UK Journo Befriends Teen Massacre Survivors, then Trashs Them

oceanclub

Graham Linehan's blog entry has a good summary:

The Express wins the race to the bottom Why, That’s Delightful!

The Dunblane Massacre was an atrocity almost beyond imagining. A man named Thomas Hamilton walked into a school in a small Scottish town in March 1996, and shot dead sixteen children and one teacher.

[...]


Paula Murray is the journalist who thought it was well past time that the survivors of the Dunblane massacre were given a tabloid punching. To that end, she befriended a group of them on Facebook and collated their photographs and comments. Clearly aware of the legal guidelines in place to protect those under eighteen against invasion of privacy (and the specific instructions that the Press Complaints Commission issued regarding the Dunblane children), she waited until they hit eighteen. Then she wrote this.

The story continued inside under the headline “SICK MESSAGES SHAME MEMORY OF CLASSMATES”, referring to the normal, teenagery stuff they were saying to each other on their profiles. (I should say thank you to those on Twitter who helped me black out the names and photographs of the kids). As others have pointed out, the gist of the story is that these kids are showing disrespect to their dead classmates by… being alive.

Here’s an example of Paula’s scoop: “For instance, (name deleted), who was hit by a single bullet and watched in horror as his classmates died, makes rude gestures in pictures he posted on his Bebo site, and boasts of drunken nights out.”

Tim Ireland of Bloggerheads hoists Paula Murray by her own petard:

Bloggerheads (UK) - Paula Murray, drunken hack, mocks dead and makes light of underage drinking

P.

copacetic

jeez, thats some new depths, they shamed peoples memory by getting on with their lives as best they can? althought there is nothing the media like more than having a go at other media so this will run and run I'd say..

oceanclub

copacetic wrote: »

althought there is nothing the media like more than having a go at other media so this will run and run I'd say..

Actually, there's no mention at all in the media - on the contrary, it's blogger taking it up. To a certain extent, tabloid papers aren't going to bash each others' tactics, since they know they'll only receive the same criticism in return.

P.

copacetic

not yet, but I'd imagine it'll be picked up strongly.

Pen1987

Nah, be surprised if it got picked up, especially in the Irish media...

I blogged about it a few days ago. Didn't see the point in pitching it to a paper...

http://markcoughlan.com/blogger-battles-with-sunday-express-calls-for-boycott/

A Dub in Glasgo

http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/90417/Dunblane-We-re-sorry

Would'nt wipe my arse with the paper though

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/mar/16/pcc-targets-sunday-express-over-dunblane-claims

copacetic

A Dub in Glasgo wrote: »

http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/90417/Dunblane-We-re-sorry

Would'nt wipe my arse with the paper though

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/mar/16/pcc-targets-sunday-express-over-dunblane-claims

'Have your say' is unavailable for this story. No kidding, do the people who write these apologies not realise that writing a self serving one is as bad as not giving one at all

The Scottish Sunday Express is a big newspaper, with a long and illustrious history. We are also big enough to say we are truly sorry

oceanclub

copacetic wrote: »

'Have your say' is unavailable for this story. No kidding, do the people who write these apologies not realise that writing a self serving one is as bad as not giving one at all

+1

Spends 80% of the "apology" flattering themselves and telling the people of Scotland how much they love the paper and points out the quotes were accurate - a completely strawman argument, as _noone_ ever mentioned the quotes were inaccurate or the complaints had anything to do with that. Also, no mention of any kind of action to be taken against Paula Murray, the journalist in question.

Not good enough.

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Peared

Just mind boggling that her editor saw fit to run with this story. I really don't even know where to begin with the amount of things that are wrong with this.

And where is the story?

Teens in normal life shocker?

They should be applauded for having the mental capacity to indulge in all things teenage after what they went through. Instead it is 'news' that they don't sit around crying and slitting their wrists?

Even from a news editors point of view, would the better story not be the 'overcoming trauma' human interest angle?

Really brings a whole new depth to the gutter press.

lostexpectation

the apology is sickening

Dyr

Journalist is living sack of dogsh**t shock. Other news: sky still blue