to think that the reporting of the deaths of people in the public eye is disgusting

[beautyisthefaceisee]

MN HQ, feel free to move this elsewhere if you think more appropriate.

Not long off the back of the Caroline Flack circus (And let's not get into that again, I am referring directly to their reporting in regards to a dead woman) we have this morning the news that sadly Jake McLean, who isn't actually a celebrity in himself, but the ex boyfriend of two, has died following a car crash. HIs girlfriend, Yasmin Oukhello who appears in TOWIE, is in intensive care.

The articles this morning talk at great length about Jake's 3 years in prison 10 years ago, his ex girlfriend Lauren Goodger using her interviews from 2013, Yasmin's ex boyfriend and his love life.

Why? Just why? Jake has a family. He presumably has parents, or siblings, friends, people who love him. It is unlikely that Yasmin even knows he is dead yet.

Why does it become acceptable to report in this manner when it's someone (barely) in the public eye? Do we stand up at funerals and say "He was in prison and he went out with Sarah in 2012". No, of course we don't.

All the papers are doing are opening the floodgates for the standard comments of "who", "he's not a celebrity", "he's a criminal so good", "talentless Z lister", etc etc etc.

But he is ultimately a man who has died and his family and friends have to read this shit. I honestly think it's disgusting. Its all over the internet and in every shop I've been in this morning, so god knows how his poor mother feels.

Your points are completely valid OP but by sharing it on here you have also spread it further- I had no idea who he was. I don’t buy papers and I haven’t been in the shops today. I do agree with your point but … it’s just that people reading this who didn’t know who he was is now off to Google him and that gives the papers the impression it’s a story people are interested in and the media circus continues. It’s a two edged sword unfortunately.
It is literally all about what sells the papers though I do agree and it’s in bad taste. Like you said, his family wouldn’t want to go through all of those memories again. But I must also admit that I’m a bit iffy about people becoming saints when they die, that’s a completely different thread I know. I just know that my FIL for example treated a lot of people badly and was even abusive. But the second he died everyone is off saying what a loss and what a great man etc. I just struggle with this from people who two months before his death said what an absolute asshole he was.
Sorry I’ve derailed there.

You claim to dislike the noise about the death, and yet you are creating that noise.

I’m another one who had never heard of this person before this thread.

No one has implied you like that someone is dead. You are twisting words for drama.

Me neither. Just made a quick check on the BBC and nothing about him and his past, it just mentions his name. So the OP is the one spreading details about his criminal past - perhaps she has a motive?

They all annoy me - I won't go into the one that annoyed me the most.

But this one is particularly distasteful due to the amount of people they have dragged into it. I'm not upset, I'm just talking about something like everyone else on these boards.

Thef act you think I must know him shows how heartless we have got as a society.

Yes, because the BBC regularly reports on things like that.

Look up the daily mail, the sun and then come back and apologise.

Re your motive comment - you are utterly disgusting and I won't be engaging further. (but the answer is no).

You're another one.

Why so spiteful?

Thanks for being one of the very few to not be utterly spiteful.

Appreciate it.

don't apologise for your derail, I wasn't expecting an echo chamber! Just a reasonable debate about a very valid topic, so thanks!

I saw this story on my phone news feed, until this point I had never heard of the bloke. He was actually mentioned alongside the reality woman who was injured in the same crash.
He seems to be known primarily because he dated reality star women so it isn't surprising that is mentioned in the write ups.

In relation to his criminal past, that doesn't disappear just because he has died. It would be strange not to mention it when summarizing his life.

If you don't want media attention I would strongly recommend not participating in reality shows or highlighting that you date people who do.

Essex is actually quite a large county it is perfectly possible to avoid appearing on TV should you wish to do so.

Well, I'm a woman, on a predominantly female site - do you get the impression I've been respected for my opinion? I certainly dont't. I see things on MN every day that I don't agree with but I certainly don't pile on (especially as it's hardly a controversial view!)

Going to ask to have my post moved. I'd forgotten how spiteful and vicious AIBU can be.

He didnt appear. They're mixing him up with Jake Hall on that comment.

I take your point - I just think it's in bad taste when the man has literally just died.

