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

As a general point in reporting tragedies, not just Grenfell, why all the promoting the market for amateur footage, by 'official' media (of all political stripes)?

I don't mean requests for important, helpful stuff: witnesses by chance capturing vital details which aid police investigation, or mobile phone film exposing injustice from the authorities themselves etc...it's the outlets' twisted eagerness for "see desperate victims trapped"/ "heartbreaking final call to parents"-type of clips which sicken me.

Nobody I know ever makes the conscious choice to watch or listen to them: is anyone prepared to swear, hand-on-heart, their understanding of a situation/ sympathy for its victims has in any way been enhanced by doing so?

Serves no purpose other than to legitimise making a few quid out of other people's agony.

(For the record, I'm not knocking the entire news media and have a lot of respect for many principled journalists working within).

Oh, and thanks for the complaints link, Mip.

Shoes are you serious?! TM is to blame because of cuts yet the council chose to spend the millions it had on external cosmetic renovations instead of safety precautions. That's like me spending my last tenner on a pretty hanging basket for the front door instead of a smoke alarm. The council had the wrong goddamn priorities.

Yes I'm serious. Have a read of the Grenfell Action Group blog, about how the raised very serious concerns on SAFETY in this tower block - and yet the KCTMO saw fit to spend the £10M (approx) renovation on flammable external cladding, and their own 6 figure salaries, rather than on work to make the building actually safe for residents.

You know, the money's always there for external, contracted companies making a mint, yet cutting corners, but never there for spending on making actual poor or disadvantaged people's lives better/safer.

lelloteddy come off it. People are talking about it, obviously, and trying to figure out why it happened, what can be done to prevent it happening again etc. It is important we talk about it and not just forget because it's unpleasant. It is a political issue.

You've obviously had a good nosy at the thread if you feel that the comments aren't to your taste.

In general, yeah, some media comments have been awful, some reporters are far too insensitive, but I would rather they reported than just ignored it. If they ignored it, that would be far worse.

And to whoever said the media was more respectful during the second world war - it really really wasn't.

We don't need to hear over and over again about what happened and to see distressed people being exploited like this simply to fill space on rolling news channels. It doesn't allow those victims the dignity of privacy. Why do people need constant news all the time? My DH does this, and I'm convinced its seriously affecting his mental health as he suffers from anxiety.

big yellow of course it needs to be talked about,criticisms highlighted and discussed and developments reported, but the constant whipping people up and questioning distressed people to put on the news is not necessary.

No river we don't but I do believe we need to put pressure on the government to do something about this, and if the media just ignores it, I fear it will just be whitewashed like so much other stuff.

It isn't pleasant but I think ignoring the unpleasant stuff is more dangerous.

river yes interviewing crying people isn't great and they should be sensitive in their questions.

I want to see them bothering politicans not victims.

Yes. Completely agree. Report the concerns of residents and publicise them, but don't ask them how they felt when they were listening to their brother dying.

Totally. No one needs to hear that in the context of the news.

It is the 21st century equivalent of bear-baiting. Find someone vulnerable, going through a terrible experience. They are already very upset. Or angry (angry works too). Then prod them with stick and nip at their heels until they are even more upset, even more angry, really losing whatever self-control and dignity they have left...and, bingo, you have some great, entertaining footage.

Well, there probably is a security risk on Teresa May at the moment, due to what the press are doing.

Ive reported the BBC to ofcom using the link up thread

Shoes
you are being misled and swallowing the media hype whole

For the record, this housing scheme was a social housing scheme and would not have been covered by the amendment, as it’s already subject to some pretty strict regulations.

If corners were cut then the persons responsible at the council and the arms length management company ought to be brought up on manslaughter charges.

Thanks for the link, I've reported

Yes completely agree YANBU. For the first time in my life I am really appalled by the BBC.

Argy
Me too
Use the link and complain

It's not just the BBC. Channel 4 have been shoving mikes at people and helpfully interpreting them. John Snow said to a group of women 'so do you just feel that you've been completely and utterly abandoned?' and they nodded. That's not journalism, that's script writing.

My Facebook is also full of clickbait from the Telegraph with people accusing the police and emergency services of not helping them find lost relatives. Now that is patently untrue. These people are desperate and in pain. To use their distress to get clicks on their website is despicable.

I actually complained to the BBC about the intrusive/insensitive coverage - the reporter standing there while a sobbing relative is filmed wondering if their family is dead is not, IMO, necessary. They seem to have wilfully misunderstood me and apologised for distressing content.

It's rolling news, they are all trying to outcompete each other to get a sound bite, fecking ghouls the lot of them.

YANBU. It's the papers that are really behaving appallingly. The Mail and the Sun both printed an image and named the guy who's fridge supposedly caught fire. And allegedly a Sun reporter posed as a relative of one of the injured residents to get into the hospital.

whats the point in voting anymore, media and certain groups and protests will now determine the government from now on. I almost feel like im on the verge of giving up now...let them win kick out the Tories and put JC in and lets live in a socialist country and drag everyone down....race to the bottom.

spectre just so you know, you sound unhinged.

Where the fuck have you seen any suggestion that that is going to happen?

Christ. Bit fucking melodramatic in Little England these days.

I am not unhinged its just a feeling that with all the shit being thrown at the governement in such an appalling way, the protests being put together with the agenda to bring down the Tories, the constant comments that you don't care enough if you try and bring a bit of rationality to the situation. I am not saying its going to happene but it is relentless and its nice to say avoid the media but its not that easy