Inappropriate picture of Stephen Gately's partner front page Irish Independent?

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delgirl

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Does anyone find it inappropriate of the media to publish pictures of grieving families after the death of a loved one or at funerals?

You kind of half expect it of the Tabloids, but I was disappointed to see a photo of Stephen Gately's partner on the front page of today's Irish Independent with a red face and swollen eyes from crying, snapped in the back of a car as he was travelling to meet members of Boyzone.

I find this kind of thing is just so invasive, disrespectful and totally out of order to 'cash in' on someone's grief in this way.
 
I too found the coverage of the late Stephen's distressed partner in the papers and on the TV news very disturbing. I also found the pictures of the big Spanish cop leading him by the hand through the assembled press vultures to the stairs very touching.

A couple of things to bear in mind though -

  • The Irish Independent is a tabloid, both in its publication format and its standards and mentality
  • People who choose to live their lives as celebrities or as their partners sacrifice some of their privacy as a natural consequence.
Car-crash journalism sells newsprint, unfortunately.
 
Bit hard on the Indo there. Apart from the photos which, ok, mightnt have been in the best taste, the coverage was very fair and complimentary.

No "Bozyone boozed" style headlines, a world away from tabloid in mentality.
 

What I also consider to be inappropriate is when the media shows images of an accident scene or a mangled car in which a loved one has died.... it gets me thinking how does a family feel when these images are blasted across the media.
 
annet said:
What I also consider to be inappropriate is when the media shows images of an accident scene or a mangled car in which a loved one has died.... it gets me thinking how does a family feel when these images are blasted across the media.
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I can tell you exactly how it feels, my parents died in an accident that made front page news with an image of the aftermath of the accident.

On the one hand I thought 'those newspapers will be wrapping fish and chips tomorrow'.

On the other hand I was afraid to leave the house for days and had to warn the neighbours against journalists as they had gone to my siblings house unannounced and flashbulbed my sibling on the doorstep. That was the worst part, the fear of being stalked by a journalist while in a time of grief.

My sibing had a much worse reaction to the actual newspaper photos and articles and persued apologies and clarification etc....for a few weeks afterwards.

I just wanted the day to be over so the next days newspapers would take the place of the ones with the images and articles.

Incidentally the experience taught me never to believe anything I read in a newspaper as practically every 'fact' cited was totally wrong.
 
Betsy Og said:
Bit hard on the Indo there...
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No, believe me my comments are measured. They are based on personal first-hand experience with two newspapers on the occassion of a huge family tragedy a number of years ago.

I was also at a funeral this year where despite repeated requests for privacy, a TV film crew and a stills photographer broke into an overlooking private property to "unobtrusively" film proceedings. They were escorted from the scene by Gardai following a complaint from the property owner, but not before their presence and actions caused severe upset and disruption.
 
The Indo has been as bad as the tabloids for a long time now. Every time a celeb dies they have photos of grieving relatives at the funeral. The sad thing is that there are very few newspapers left that believe this type of thing is a step too far. The amount of parasites sticking cameras up against the car window when his partner was being driven away was disgusting but unfortunately as long as people buy these newspapers then this will probably continue. I even felt sorry for Louis Walsh (not something I'd often do!) when he was being followed by a troop of saddos with cameras as he made his way thru the airport.
 
The Indo may have slipped in standard over the last few years but it's not all bad.

They still have some excellent journalists, particularly their economic and political commentators.
 
Staples said:
The Indo ... still have some excellent journalists, particularly their economic and political commentators.
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So what? The other tabloids may have good racing tips, great match reports and even great photographs, if that's your kind of thing, but I don't buy them either.

Do you have any opinion on the appropriateness or otherwise of the picture of the late Stephen Gately's obviously distressed partner published on the front page of the Irish Independent?
 
mathepac said:
So what? The other tabloids may have good racing tips, great match reports and even great photographs, if that's your kind of thing, but I don't buy them either.?
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That's brilliant. You're a solid citizen and an example to the rest of us.

mathepac said:
Do you have any opinion on the appropriateness or otherwise of the picture of the late Stephen Gately's obviously distressed partner published on the front page of the Irish Independent?
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I think it's shocking - shocking altogether. Thanks for asking.
 

I wrote a letter to the Indo on this topic over 4 years ago, which they printed but obviously took no notice.

It's a rag (IMO)
 
Even worse is the way the newspapers were falling over themselves to imply that he had died after a major drinking binge when they actually didn't have any facts. Do they ever think or care how painful this kind of thing is for spouses, parents or siblings already in deep shock.

As it turns out, it looks like he may have had a heart conditon.
 
liaconn said:
Even worse is the way the newspapers were falling over themselves to imply that he had died after a major drinking binge when they actually didn't have any facts. ...
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IME, they never let the facts get in the way of a good story.
 
+1.
One particular instance which sticks in my mind, after the tragic happenings in Monageer in 2007 where a young couple and their two little children were found dead in their home-the families were being interviewed straightaway on tv/ radio etc. People should be allowed to grieve in peace. I hope that Stephen Gately's family and friends are allowed the peace and dignity that they deserve at this sad time.
 
At the end of the day we only have ourselves to blame, (well not all of us). People want to see these sort of pictures and the tabloids (the majority of Irish/Oirish newspapers) accomodate them.


Look what they did to Michael Jackson. Hounding him when he was alive and then turning him into a saint when he was dead. They did the same to Princess Diana.

It's a sad day when so many people lead their lives around the tabloids.
 
UptheDeise said:
Look what they did to Michael Jackson. Hounding him when he was alive and then turning him into a saint when he was dead. They did the same to Princess Diana.

.
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These two people are well known for courting and manipulating the media for their own ends.
 
The Indo's "reporting" over the circumstances of Liam Lawler's death was hardly top quality either.

Don't get me started on the Sindo
 
Any idea why the Boyzone lads were being driven round Dublin by the Gardai yesterday. The news yesterday showed them coming out of the church (I think) and getting into a Garda van!
 
I dont know if anyone is aware of the furore surrounding Jan Moirs horrible article about Stephen. There have been so many complaints to the Press Association that it caused the website to crash.

I was never a boyzone "fan" but I admired them because most of them did not take themselves too seriously. I looked up their original performance on Late Late Show and it is still brilliant. I met Stephen once and he was a quiet unassuming guy.

There is no need to try and vilify him now that he has gone.
 
According to the BBC news the Press Complaints Commission has had > 1,000 complaints and M&S have asked for their advertising to moved away from the Daily Mail article. - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8311499.stm

Congratulations to the Daily Mail, which even judged against their own low standards, have managed to plumb new depths of awfulness and insensitivity.

The article is not in the Irish edition and has apparently been taken off the Mail's web-site (according to a Daily Mail reader)

Later update from The Guardian website - http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/oct/16/stephen-gately-boyzone
 
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