BBC excuses family annihilator with 1st Rule Misogyny

[NitroNine]

Angry responses on Twitter to the headline for the BBC’s reporting of the news a man in Utah has murdered his family (& then committed suicide) after his wife served him with divorce papers.

Specifically, the headline reads: Utah man kills wife after she serves him with divorce papers.

If you are scrolling through the US & Canada page it is appears as Utah man kills wife, children in murder-suicide so there is some hope it will change. (Hence my linking an archived copy above.)

They have, at least, refrained from providing any commentary about what a lovely man the murderer was & how stressed he must have been. Instead they talk about one of the women he murdered: "Tausha was the most kind and generous person and she never ever said anything ill about anyone," Tina Brown, a friend of the family, told KSTU-TV. "She would give the shirt off of her back for anyone and she served people tirelessly."

Obviously it is factually correct that this was the sequence of events in linear time. But there is absolutely a suggestion that Tausha Haight filing for divorce [four days before Christmas] made her husband murder her, her mother, & their children. As well as the angry people - all angry women, in fact, I think - on Twitter, there are a few men chiming in with “it’s not justifiable but…” Apparently unaware (in their first language) of how language works, yes.

VAWG is at such a shocking level in the US that homicide is the leading cause of death for pregnant women. This 2007 research is incredibly detailed & demonstrates that while raw numbers may vary, there are clearly identifiable trends. As of 2022 70% of femicides in high-income countries were happening in the US (on a global scale, the U.S. ranks 34th for intentional female homicides); with almost three women killed by an intimate partner every day.

The death of just one person would merit accurate reporting, of course - but when there is a veritable epidemic of VAWG, it is desperately important that lazy tropes not be employed in the reporting of them.

(Rules of Misogyny)

I read this oddly hollow article in the NYT yesterday which seems to intentionally swerve the issue of male violence and DV. Looks like this is being treated as a gun violence story instead. Lots of hand wringing about 'the family' but this family also included a murderer.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/04/us/enoch-utah-shooting-dead.html?unlockedarticleecode=AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACEIPuonUktbfqIhkSVUbBybIRp8qqBqNhb3S3LU8w2T-Ky-JSDBNiugYCoTG-1vIYeArQeoP6AmhZY0LNq4zFrs1xVDPkdpRk7wwpbZwZpccmA5pI7oGz5n08iIVLs1rHqwNTfneOwlzuXmsRzMeCK9DvykpH4lLQ9vpZVvfUj7miBbgeYTZMmn4V2zvwjBZplRD8fZSbsvvLgCx52PNzufQiLo0BtGLkfAWeP6Ibav7EQcwxSC0bETGd4Ass69BfO9AQPcXvPq1lnIvpBpck1PQ4uVWoW2U&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

Bloody BBC.

still determinedly bloody awful on basic women's equality, and yet I had to turn off Call the Midwife and All Creatures Great And Small Christmas specials half way through because it was like being beaten over the head by Judith Butler with a copy of the Guardian.

Can I ask how/what happened in them nils? You've peaked my curiosity! No worries if you can't face recalling it though.

One was set in the 60s and was heavily Very Heavily doing the Rivers of Blood Enoch Powell bit making very, very sure you knew how evil it was (it's evil.. Here's another character to tell you in the manner of Floella Benjamin how Very Evil it is). Oh it's evil.

The other was set in the 40s and was very heavily and reproachfully ensuring that you knew that Hanukkah Happens TOO and we're not all Christmas people you know. NICE people would know this.

Both totally relevant, good story points that could have been interesting had they been well written. Just done in the manner of assault and battery by Listen With Mother and the Guardian wrapped around a baseball bat.

I'll leave aside the other incredibly painful anachronism of 2020s scripts and stories carried out in a 1940s set....

Complaint sent. I notice they also honour the killer as 'man' but the woman is just 'wife'.

Do you mind explaining how the BBC headline is misogynist? Is it because it leads with the perpetrator and not the victim?

Thanks for answering @nilsmousehammer . I have a strong response to anachronisms and any sense of being preached to, (which it sounds like from your description) too. Just want a good story well told.
I really like the Critical Drinker film reviewer on YouTube, who hilariously and scathingly calls any of that out in his film (and some TV ?) reviews. He is a brilliant reviewer. On the button. Highly recommend. He's a wonderfully belligerent Scot, so much to the ears too.

Apologies for derail btw.

Back on point. This from the BBC and the Guardian reporting about the rapist murderer on the other current thread really suggest a shocking trend. Prob could tie in to the 'men on the left' thread too!

That should say 'music to the ear' not 'much'.
I swear autocarrot on MN changes words even after checking!

First rule of misogyny: Women are responsible for what men do

The pairing of "man kills woman" with "after she divorces him" is on the face of it just a matter of fact stating of the sequence of events, however it could also be said to imply that he killed her because she divorced him and that it was justified therefore.

Before the pedants show up, I'm aware that I'm simplifying things a bit and she hadn't actually divorced him but just started the process. It doesn't really change the meaning.

If you google "family annihiltors" and familicide you will find that this has been written about for more than a few decades.

