I purposefully have not added a picture.
Over the last few months we have seen two examples of the most virulent excesses of our media, two exposés that resulted in a feeding frenzy of speculation and accusation leading to the end of the careers of two broadcasters. The first was the story of Schofield and his affair with a younger man. The second is the still breaking story of Edwards and a string of allegations, including paying people for sexually explicit images. Edwards is now in hospital and expected to be there for some time to come.
In both these cases the police have confirmed that there has been no criminal activity and that, certainly at this stage, will not be pursuing the cases further.
To be absolutely clear, I am not condoning the activities of these two men. To be frank I am not close enough to them or the story to understand the reasons for their actions. We need to be careful however, and not mistake moral repugnance with illegality. We may not like what they have done, or at least purported to have done but I question strongly whether we have the right to hound them from our own moral high ground.
They have been caught up in a social media firestorm. The ‘public’ have turned up with the modern equivalent of pitchforks and torches. They have smelt blood like a pack of hounds and been caught up in the thrill of the hunt.
Go back a few months to the death of Bulley who, the coroner, concluded, died by accidental drowning. This followed months of ‘wildly inaccurate speculation’ on social media including questioning her mental state, a drink habit and accusing others of killing her.
In a statement from their lawyer, Terry Wilcox, the public was urged ‘to look at the facts, the evidence that has been heard during the inquest, and the conclusion reached by the coroner and to ignore any amateur views and opinions and be mindful of the impact words bring’.
These cases have exposed the worst excesses of human nature. The problem is they only take place because people buy into them. We may baulk from the sidelines, mutter and shake our heads, yet it is the public that fuels these activities. Such outlandish speculation drives the clicks and sells print and airtime. It is the oxygen that makes the media thrive.
More worryingly is that the media are very selective in who it pursues. There are, in my opinion, many more people who do far worse things yet are still held up and admired by the public. Humans are complex creatures but we need to ask ourselves if this is what we want from our media. If not, don’t get involved by adding fuel to the fire.
Thoughts from a Guerrilla Worker 