To see the press and society as London biased?

[Mapletreelane]

My heart and soul and thoughts are with Sarah Everard and her family.

Last year a student in Hull, Libby Squire, was randomly abducted and murdered by a monster.

And the press coverage and public outcry was just
..non existent

I'm trying to rack my brains the differences in the cases to explain the differences in the public and press responses.

Is it just a London thing?

These were my thoughts before a serving policeman was arrested. I just cannot understand why one made huge news and the other drifted by.

These are both so sad and tragic, but I just don't understand the differences in the media portrayal of them both.

Rest in peace to them both xxx

There is a few reasons for this

Social media is a big thing. Sarah’s friends and family were good at networking and one world for itv. Normally social media posts start with local people sharing. There is many more people in London that most places so it gets shared quicker.
Then media outlets pick it up
Because the amount of attention.
Also she didn’t really make front news page ( was on news but side story )
Because of who done it and the issue surrounding the events leading up to it ( police not investigation a indecent exposure )

Then as we know this year has been a weird year and people that don’t normally have the time to engage in politics and the uproar all have the time and have found passion in corruption.

It wasn’t huge news though before he was arrested

It was on bbc news but in the side sections.

The story is also amplified as the accused is a serving Police Officer unfortunately.

I remember Libby Squire being in the press, I think this situation has gathered more media and public attention because of who has been charged

@Troublewaters2021
You make good points.

This was a big story though before the suspect was arrested.

At the same time it is sad that the media is researching stories via social media rather than what is really going on.

I’m from that area (Wandsworth/Lambeth) stayed for decades and now live in a market town in the country.

That general bit of SW London is just absolutely heaving with young professionals in shared flats and houses, who have come to London to pursue “big jobs” as well as a lot of older established, well networked UMCs and a good amount of social housing.

A fairly high proportion of the people you meet work in the media or related fields like PR, comms and so on. When you read the weekend columnists a lot of them reference that part of London because that’s where a lot of them live. It’s just that demographic. I work in the media (not in a glamorous role) so do lots of my friends (some of them slightly more exciting jobs) and it often feels that everyone else is in marketing or finance (only slight exaggeration).

Sarah Everard herself worked in marketing, so did lots of her friends. So from the start the effort to find her was a grass roots campaign run by young professionals in PR, marketing etc.

On top of that you have the “Missing white woman syndrome” and you can double that effect because she’s blonde, which is horrendous but that is what happens with media reporting crime, sadly.

So a collision of factors; Sarah’s own and therefore her friends job, an area with plenty of ambition and sharp elbows, lots of journalists about to record events, lots of impassioned 20 and 30 somethings to lead the campaign. Then on top of that you have the fact that a metropolitan police officer has been charged in the case and that the Met have chequered history. It’s just the perfect set of circumstances for a media event.

I hope something can be done in Sarah’s memory that capitalises on this London centric groundswell and benefits the safety of all women nationally.

Sadly, most descriptions of the Missing White Woman phenomenon also mention a dimension of social class.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missing_white_woman_syndrome

Definitely nothing to do with London. Two sisters were murdered in a London park last year. The accused is currently in trial now, I believe.

I remember a lot of press coverage of the Libby Squires case.

Why London bears the brunt of the disruptive protests (that take the police away from domestic abuse call outs), I'm not sure.

Definitely nothing to do with London. Two sisters were murdered in a London park last year. The accused is currently in trial now, I believe.

Oh it’s London to an extent, but it’s white UMC London versus BAME WC London.

Those sisters made the mistake of being brown and not very well to do. It really is a disgusting variation in media interest.

I remember a lot of press coverage of the Libby Squires case.

Yes I agree. There was a fairly constant stream of updates on the national news and I felt I knew about the hunt and all the
developments despite living hundreds of miles away.

It seems to me that Linbynmet about have the criteria for Missing White woman syndrome by at least being young, attractive and female. So she for a reasonable amount of coverage but not as much as if she had been rich, blonde and southern.

Sorry to be blunt but that’s my honest assessment.

That should say “”...Libby met about half the criteria...”

RickiTarr Sarah wasn't southern. She was from York. You might be right about the media bias on colour and class though.

