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.

I had never heard of this bloke but after googling it appears he was jailed for three and a half years for forcing his way into a house, holding a woman hostage while other of his gang entered with guns threatened to shoot the occupants and raided the house. He spent further time in jail after that and was still wearing an ankle tag in 2018.

Do I give two hoots about this bloke - no. Not sure why you're being so hysterical about it. People die every single day, some I have more sympathy for than an ex-con.

I have found the MSM disgusting for years.

But not as disgusting as flack's "friends" who then kept her in the press trying to deify her and make more fame from the #bekind bs that they were promoting.

Are you aware that when you click on such ‘stories’ your clicks are recorded, analysed and used to drive demand for more of the same?

OP doesn't appear to be, which is surprising given that she has studied sociology and celebrity culture.

Funny how despite all this I managed to have not heard of it until now

@Adelishious I agree.

I often find on AIBU that snark often comes from the OP first and the tone of the thread can sometimes follow that.

However, I think only one person saw spite and viciousness. I didn’t even see particularly robust disagreement.

Just disagreement.

And that is not a pile on.

Newspapers will print what sells or gets clicks. What is reported doesn’t necessarily comfort those who mourn. It isn’t supposed to.

I lost friends in horrific circumstances. I did not care for the headlines or some of the angles of reporting. None of us who knew them did. But we were all reasonably savvy enough to know that it would happen. And did our best to avoid what we could.

It is all about the money. Being in the public eye just makes it easier to ‘sell’ it.

Initially I agreed with op, thinking it was maybe someone who had dated a 'famous' person. But now I've googled loads out of nosiness and he was pinned as 'Lauren Goodger's ex boyfriend' and seemed to court some publicity to be fair. Unfortunately I think it's that thing where you enter a contract with the media if you are a z list sleb and even in death they want a piece of you. Seems loads of people are interested in how far bodily fluids have spread round Essex, and it's a lucrative market.

I really do DO care about 'journalists' behaviour and what they report.

I just think you are confusing many things.

It is clear that you focus on reality tv type 'news' and the fodder associated with them and the tabloid outlets that report on this kind of information.

You have every right to be disgusted - as you stated in your OP. But you have to understand that for most these people aren't news. Sad, sure. But it isn't worthy of a post beyond FB or their own family announcements.

This is exactly what I came on to say, for someone who has 'studied' the culture of celebrity etc you seem strangely unaware at how your clicking on to tabloid articles and directing others to them is in fact giving them reason to continue publishing the very things you object to. Honestly though what on earth have you the impression Mumsnet should be a safe space? We all bring different opinions and yes styles of writing to the table. I suggest you look past the so called insults you might find you learn a lot, not meaning to criticise but gosh you seem very angry and confrontational. Calm down and take other peoples posts on board

OP, I think you might benefit from stepping away from celebrity culture, especially as you say you despise it so much.
The content of your posts, and the tone you use to write, indicates someone who is submerged in tabloid drama to a really unhealthy degree.
After posting about the guy who has died (who most of us hadn't heard of) you go on to mention loads of other celebs as if this is totally normal stuff we should all know about. Most people don't, OP. I've never heard of most of the people you mention in your posts, but you’re at the point where they're referred to by first names only (ie "Andrew" who crops up in your post on Caroline Flack).
You may think this is normal. It isn't. It suggests someone who clicks on loads of celeb stories, then gets fed a load more, and the cycle continues. If it upsets you as much as you claim, just either stop clicking, or hide them until the algorithms stop showing you this shit. Because most people do not see this view of the world - they really don't.

It is surprising.

No space on the Internet is a safe space. People haven't piled on. They've expressed opinions different to yours.

What is probably the worst thing will be those grieving who will have been contacted by the press.

This is not what feminism is about. It has literally nothing to do with feminism.

I don't know who "Gareth" is, either. I have decided it is Gaz Top.

I've never heard of any of them and wouldn't know them if they were sat next to me. It's perfectly possible to ignore.
I looked on the BBC app and he's described as her friend that's all. No mention of anything else

Essex is a county with a population of more than 1 million.. hardly a 'small' place where they all date each other. Other than that I kind of agree with you