I heard the news today, oh boy...

[ladywotlunches]

Does anyone else feel fed up with the amount of daytime coverage all the various sex abuse investigations get?

I feel I can't listen to the radio, read a newspaper or watch TV news at all with my kids around, because of the salacious way these news items are reported, hour after hour. I have an 8 year old who can quite easily pick up the words, and I have to divert attention away to avoid unnecessary distress.

These reports often mention the "loss of innocence" of the victims, and I am truly sympathetic, but I'd rather it not be plastered all over the mainstream media until after the watershed, to save the innocence of the majority of young children that will thankfully not be subject to such crimes.

It seems as a society we are at once obsessed with the non-sexualisation of children, whilst freely discussing the very small minority of people that hold no regard for the law, which *almost* normalises it.

If we must be told on a regular basis about the goings on of Savile, Harris etc, couldn't the crimes be just alluded to on the daytime reports? After all, as adults we are all sadly fully aware of what 'Operation Yewtree' means....

Or am I just being over-sensitive???

[Saffron]

I think the lack of sensitivity in the coverage can be damaging for victims too. It seems after years of doing basically nothing, the BBC and others now feel that nothing less than gorging and purging on the subject will do, IMHO.

[nunheadmum]

I have to agree that I find the level of coverage totally needless and almost to the level of glamourising the pursuit of the perpetrators. But it seems to be the way of news these days - any big story is done to death. Afraid I tend to vote with the off button - which sadly means I miss out on lots of news I would be interested in. But likewise, I don't want to have to start explaining it to the kids - not in the level of detail it's discussed on screen.

[bluesuperted]

This is the opposite of how I feel. I don't have the TV news on in front of my two as I think they can sense the negative vibes/serious affect of the newsreaders in general even if they don't understand the words (age 3.5 and 1). I instead get my news from the written word. But I actually am so frustrated that the coverage, marginally 'better late than never' is not galvanising people into action, it's so incredibly outrageous, just bloody awful. I can't stand the thought of these crimes, committed on the youngest and most vulnerable, the members of society we should have been protecting, hideous things happening to kids without families who could keep them safe, while I was growing up in relative paradise in terms of childhood. I hate the heinous cover up and the whitewash/planned cover up of the cover up about to start... The investigation is to be overseen by that Butler-Sloss woman who has connections to past cover-ups/inadequate inquiries and has conflicts of interest, including links to her brother and the lost files I believe!? The whole thing sickens me to my core and I think people are so desensitised they can't process or even hear the enormity and vileness of what has happened and still happens. I feel so so angry and I just hope justice, whatever that could possibly look like, is served and that wholesale change can occur in the way we look at and treat society's most vulnerable and most powerless. I'm not holding my breath though, very sadly.

[redjam]

I agree it's shocking and depressing and that these crimes should come to light - I don't think anyone is disputing that - but I would also agree that much of the reporting is in itself quite salacious. And yes, I find myself leaping over to the radio to turn it off on an almost daily basis when my nine- and seven-year-old are in the room. Depressing is the word.

I feel rather the same about some of the news reports as I do about misery memoirs - I always slightly wonder whether there's a minority of readers who actually get off on the material that's exposing these awful stories (in explicit detail, of course). It all feels a bit grubby.

[Saffron]

bluesuperted Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> This is the opposite of how I feel. I don't have

> the TV news on in front of my two as I think they

> can sense the negative vibes/serious affect of the

> newsreaders in general even if they don't

> understand the words (age 3.5 and 1). I instead

> get my news from the written word. But I actually

> am so frustrated that the coverage, marginally

> 'better late than never' is not galvanising people

> into action, it's so incredibly outrageous, just

> bloody awful. I can't stand the thought of these

> crimes, committed on the youngest and most

> vulnerable, the members of society we should have

> been protecting, hideous things happening to kids

> without families who could keep them safe, while I

> was growing up in relative paradise in terms of

> childhood. I hate the heinous cover up and the

> whitewash/planned cover up of the cover up about

> to start... The investigation is to be overseen by

> that Butler-Sloss woman who has connections to

> past cover-ups/inadequate inquiries and has

> conflicts of interest, including links to her

> brother and the lost files I believe!? The whole

> thing sickens me to my core and I think people are

> so desensitised they can't process or even hear

> the enormity and vileness of what has happened and

> still happens. I feel so so angry and I just hope

> justice, whatever that could possibly look like,

> is served and that wholesale change can occur in

> the way we look at and treat society's most

> vulnerable and most powerless. I'm not holding my

> breath though, very sadly.