I suppose in views of my motivations, he's my age group so I think about how I would feel if that was my brother, or my friend. We lost our best friend in a tragic accident last year and I would have been devastated if they reported like that. The fact he wasn't a celebrity and Jake was doesn't mean people would have loved him any less.

Thef act you think I must know him shows how heartless we have got as a society.

I don't see it that way though. I had never heard of the guy before this thread. If his death is significant enough that the papers are reporting on it, then why not put his entire history there? Otherwise, everybody that dies will be made out to be a saint. If he spent a couple of years in jail, then that's a significant part of his life and should be reported. I can't get upset about someone's life NOT being airbrushed, just because they are now dead.

why is it spiteful? just because people don't see it your way?

Nothing that I read or am on. I had to look up who you were talking about.

The outlets reporting it are not where I usually spend my time so yabu as 'reporting' is really only happening in tabloids and the like.

If it disgusts you then don't look.

Yes, because the BBC regularly reports on things like that.

Look up the daily mail, the sun and then come back and apologise

Personally I choose to “vote with my feet” about things like this. I don’t like tabloid style journalism so I never ever read the tabloids. I get my news from places such as BBC News Online where - as you say - they don’t report on things like that.

If you don’t like the way the tabloids report then don’t read them. If enough of us do that then the tabloids will have to change their methods. But you can’t read them all and then tell us all to look up them all and then wonder why they print stories like this.

Oh no. I have no issue with people thinking its fine reporting, that's opinions.

But the PP who suggested I have a motive and must have come on here to, what, profit in some way from a man's death? The faux pretence that it's not all over the tabloids because its not on the bloody BBC so I must be here in bad intentions? You don't htink that's spiteful?

"if it disgusts you dont look" Is that a society we want though? Journalists behaving however they like?

Hadnt actually thought about it like that in terms of the clicks.

I knew someone (distantly) who died young in an accident overseas. But because they hadn't engaged in any reality star nonsense they got brief and non intrusive write up in the papers that noted the incident.

I do think this individual's personal choices are what has led to his write ups being what they are.

I am sorry for your loss OP. 💐

Look up the daily mail, the sun and then come back and apologise

You've absolutely proved your point. The only newspapers covering this are the tabloids. Which people don't read if they don't want to read celebrity news.

You also said you saw this on Facebook this morning. And that's entirely down to you, and who you follow/who your friends are. Again, if you don't follow celebrity gossip or have friends that do, you wouldn't have seen this.

Fuck me, so it's my friends faults as well now!

Cheers, calmlakes.

I hadn't thought about why it touched a nerve, but maybe that's why. I don't care what these people do for jobs, but I do think about their mums and dads.

I was the same with Caroline Flack, and Stephen Gately. I just kept thinking about their poor siblings and parents who had to read this shit.

I don't agree.

He chose to put himself out there - nobody made him date those people and no doubt he did so to try and get himself "famous" too. Don't date a series of celebrities who splash their lives over the tabloids if you don't want your private life out there for the world to see.

But the PP who suggested I have a motive and must have come on here to, what, profit in some way from a man's death? The faux pretence that it's not all over the tabloids because its not on the bloody BBC so I must be here in bad intentions? You don't htink that's spiteful?

There are a number of tabloid journalists who use mumsnet as a way of researching / obtaining / publicising stories.

Mumsnetters are getting wise to this so a simple “what do you think about X” no longer does the job. If I was a tabloid journalist who had written a story about this and I wanted to get more clicks then one way of doing it would be to post a post like yours claiming to disapprove and then hope we all got cross too and looked up their story to find out all about it and be able to discuss it.

That doesn’t mean that you are a journalist. But a number of people (including myself) now know the name of this man and that he had been in prison. And had you not posted your message then I wouldn’t have.

It's nobody's "fault", you absolute drama llama.

The point is, your Facebook feed will be a feed of updates from friends and from news sites you follow.
If your friends don't post celeb gossip, and you don't follow tabloid news sites, you won't see this stuff on Facebook. It's very simple.

All I see on Facebook is a mix of politics; articles on running; updates from my friends (mostly pics of kids tbh) and updates from musicians I like. Because that's what I choose to follow..