is feeling ? to satisfy your need for some real emotional TV? Back off a bit please and show some REAL compassion

katiekrafter: Glad I'm not alone in thinking that the media coverage of this event has been absolutely awful. Insensitive, crass and intrusive. Plus, now is NOT the time to be trying to score political points - now is the time to rally round, contribute to immediate needs and leave these poor people alone to come to terms with what has happened.

Couldn't agree more!

Agree. Media have been awful and some of the threads here and posts on FB - all awful. But it has been like that for a long time.

People enjoying the drama, trying to become part of it, filming it on phones, scoring political points, blaming, witch-hunting, laying flowers or posting "support" memes. Attacking each other for not "caring enough". None of this helps the people who are involved and I would say makes it more difficult to prevent it happening again.

^^ It's a bit like when that Peston pillock, whipped up the banking crisis

That 'Peston pillock' is whipping this up on Facebook and manages to reference with a similarity to the banking crisis.

I think he is shamefully irresponsible and goady when he says "..many of the poor and vulnerable people who died in the fire are not even being given the respect of formal identification as victims - because they live on the fringes of the state..." The Fire Chief said it would be weeks before they had finger tip searched every room. No-one is not doing their damnedest.

Our press is the most morally bankrupt press in the world. They will do anything for a scoop, to sell a few more papers. They survive on being divisive and whipping up mass hysteria. They appear to have learnt nothing from the phone hacking scandal and still haven't found any morals. I've read some articles recently which have headlines that are very misleading giving a different message to what is in the actual article because they know that a lot of people only read the headlines.

They should be ashamed.

I agree with what's been said re the questions. I do find many events the journos are asking really stupid questions:
How do you feel about your family being killed etc?
I find myself shouting at the telly - how do you think they feel you idiot!
Really think grieving relatives should be protected from that behaviour.

Completely agree. Over intrusive questioning and blatant shit-stirring. I heard something like this on BBC radio the day it happened :
interviewer: so did you feel like you really weren't being listened to?
Interviewee: er no not really I wouldn't say that.
Interviewer: so it really sounds like you were being ignored
etc.

I really struggle with journalists shouting down the professionals they are interviewing because they want to show off their own extensive knowledge of how to build safe buildings. Even though the presenters knew nothing about it last weekend and have built their knowledge with some frantic googling fitted in around the rest of their work over the last few days. Even when the professional is saying "it is more complicated than that" or "we don't know enough to say that yet". Even when there are going to be experts presenting evidence to an inquiry which will do a thorough job. No, Mr BigPresenter wants answers, he wants them now, he wants them in 30 second sound bites and he wants them to agree with his own opinions.

The Today Programme has been particularly bad at this.

BubblesBuddy totally agree with you.

Unfortunately the media hyping this up like asking types of questions to residents affected why they are at the council are they going to wait until they see someone...its feeding emotionally charged people and getting them so angry that they are storming the council building demanding answers right now. But answers can't be given so instantaneously and the media aren't helping at all. All rationale thought has just diasppeared.

Agree with all the PPs' comments on here.

Really distressing earlier, when BBC camera lingeringly zoomed in tight on an utterly distraught and sobbing woman's face. Happened during commentary about how some of the children had lost their lives, which would imply she was one of the newly bereaved mothers.

Exploitative and plain insensitive.

I turned off, so if news editors assume they'll gain viewers by such intrusion, they are deluded.

Whatsername,

"...one of the people who tried to help complained that the media helicopter got so close to people who were desperately waving out of the window. He said it was awful to give them false hope whilst trying to grab the most sensational images."

God, that's beyond horrendous.
Do such bastards not have one shred of compassion or decency?

Speaks volumes when contrasted with the integrity of experienced veteran journalists like Jon Snow, who always respectfully take their lead from those personally caught up in such tragedies, and give them a voice.

I think part of the problem is 24hr news. We expect constant updates when really the only news we 'need' is to hear that this awful thing has happened and is there any way we can help.Anything beyond that is voyeurism.

I think the "them" who are talking to the media are not necessarily the ones who speak for anyone other than themselves. It is self promotion and grandstsnding. All news outlets should speak to experts on such serious matters.

I've not really watched much on TV, but have been appalled by Radio 4 (Today, World at One and PM programmes) almost willing civil unrest. They're almost condoning it with their "people are angry, temperatures will soar this weekend".

PerspicaciaTick Absolutely right. The instant expert thing is really annoying.

I used to love the Today Programme but it's unlistenable to now. Constant interruptions, never letting anyone finish a sentence or make a point, pushing their own point of view at all costs, inflaming any situation they can.

It's sensationalism and hysteria at its worst and those politicians doing a bloody Diana act and trying to make political capital are just as bad.
This is a dreadful situation and the fear is whatever risk factors lead to it could be present elsewhere. The suffering need care, for the rest, calm heads to get to the bottom of what happened are what we need because until we can be assured this won't happen again, a lot of people can't rest easy.

Our press is another evil of our society unfortunately.

I went online the day after as I'd missed the news as was working.
I expected to see a live report of a reporter standing behind a cordon, giving the facts that were known.

Instead I got the live fb recording of a man in the tower and the awful scenes inside.
It's disgusting and a child could have innocently clicked on, also thinking it was a news report.
They shouldn't be able to do this, the law should be tighter.

Anything like these recordings should be passed to the Police, Fire service and those doing the inquiry, that is their place.
Not available for people to view, without any warning.

forgot to add it was the mirror and telegraph iirc.

I'm glad it's not just me that thinks this way.
The morning after this happened a journalist was interviewing a woman who had escaped with her family but her FIL was missing and the journalist actually asked her "Do you think he's dead?"

I've been horrified by the media coverage of this.

The media, social media vultures and those left wing opportunists who are whipping this up into an even worse situation make me sick. The suffering is beyond comprehension. Fucking LIly Allen has appointed herself as a spokesperson. Who the hell are the vultures who are still watching 'rolling' news coverage of bodies being taken out? Shame on the lot of them.
Move the fuck away and let the recovery teams do their jobs.

I did hear a woman talking (just a normal member of the public) sying that she was worried about the impact on survivors of being subjected to these interviews at a time when they are shocked and vulnerable.
Often people really want and need to talk (repeatedly) about overwhelming experiences, but you see them on TV apologising for not being able to string their thoughts together coherently, shaking, shocked. They should be talking in a safe space, with time and a caring listener, not on camera being beamed to a billions devices.

Karlos - also agree with what you have said, (and with most of the posters on here too).

The harm inflicted on the residents of this building is like a wartime situation. It's beyond horrendous. It's got me thinking of the blitz and how night after night Londoners went to bed waiting for fire and death to rain down. How did they survive? Thank god they didn't have to cope with media and political ghouls as well - reporting was respectful as were politicians.

Why do you fucking watch it?

I don't watch TV news any more, I can get what I need to know online.
I am very careful about what videos I watch too. Always ready to press the pause button.

And to those who are now pontificating on the MN 'Grenfell thread three' saga, shame on you all as well. How long are you going to keep that running? Until there are no more gruesome details to analyse? You are the people whose desperation to comment is feeding the media vultures invasiveness.

Absolutely disgusting.

I watch REAL news like Aljezeera and RT.