Inaccurate BBC story - Trans identified male

[WineIsMyCarb]

Bbc Sussex has described trans identified male murderer as 'woman' throughout story, with no reference at all to his sex or trans identity.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp00de3r3qro

If you wish to complain about this inaccurate reporting of a male's violent crime, the bbc's complaints link is here:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/contact/complaints

Do you know how many murders we cover in a year? Domestic murder is usually completely ignored whether it's committed by a man or a woman. Yes, this one stuck out because of the age of the defendant but that was the only thing which lifted it above the norm until we went to court.

Ah, now Barry that's patronising. As well as completely ignoring the points in my post. You've plenty of time for what you want to say. You also keep saying you can't speak for the bbc after making statements about how things work. No one asked you to speak for them.

But in short, journalists should have enough professional curiosity to do a three second search on a 70 year old woman suspected of murder on their patch, if they're planning on reporting on it. If they didn't do that their copy can be updated.

He was born with a penis. This makes him male.

Even if he has had it amputated or inverted and fashioned into a fake vagina, he is still male, because people can't change sex.

Even if he has paid a fiver for a special ladyticket, he is still male.

Referring to him as a woman is misleading the public.

It's a fact domestic murder is usually ignored. Even if the parties are 70-years-old. I've tried to explain the process.

This doesn't explain why, 3 days after the first court appearance, the BBC was still referring to this man as a woman, when other news outlets and websites had published large amounts of information indicating that this was a man.

They did the same thing with Scarlet Blake. Either the BBC has an agenda, or their staff are incompetent.

This started out by me trying to explain why the BBC aren't completely at fault for their original piece reporting the defendant as female. I've tried to explain why I think they've done this and why I think the discussion here shouldn't be about criticising the BBC or reporters in general when they use police reports as a trusted source.

We are responsible for every piece which indicates the defendant is male. PA and the BBC make their decisions. The newspapers we work for make theirs.

Ah, I see. Women murdering men with samurai swords happens all the time. You wouldn't bother to check whether the "woman" was actually female, because this sort of murder is commonplace.

Strange that I can't find any other examples of women doing this (but quite a few of men).

So you agree that for whatever reason "we" were not paying enough attention. (Whoever "we" may be, since you don't speak for the bbc and I don't know who you do speak for.) Whether it was deliberate or casual, the result is dishonest and sensationalist.

And now that you do know, next time you're reporting on a murder by a "woman" especially a 70 year old with a samurai sword (ffs) check your facts. Even the police can get it wrong these days. It's still a journalist's professional responsibility to report the facts even if you have a hundred reasons why it's too much effort.

Why do you think nobody - apart from the organisations we supply - has used the sword line?

I'm the reporter who did check the facts.
The 'we' I refer to is myself and the photographer I work with who got the picture of the defendant leaving court.

I accepted that they may have made a genuine error with their first article (although that could have been corrected once they were made aware of the facts). But there is no excuse for the 2nd article on June 3rd which repeats the incorrect information.

I noticed that the second article said that this person would be back in court today. Do you know if that's the case, and if so which court? I checked the court listing for Lewes Crown Court earlier and couldn't see his name.

Because it would be obvious the perpetrator was male, perhaps?

It's been postponed. I checked yesterday which is why I'm not there today.
As I've tried to explain, it's not an error when the information comes from a trusted source. I can't account for decisions made after.

Eh? Are you saying women can't use swords?

Is that the photo the BBC used? Which shows a man with a 5 o'clock shadow wearing a wig?

It's extremely rare for a woman to attack a man in that way, which in and of itself should have piqued the BBC's interest.

it's not an error when the information comes from a trusted source.

If it's not an error then what exactly is it? When erronoeous information comes from a "trusted source" that's a big issue. Not something you're all too busy to care about.

What you seem to mean is "it's not our error". And (in your view) it's not the BBC's error either. So whose error is it? If it's the police then aren't journalists supposed to hold them to account, as a "trusted source" who gives wrong information?Or have I just seen too many films? At the very least I'd expect you to stop being quite so trusting.

Just two examples of local bbc reports on domestic deaths from this month alone Barry

Man, 80, who killed wife with pillow admits murder www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8vde4jg9yno.amp

Man admits strangling wife to death with bootlace www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cne4mek1w7xo.amp

Domestic deaths are of interest.

The BBC don't buy copy from us. This is why they haven't used the samurai sword line and why they didn't initially go against the police report. I'm going to stop doing this now because it goes against my code as a reporter to show my work in this way, we're getting too far away from my original point and I really can't keep explaining who's who and who is saying what and why.
Buy a paper! Especially buy your local paper.

How many women have murdered men using swords?

How many men have used swords as a murder weapon?

From a quick google, I've found dozens of examples of men killing people of both sexes using swords, but not a single example of a woman killing a man using this method.

I don't work for the BBC.
Police press releases are free.

Christ on a bike. Do you think the police press release mentioned a samurai sword? This is my work. The BBC don't pay for copy from us, so they didn't get it.

Do you know the new court date?

Yes. This is how I make my living.