The media furore of the last few days

[JustineMumsnet]

Hi all,

Wanted to post about the extraordinary press coverage of the Riven story over the last few days as there's been a bit of speculation about what happened and not all of it accurate.

It's a fact that for the press to get excited about an issue they need a human interest angle (with pictures). Riven's post on Mumsnet was ideal but when it came to engagement with the media, Riven's clear intention throughout was to raise the issue of respite care for all and to shy away from her own story. Of course the press pretty much ignored her because if it hadn't had a dramatic personal angle there would have been no story - it simply wouldn't have made the papers. If Riven hadn't already met David Cameron, it wouldn't have made the front page. It was a perfect storm of a story for a press looking for human interest, evidence of cuts causing hardship and a David Cameron angle to boot.

The extent of our own involvement was to pass on the enormous number of media requests of which, as far as I know, Riven only actually responded to only 2 or 3 and one of those (the Mirror) was because they doorstepped her. I also suggested and drafted her statement post the Mirror piece as she was upset the morning after that they'd skewed what she said to turn it into an NHS cuts story. Once it had appeared in the Guardian and the Mirror as front page news it was lifted plus picture by almost every other broadcaster/paper.

The press found out about the story both because there are plenty of journalists who are MNetters and because Twitter and Facebook were alight with it - and as it turned out, the story was exactly what the media was looking for.

For the record we think Riven and those who got behind her to make a noise about carers should feel proud of what they've achieved in the last few days. I've got no doubt that the Government will tread more carefully around provision of care for those with SN than they did before as a direct result of their action. The feedback we've had from the major charities involved is that they've never had so much press interest in the issue and that they are thrilled that it has at last entered the public consciousness. We've also had tonnes of emails from carers thanking Riven/MNetters for raising the issue.

The intention of this post is to give a clearer understanding of how things evolved and were played out. Please feel free to discuss the issues raised here but we will delete posts that pick over Riven's personal situation because we really don't think that's on given the bombardment she's been under the last few days.

listens to NL
and aggrees

And pigs will fly Lenin........

I feel more than a little bit cross about all this.

So far, the effect of the actions on that thread have achieved this:

-A vulnerable child's photograph splashed over every newspaper you can think of, with the headline that her mother has asked for her to be taken into care.

-A poster who posted daily on MN now not posting

-A spin-off support board which was used and valued by many parents of children with SN, shut down.

-Division and back stabbing on the SN board like you've never seen, damaging what was a supportive board.

-A 5 minute feel-good factor for countless posters who will go back to their cosy lives and forget about the problems carers face in a few days

-3 hours respite increase for Riven, which has come out of already allocated DPs until April.

Yet, everybody is sitting with a warm cosy glow, heralding the 'sucess' of this and how people should be 'proud'.

No. People should accept that they jumped on a bandwagon that wasn't even rolling, and pushed it into the centre of media eyes.

Nobody was thinking of the wider issues. They were thinking 'Respite4Riven'. Only when that was challenged did people say 'er yer, well of course, we mean everyone, er let's change that to include them, too.'

I used to get completely bored of hearing the 'MN Royalty' thing. People with chips on their shoulders. Nope, they were right.

Now, we can discuss the 'wider issues' but can't talk about the direct issue. Bit hard when it is the direct issue that is the problem.

Whatever is beneath the surface needs to stay there. When will people grasp that this is a PUBLIC SPACE. Do you really want your private spats aired here?

Glad to hear she is OK but I wish she wasn't tired. That's all I ever wished for her, that just one day she wouldn't be tired.
And I miss her and hope she will come back one day under a different name. I will know instantly that it's her as soon as she starts getting technical. Ain't nobody can touch Riven on the science bit.

I am trying to spend a little more time on the SN boards being friendly and humorous and welcoming to new members. Rather than getting sidetracked by Relationships and any thread there that begins 'Will someone come and talk to me about...' .
But me being me, I will have scared them all off so expect as few quiet days.

Lougle

And I agree with what you say. R became Cause Celebre for the day. Everyone got a nice warm feeling from tweeting/sending an email. US - as in MN need to channel this into something positive for everyone.

agree with you entirely Lougle.

'I am trying to spend a little more time on the SN boards being friendly and humorous and welcoming to new members.'

springlamb - yes let's do a bit more of that!

Can people bleating about the five minutes of fame suggest something a little more long lasting, I have a few knee jerk suggestions....

careforcarers tweeted with a mini URL discussing the plight of carers in this country....I suggest that this is tweeted everyday until 14.02 at 6pm....this can start a trend, perhaps link to a charity.

Get slebs/mps/councillors to careforaday, following a carer for the day to really see how hard it is.

Or...Organise some sort of march....

I don't know, but if all that comes from this is a few MNers moaning then it really will not have been worth it. This bandwagon has begun to roll, like it or not, either jump on or point and stare it's up to you.

Good idea, Posie.

Not sure if we would be better concentrating on the DLA reforms though. Or linking in with that, since it has a deadline.

I think the raising of the awareness of this issue through an individual personal story, has been, and could be really beneficial, as the charities involved are saying.

This issue would only get this sort of publicity through a personal story, a more general 'camapaign' would certainly not generate media attention.

The downside of course is that for R it's her personal story which has been used and publicised, which must have felt very difficult at times last week.

