Am I being unreasonable in hating these articles by journalists who are just showing off their families?

[ipanemagirl]

articles like this just make me want to chunder. Does her family really want to be paraded about like this? Isn't it just a bit weird?

Sorry but there seem to be all these 30 something 40 something women journalists who can't do anything except write dull lightweight pieces of family journalistic bragging.
Yuck.

Great names she picked for her LO's

Blardy showoff

and the husband looks so embarrassed, it's just toe curling.

check out the names, no way they are middle class!!!

(sweeping generalistation and a JOKE - no bashing allowed!)

it was so dull i gave up after three sentences

i did not need to read the article. i saw the picture and i judged, and i closed the link

I know! Hell they are a gorgeous family, there's no getting away from it but isn't it just a bit me me me? I mean be proud but don't stick it in my paper!

ah ipa, it's money for old rope innit?
blah blah blah poncey activity blah blah ooh aren't my kids gorgeous blah but hey we're down to earth really blah blah

Hello Cat! Lovely to hear from you!
I'm just bitter and twisted aren't I?
The same journalist did an article about buyring a DOG and it made me want to lay myself down on a busy road and just end it all!

Why can't I bear these women? It's the slightly snooty tone and the " have to love your children as they are" YUCK.

And the faux comedy about guns oh heave.

Big hugs Cat! {grin]

Am vaguely thinking aboit writing a few articles myself for some sunday supplements.

It seems like money for old rope.they usually follow the lines of: oh I'm so right on and laid back my house and kids are chaotic, but very brihgt and lovable at the same time, I'm going to make some effort this week at new self improvenment technique, I make fun of other types of mothers who take this seriously, I'm so dizzy I fail misrably at attempted task and rteurn back to left of centre book lined and shabby chic vitorian villa...till next week.

my kids have the right sort of names already.Should i go foe it?

you are being unreasonable. What's the problem?

ipa I think it's because they are exceedingly patronising

I really couldn't care less what wholesome leisure activities they get up to, I'd rather pick my nose for 5 minutes

to get paid for this stuff too

nice to see you too ipa

Because it's so vainglorious! Have some shame! Don't prostitute your family life that's private! (this is addressed to them not you beanie!) It's like any showing off, it can make the audience uncomfortable.

It's like that journo who spent a year writing about her marriage. Male journos do it too. It's just kind of repulsive somehow to use your relatives.

Jon Ronson suddenly got it last year and stopped his readable but slightly toe curling column about having an enormous house in Islington and going to posh restaurants all the time. Maybe that's real life for some people but for how many people?

The travel section is full of journos, Robert Elms, Anthony Barnet "here's my utterly gorgeous family on holiday in blardy farking Venice! And it's free! Stick that in your fruit n'fibre and scoff it down!"

Ipanemagirl - how I agree with you !

You are not being unreasonable at all.

I personally loathe these articles - if I pay money to read the Guardian I want their writers to have got off their London-centric middle class buts and gone out and LOOKED for some interesting people to write about not just WRITE ABOUT THEMSELVES.

Their arrogance knows no bounds....

FFS!!!

I saw it in the paper last week and didn't bother to read the thing anyway

LOL Withering - go for it! They're all at it!

It's all lifestyle journalism I think and Columns about nada. It just isn't journalism is it?

I forgive Julie Burchill & Will Self for their crimes in this area because they are so funny and clever they can be forgiven.
But to be neither funny nor clever is not acceptable imho.

so glad I'm not alone! It is lazy journalism or should I say
lazy commissioning!

And let alone the interviews by people like Gwneth Paltrow talking about what hard work it is bringing up children when you have 45 full time members of staff arghhhh!

The only thing I would say - and I'm as allergic to the "look at my lifestyle" features as the rest of you - that this is an ongoing "section" of the Guardian where the point is to see if you can find an activity that has cross generational appeal.

So they have one of these every week. Actually there was a brillint one last week abot geo-caching, which sounded extremely cool and I got really interested in.

so the rationale is not "look at my children knitting" but "is knitting something a whole family can do together". And for that I guess you need to trial it on a family.

(Disclaimer: I am not that journalist and I would never parade my children on one of those things).

"want their writers to have got off their London-centric middle class"

Quite agree!

I recently read an article about 4 families and had a guess about area and occupation. All London, check, all "writers", check.

well said Anchovy and you're right of course. Some of them have been good and some have been vile imo. But the starting point is fair enough.

I remember reading a Travel section Julie Myerson article about taking her son to Amsterdam. it was so self regarding that I have never forgotten it!

It's just the papers are full of it now and I'd rather read something a bit less braggy!

I HATE THEM ALL

I lose the will to live after about the first sentence, thenperk up and start stomping and raving

I don't know why I get so ANGRY at this stuff but I do. IT ISN'T IMPORTANT. IT ISN'T NEWS. IT ISN'T EVEN INTERESTING. WHAT IS IT DOING IN THE FARKING PAPER?

No you are not unreasonable.
Zrrr I zoned out after reading the first paragraph, just who reads this pap ? (Other than mn'ers ripping the piss out of it)

Anchovy you are very zen !
Effie .. er perhaps not so much

Message withdrawn

Loads of them live in areas like Clapham, Crouch End, Muswell Hill and are extremely London centric. Loads of them went to Oxbridge together. It's a little incestuous really. And it is not uncommon to have an ickle place in the west country or even more likely in Norfolk to go and spend a little private time when you're not writing articles about your gorgeous children!
Be proper journalists unless you are very funny and clever!