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Original poster

To think that the MN In The News section is more tabloid than the Sun these days?

54 replies

Callisto · 13/07/2007 09:52

I'm thinking in particular of the latest Victoria Beckham thread which is really quite awful, but there is the Britney thread, plus a Jade Goody thread and a Charlotte Church thread. This stuff isn't news it is gossip of the worst kind and it just seems to be posted so that everyone can be really bitchy and nasty.

I know that there have always been threads like these in the news section, but they seem so much more common these days and there are less and less real news threads. It is very sad that even MN has dumbed down to such an extent.

OP posts:
WendyWeber · 13/07/2007 11:03

Paris Hilton actually being made to go to prison?

Oblomov · 13/07/2007 11:35

wendy, you are joking, right. That one is a perfect example of ones that shouldn't be there.

LittleLupin · 13/07/2007 11:43

I think WW is right on the PH story, it's a reflection of our increasingly obsessed celebrity culture, and very insightful as to how "celebrities" are treated differently to "civilians", even in the judicial process.

potoroo · 13/07/2007 11:54

WW, LL - about the PH story, I was on holidays two weeks ago and our only access to news was CNN, and it was the top story. Lasted for about 5 min. Minor incidents like floods in Pakistan etc came a distant second.

I was appalled.

Oblomov · 13/07/2007 12:19

Makes me feel like the world has their priorities right when a celebrity item, is first on the list on the news, and ...... someone dying in a bomb/ being kidnapped/ whatever, comes fifth on the list

LittleLupin · 13/07/2007 12:35

Oh I entirely agree with you that it is not top story news. Did you read my thread about the US presenter who refused to read out the story?

There are MUCH more important things in the world. But that doesn't mean it isn't news at all.

theman · 13/07/2007 12:42

in fairness i would have sacked he ron the spot.who the hell did she think she is? she's basically a hired microphone.the station and editors decide what they want to report, if she wants to air her personal political views make a blog.

Oblomov · 13/07/2007 12:43

Littlelappin. Love it. No it does warrant a mention. Maybe tenth on the list though.

Oblomov · 13/07/2007 12:43

Thats true. Its not her decision.

LittleLupin · 13/07/2007 12:45

She's not just a "hired microphone", she's also a political commentator and panelist on the program (which is based on "talk"). In that context, I think she was entirely justified.

ArtichokeTagine · 13/07/2007 12:49

I sometimes go to the news section after reading a particular news story and hoping it will be discussed. It rarely is. I guess I should start a thread, but once I did and no one was that interested. I am not a regular enough poster to feel comfortable starting loads of threads.

I am not sure it is fair to say all newspapers and news providers have dumbed down. If you want serious news there are plenty of papers and programmes you can go to. 15 years ago Diana dominated, now its the Beckhams and co.

LittleLupin · 13/07/2007 12:52

Start a thread and bump it! I posted the other day about these women in the States who were trying to create a "Global Peace Moment" at 7pm on 7/7/07 - and no bugger was the slightest bit interested!

If you think it's worth discussing, start a thread.

theman · 13/07/2007 12:55

"she's also a political commentator and panelist on the program (which is based on "talk"). In that context, I think she was entirely justified."

that may be true, but surely then she should have reported it as instructed and then commented on it, not just flat out refuse to do what she was instructed by her boss.

LittleLupin · 13/07/2007 12:59

I think you need to take into account the sort of program she is on. The guy who is the main presenter was egging her on. It's not like it was Moira Stewart ripping it up on the 10 o'clock news!

Imagine if John Humphreys was told to discuss Paris Hilton ahead of Gordon Brown's "pre- Queen's Speech" - how do you think he would react!

OldieMum · 13/07/2007 13:09

Could it be because some people who used to post on this kind of thread have been put off by the way some posters respond to more serious topics? I gave up starting more serious current affairs threads after once posting an article from the Guardian that I had found quite thought-provoking. Almost the first response was along the lines of "The Guardian is crap and everything in it is crap." I'm afraid my reaction was to start to look for more conversations about the news in RL, rather than MN. A real pity, as I used to enjoy the debates on here.

WendyWeber · 13/07/2007 13:13

potoroo, US news bulletins always highlight US stories (the more sensational the better, hence PH going top) - if there's a lot of US news they drop the international stuff completely

They do like bad international news though

Oblomov · 13/07/2007 13:26

Oldie, there are many serious threads. They have a bit of a laff aswell. But you read through that, enjoy it for what it is. It is a shame when a serious thread gets turned into a joke, right at the beginning. The thread on Lowri Turner and her mixed race baby was very ...... good.

OldieMum · 13/07/2007 13:43

It wasn't even a joke. It was a dismissal, really. Other posters just did a kind of textual analysis on the article. Hardly anyone actually engaged with the ideas. I like jokes, too. I have just found I no longer turn to MN when there is a big news story. A prime example was the Alistair Campbell thread this week. Yes, it's amusing to speculate what he'd be like in bed (my mind boggles at this!), but why not also have a discussion about the content of the diaries, or Campbell's role in government etc etc.?

jojosmaman · 13/07/2007 14:09

I'm afraid whether it be right or wrong, its supply and demand- start a thread on posh's bosom and it will run forever. Start a thread on global warming, I'm afraid it may just trickle out (unless of course it touches on Live Earth as this has celebs to discuss as well!). Its the ways of the world, celebrity has always been of interest, but I think now it is deemed "acceptable" for people to discuss "hot gossip" in all areas of society, not just in teenagers bedrooms! One of the main reasons for this I think is the blurring of celebrity with people of supposed high standings in society, say politicians (Galloway in BB for example).

Also, possibly on mumsnet, a lot of posters may be wary of posting on threads about political, global, world issues through fear of either looking like an idiot (I often think that I will make a fool of myself by posting something on an emotive political issue only to be torn apart by a much more informed person than myself!) or starting a huge row! But even I know that no-one will shoot me down when it comes to Katie and Peter- what I don't know about those two isn't worth knowing... I joke of course but you get my drift.

Anyway, off to watch re-runs of Jeremy Kyle on ITV2.

Original poster
Callisto · 13/07/2007 14:27

I suppose that I object to the viciousness of the threads as much as their banal nature. The last two about Victoria Beckham were unbelievably bitchy and I can't understand what someone would get from being really nasty about another woman.

OP posts:
Pruners · 13/07/2007 20:19

Message withdrawn

Pruners · 13/07/2007 20:21

Message withdrawn

OldieMum · 13/07/2007 23:56

I completely agree, Pruners, but this was an article by Madeleine Bunting. Her work is of variable quality, and the article in question did have some flaws, but it was an intrinsically interesting topic, and nobody took it up.

I've been mulling this question over this evening. My strong impression is that there were many more news-based threads with real content when I first started posting (93-4) than there are now. I remember really valuing MN as a source of info and opinion on current affairs and very much wanting to contribute to the debate then. I hardly ever see anything that stirs me like that now.

On the Campbell issue - just seen a very good discussion on the diaries on Newsnight Review. Very far from the usual flummery on that programme and with some intelligent, well-informed opinions on Campbell's role in the political scene. I kept thinking of the contrast with the "how is he in bed" thread ...

OldieMum · 13/07/2007 23:57

Sorry, that should be 03-04. Showing my age now - the decades start to blur.

Pruners · 14/07/2007 08:39

Message withdrawn