The majority of these killers are man, and nearly always said to be hard working family men, but what it usually means is that they want control, so for instance a threatened divorce, or losing a job so they are no longer the bread winner, are often the triggers.

And what is strange that not that long ago newspaper would have headlines such as "another shocking case of fanilicide".

But it seems as OP has suggested that entrenched misogyny has crept back in.

Example of older articles www.wired.co.uk/article/family-killers

And this one www.ctpost.com/local/article/Family-annihilators-The-psychology-behind-14979910.php

''Wife and children fail to escape violent husband'' is never the headline.

My DH and I were listening to the news, a report came on about a woman and her children being murdered by her partner. I asked my husband when was the last time you heard a mews report about a women killing her partner and children? Yet these stories of men killing family members seem to be a regular feature in the news.

The BBC article is a disgrace but it does not surprise me. The BBC’s ‘journalism’ is terrible.

I was a close friend of a family whereby the father murdered his small daughter some decades ago.

I've just googled it, surprised that there was any such record of it online as I remember that being a pre internet time.

The headline is, surprisingly "man kills daughter and...(X other identifiable feature).

That was how The Independent reported it in the mid 1990s which is interesting to note.

I do remember a red top rag coming and taking photos of the grieving family outside of their home, don't know what they had to say.

Thank you @DdraigGoch & @IwantToRetire for explaining my meaning to @MorrisZapp 😊

Obviously it is factually correct that this was the sequence of events in linear time. But there is absolutely a suggestion that Tausha Haight filing for divorce [four days before Christmas] made her husband murder her, her mother, & their children.
Point not very well articulated/explained even if not lost in longish post; & perhaps I should have quoted the first rule of misogyny in the post instead of just providing the link to them? In any event, hugely appreciated - genuinely makes me very happy that FWR has so many articulate & well-informed posters who’re kind enough to share their knowledge & skilled enough to do so effectively.

@Whyjustwhy123
What we do see reported is [single] mothers killing their disabled children because they are no longer able to cope. Invariably instantly & universally met with condemnation, revulsion & monstering. These are typically isolated women in precarious financial circumstances suffering from long-term sleep deprivation at a level considered a form of torture. The ex husband who bobs up to announce their love for their murdered offspring typically divorced the murderer because of relationship stresses related to said child’s needs & never provided any support to either in the child’s lifetime bar possibly child support.
To be clear, I’m not advocating for the murder or disabled people of any age; but the rank discrimination seen in reporting of & responses to news of the two sorts of crimes is grotesque. Floods of sympathy for violent controlling men who refused to allow their victims to escape - or their family to learn they’d failed in some way. The same audience utterly condemning women who finally break after years of unbearable stress/worry/pain/lack of sleep/lack of money/lack of resources (etc) is sickening. And it’s absolutely not because disabled lives are valued here.

Response to Stage one complaint:

'Thank you for contacting us and sharing your concerns with the BBC News Website article entitled, ‘Utah shooting: A man killed his family after wife filed for divorce’.

While we appreciate you feel the headline was inappropriate, we were simply reflecting the police’s comments on the incident.

The article goes on to provide further information from the city officials who said “42-year-old insurance salesman Michael Haight had opened fire on his wife, 40-year-old Tausha, his 78-year-old mother-in-law Gail Earl, and his five children before he killed himself” making clear that Haight was being held responsible for the incident.'

They don't get it.

Surely there is guidance on this? Does anyone have any resources I could link to when I escalate the complaint?

I found this on IPSO but the reference doesn't go anywhere:

www.ipso.co.uk/news-press-releases/blog/ipso-blog-reporting-on-domestic-violence/#

Yes. "Woman tried to remove herself and her children from violent husband, so he killed her and them."

in the US that homicide is the leading cause of death for pregnant women.

Jeez.

Horrific isn’t it @Datun - & made so much worse when you consider they don’t exactly have stellar maternal mortality stats. In 2020, the maternal mortality rate in the U.S. was 24 deaths per 100,000 live births — more than three times the rate in most other high-income countries.

Jane Gilmore and Fixed It project address these sort of headlines and why they are an issue.

Thank you, that's a really hard hitting website/project.

janegilmore.com/category/fixedit/

www.welevelup.org/media-guidelines/

there’s the levelUP guidance which I assume IPSO are referring to. Point 1 is relevant! Good luck with the complaint.

Fantastic, thank you. That's really helpful. I will keep going. The women and children deserve at least that basic respect.

What's with the shitty wee text box in the complaint? I could have ranted expanded far more on the relevant points. Anyway, sent.

''While we appreciate you feel the headline was inappropriate, we were simply reflecting the police’s comments on the incident.''

I'm on a short fuse atm but that's such a wanky excuse. They have a responsibility to write an accurate headline, because thats what people will read. They may not go on to read the article. If they want to quote the police in the article they should make it clear its a quote.
They wouldn't get away with reporting suicide like this. If they can understand their responsibilities when reporting suicide they can sort themselves out with reporting violence against women and girls, and stop making excuses.

It's also not fucking 'inappropriate', it's influential and has societal repercussions! They need to own their fucking responsibilities.