However, as she has been involved personally with a high media news story previously, when DC came to visit, and as has she is high profile on here, and as she posted a highly emotional post which everyone immediately made a link with to her past high media profile, I don't think the outcome can claim to be totally unpredictable. Although the speed and level of interest were no doubt unexpected.

I'm particularly concerned that the discussion of any issues around the events is being heavily censored. I saw this last week on a thread QUeenGigantaurs started and now by herbietea on here.

This has happened, it's public, it's relevant, so as long as no personal attacks are made, using the usual MN judgement on opinion vs personal attack, open discussion should be allowed.

I hadn't realized that there is no minimum amount of care, nor is there any legislation to give carers a sense of stability. There is no safety net, but relies on an individual Council and purely subjective.

I don't know how the Early Years Learning program, to take another example, developed into 2.5 - 3 hours a day entitlement but 10 years ago or so, it was hit and miss whereas now it's a fairly universal scheme.

Is there any scope to campaign for a minimum amount of care or respite so that perhaps, carers can expect at the very least a minimum? A benchmark in terms of hours?

My view is that a MN is best when it is campaigning for something positive.

Thought for the Day on R4 this morning focussed on this story. The guy was a Xian so it was from that pov.

He said that during the election campaign everyone was talking about fairness. There are two definitions of fairness. The first is the one emobodied by the idea that everyone is in this together so all of us have to suffer, ie the more vulnerable in society along with the rich buggers.

However, there is the other type of fairness - the one which shows compassion for the most vulnerable, which doesn't ask them to suffer more as they are already suffering and many are right on the edge. Fairness in this context would expect that the less and least vulnerable would 'suffer' more and those who are already at or near to the bottom would not be expected to lose more.

That was the gist of it. I think most people on this thread would agree that the second interpretation of fairness is the one which should be applied. I don't think that most of society agree, sadly. And even more sadly the government is there to represent the views of the majority.

Would MN be willing to invite someone from eg. careforcarers or The Princess Royal Trust for Carers for a live web chat?

Regarding MN media furores in general, not this one in particular, I'm interested in Mumsnet's announced intention of developing 'brand licensing' as a revenue source. I don't know how it is envisaged to work, but I guess that it will be associated with the 'Mumsnet Best' product accreditation, and perhaps ultimately with the 'Family Friendly' companies scheme?

It is thought-provoking because it indicates a commercial interest in publicising MNers as discerning on-the-ball active parents who seek the best deal for their families, etc. This in turn suggests that MNHQ press releases about discussions on the talkboard, and the MNHQ-led campaigns, function partly as a resource for shaping and promoting that brand profile. E.g. If the Family Friendly accreditation is intended ultimately to be a for-profit accreditation scheme then I wonder about the ethics of placing its political content (there was some copy in the Family Friendly area of the site listing govt family policies and asking MNers to hold govt to account and copy MN in on correspondence) directly alongside its commercial content.

As I say, I don't have a clue about how any of this works so perhaps there are no difficulties, but I do feel the need to have it explained a little so that we can all see the clear division between campaigning on the one hand and pure company PR on the other. I already wonder whether the Let Girls Be Girls 'accreditation' of signed-up companies hasn't functioned as a bit of a loss leader, or at least a prototype, for 'monetised' brand licensing. Of course, it is entirely good for MN to raise revenue, but it would be good to see the rules that are in place to isolate commercial from campaigning imperatives.

I'm not sure how to feel about this tbh. I did tweet the original thread, but only after R gave permission for that to happen. I also tweeted Phillip Schofield with the thread directly, but that is the limit of my media connections. I was naive, and I didn't expect the media as a whole to be interested in the story. I was horrified to see pics of R's DD plastered across all the papers/websites the following day. I suppose time will tell as to whether or not this has actually helped the cause.

For anyone yet to read the thread about DLA in campiagns section, the absolute cut off date is 14.02. I have hard they ahve already recruited in ATIS which will indicate it's all wasted effort but hey ho

The problem with carer's rights etc is that really, there aren't any much: X + Y = financial help. if you write to SSD you are entitled to this assessment adn that- though te wait is long. That really is about it.

And there will never be a situation where everyone gets respite because the infrastructure isn;t there. And many of us use our DLA for the putrpose becuase tbh personally i;d rather use someone of my choice (having been laughed at when I asked about Direct Payments).

My MA dissertation is going to be on carer's Support but reality is that there is very little about: a handful of carer's groups which are often in accessible tow hole swathes of people (ours won;t allow pre-schoolers for instance, geared up to the elderly); then there's this whole UK divide- EDCM great... IF you live in England. carer's UK are useful, I have to say. Good advice gained from there.

And as long as the system is so fragmented 'they' know thet there is very little that can be done: triply so when the legal aid for appealing decisions on benefits etc is removed imminently.

Letter received and duly inspected by moi. CAn't say i was impressed but that call is for Riv to make.

She has some spare capacity in her DPs so she has been allowed to sue that to take extra respite this financial year but nothing after April.

No, she's better off by quite a way but ONLY for the next 3 months or so.

How about sending your local MP a valentines card with the letter in? Afterall the cut off is Valentines day.....careforcarers BrokenheartsBrokenpromises..... or something.