Not sure I understand?

Is it that you don't feel that any of the recent reporting has been "salacious" or "almost to the level of glamourising the pursuit of the perpetrators"?

Or, I am more correct to understand that you do feel strongly that not enough truly investigative reporting is being undertaken and objectively reported?

[bluesuperted]

I was referring to the OP feeling 'fed up' with the coverage - I feel sick about the content, sick at the hypocrisy of the media outlets who are now finally starting to report on things which have been known for years (eg Jimmy Savile etc) and covered up by many - but not fed up to be hearing these stories, even though it's hard to take and makes me angry each time I come into contact with the story. I hadn't really taken away the glamourising/salacious coverage although I'm sure it exists (as I said I mainly consume news in written format these days). I do agree that the coverage may be incredibly painful, triggering and unhelpful for other victims (especially re victim blaming that often follows).

Hope that clarifies what I meant.

[ladywotlunches]

Bluesuperted, I wasn't for one minute condoning the crimes, but just expressing my sadness that we have to have quite such lewd detail plastered across our ears and eyes day in, day out. You mention that as a nation we may be getting desensitised, but I think this is another reason not to constantly bombard us with the graphic details. What benefit really does having a daily report on Rolf Harris' et al trial provide, other than to sell newspapers/get ratings/visitors to websites? As a deterrent simply reporting that he was arrested, tried and sentenced to a significant amount of time in prison would have sufficed, surely?

As Saffron says, all this coverage is unhelpful for victims too. Those most affected by these or unreported crimes may well be less likely to report them for fear of becoming national news.

Every news report with flashing images from cameras carries a warning beforehand. But sex crime reporting seems to be totally harmless, in the eyes of the news media, it seems...

[Saffron]

Depending on what print media you're consuming you're very likely getting a significantly different slant on the topic. You're also possibly choosing when, where, and how much you read about it.

Whereas, if you sit down to listen to radio or televised news, the style of reporting seems very poor to me. I would go so far as to say that quite a lot of televised coverage seems to aggrandise the pursuit of paedophiles in a minimally objective reporting style, and to the exclusion of other significant news issue.

Although I think this may be more a typical problem of mainstream media, than specifically a problem with reporting this type of news. I agree that cases of molestation and paedophilia need to be investigated and reported. I don't agree that lurid details and virtual witch hunts will promote the cause of good investigative journalism. It's tabloid style reporting gone mainstream. What a waste.

[bluesuperted]

No I definitely wasn't suggesting that ladywotlunches - I actually think we were talking at cross purposes as I thought your post referenced the wider MP/VIP/establishment child abuse scandal and cover up - which I think we need to hear a lot about because it's been hidden for so long whereas now I think I misunderstood and you were talking about lurid details of the Savile/Harris/Clifford crimes? I agree we don't need to know the sordid ins and outs of these abusers' activities. But I do think we need to hear more about the wider cover up, it's heinous and those responsible (many) may well continue to escape proper justice. In Belgium when this happened in the 90s I think people were protesting and there was visible anger and desire to call people to account, whereas I think people are not quite hearing how grave the situation is for some reason. Hopefully I'm wrong and pressure will build from many angles, so this investigation can be rigorous and transparent rather than whitewash.

[El Pibe]

should make snork's day

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/bin-bag-full-of-cats-heads-discovered-near-manchesters-curry-mile-9674567.html

[Otta]

Wrong "I heard the news today, oh boy" thread EP.