Libby Squires is a bit of an odd counterpoint to pick, I'd say it's one of the most high profile recent cases.

London bias in the media I agree with. I don't think it stops with the media. The Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition and Liberal Democrat leader all represent parts of London, the Green Party co-leader is a Camden councillor, to give examples.

@asurvivornotinmyname

RickiTarr Sarah wasn't southern. She was from York. You might be right about the media bias on colour and class though.

Yes I read that. Sorry I meant more in terms of domicile. Stuff that happens south of Derby just gets more coverage.

It’s interesting that people aren’t keen to discuss this.

I reckon MN membership has the same London skew that the media does. Maybe that makes it an uncomfortable topic to consider.

It would be good to discuss the inequalities, yes. The lack of support services for London women at risk of violence, for example, is concerning. In London, victims of crimes have to wait 6 weeks for help from Victim Support. Elsewhere in the country, it's 2-3 working days. The lack of rehousing options for London female victims of male violence is another huge issue worthy of discussion.

I suspect it being in between IWD and Mother’s Day, the fact it a serving police officer has been charged and yes, it shouldn’t matter, but she was a beautiful young woman.

Yes Sarah Everard case is being treated differently than normal (seems a bit like George Floyd in a way...like 'enough is enough', straw that broke the camel's back rather than this case being any more 'special')

However I dont think that's due to 'London'- although agree it is likely a lot to do with her class, ethnicity etc.

I can think of numerous examples of young women being murdered in London in the last few years (I am from and live in London) that haven't garnered this much attention.

I think if anything, the press is more 'class and ethnicity' biased than 'London' biased. Poor folk in London get ignored just as much as poor folk anywhere else in the country

@RickiTarr

It’s interesting that people aren’t keen to discuss this.

I reckon MN membership has the same London skew that the media does. Maybe that makes it an uncomfortable topic to consider.

No I don't think so. I am from London and do not feel it is an 'uncomfortable' topic.

I do think a lot of people are quick to label things as 'London' centric though when actually they mean 'white middle class' centric. The London I live in is largely ignored by the media...unless we're rioting

It's because of who has been charged with her murder ,a person being kidnapped and murdered is rare enough,but because the accused is a serving police officer it's an extremely unsual case and I think it would be big news where ever it was in the UK

There is definitely a bias - a London bias and a white, pretty, middle class bias.
But I think there were other factors that impacted on the coverage this time including the current climate concerning women's rights; the debates about hate crimes and misogyny; and the frankly awful response of MRAs on social media who responded to a missing women story and discussion about a curfew by creating a Not All Men trend. It was a perfect storm.

Roughly one in eight/nine people in the United Kingdom live in London. People cry bias when it's just simple numbers. If people are more likely to care about what happens on their doorstep, that's a lot more people in London than anywhere else.

No I don't think so. I am from London and do not feel it is an 'uncomfortable' topic.

Yes so am I, as I said. However I moved away slightly two years ago so I’ve started to understand the opposition view that the media is too London centric too. It’s interesting to observe the divide now I feel I have a foot in each camp. I couldn’t understand the fuss before.

I do think a lot of people are quick to label things as 'London' centric though when actually they mean 'white middle class' centric. The London I live in is largely ignored by the media...unless we're rioting

Oh yes it varies massively by postcode in London, but gentrification is always washing through like waves so it changes.

One of my older relatives (also a Londoner born and bred) was worried terribly for me 15 years ago when I took on a mortgage the size of a small country’s national debt to live in a little Battersea cottage. Her image of SW11 was 50 years out of date. Equally I’ve lived in very mixed, interesting, areas before they gentrified and the outsiders view of those two places was so inaccurate (trying not to out myself too specifically here). So I do know what you’re saying.

@peak2021

London bias in the media I agree with. I don't think it stops with the media. The Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition and Liberal Democrat leader all represent parts of London, the Green Party co-leader is a Camden councillor, to give examples.

Definitely. You really can't appreciate how massively London-centric the UK media and government is unless you spend significant time elsewhere. I can see how Scottish and Welsh independence gain traction.

It's not about population density. Much of the London based media is providing an UK-wide service. TV is the most-used platform to access local news. For that reason, it matters that even stations based in London, provide accurate and balanced coverage of local news across the UK.