Three Die...

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Three die in Cumbria after being hit by a car driven by a 47yr old held on suspicion of drink-driving and dangerous driving...

And three die in Reading after being attacked by a knifeman in a suspected terrorist attack.

I really don't know what to think of the way these two terrible events of this weekend have been and are being covered.

Of course I know the difference in background and context - but the very important similarity for me is that, in both, three people died. Yet one seems to matter more than the other, and in terms of human tragedy to me they are the same. I just find the difference in coverage quite striking.

Maybe we have just become inured to the former.

 

[Doon frae Troon]

Three die in Cumbria after being hit by a car driven by a 47yr old held on suspicion of drink-driving and dangerous driving...

And three die in Reading after being attacked by a knifeman in a suspected terrorist attack.

I really don't know what to think of the way these two terrible events of this weekend have been and are being covered.

Of course I know the difference in background and context - but the very important similarity for me is that, in both, three people died. Yet one seems to matter more than the other, and in terms of human tragedy to me they are the same. I just find the difference in coverage quite striking.

Three kids died in a fire in Paisley at the weekend.
The press coverage of that seemed to be greater than the Reading deaths.
I did not even know about the Cumbria deaths.
We are living in strange times.

 

[rudebhoy]

The one in Cumbria was a drunk driver ploughing into pedestrians at 2.30 in the afternoon. It would appear all 3 dead were from the same family, really tragic.

 

[CliveW]

And two people shot dead in Manchester yesterday morning at a lock-down party to which the police didn't try to break up. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-53125627

 

[Lord Tyrion]

It shows the power that exists in the hands of a new editor / director. All terrible incidents but some barely mentioned.

 

[Bunkermagnet]

Any loss of life is horrible, but could there be a localised issue here, where something is reported by most but only the regional news report more about it?

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

The one in Cumbria was a drunk driver ploughing into pedestrians at 2.30 in the afternoon. It would appear all 3 dead were from the same family, really tragic.

Which, in human tragedy terms, makes the Cumbria event worse than the Reading attack. And yet whilst the public of Reading are having a minutes silence for those who died in Reading...

I dunno. The thought that the 'Reading' deaths are deemed more newsworthy than the 'Cumbria', 'Paisley' or 'Manchester' ones is uncomfortable to me as it is as if I am being told to care more about some deaths than others. Or maybe it is simply that I am being told that I should care more about the cause of some deaths than others.

 

[Bunkermagnet]

Which, in human tragedy terms, makes the Cumbria event worse than the Reading attack. And yet whilst the public of Reading are having a minutes silence for those who died in Reading...

I dunno. The thought that the 'Reading' deaths are deemed more newsworthy than the 'Cumbria', 'Paisley' or 'Manchester' ones is uncomfortable to me as it is as if I am being told to care more about some deaths than others. Or maybe it is simply that I am being told that I should care more about the cause of some deaths than others.

Perhaps deliberate and accidental also apply?

 

[Deleted member 16999]

Unfortunately on average nearly 1,500 people die everyday in the UK, I genuinely believe we as a society have become hardened to the majority of those, unless we are affected personally.

As for the deaths at the weekend, the terrorist attack was lessoned as people looked for a connection to the BLM protest, imo, and it would of had a larger coverage had it been on the streets of London, again imo.

 

[Kellfire]

Intentional loss of life will nearly always trump accidental/incidental death for obvious reasons.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Perhaps deliberate and accidental also apply?

There is that - but dangerous and drunk-driving are also deliberate. And it may well be the case that the guy in Reading might well have mental illness issues - and individuals can lose control of their faculties when mental illness issues overcome them (which may not apply in this case - we don;t know)

Whatever the reasons, the outcomes were the same - in both tragedies three innocent people died

 

[CliveW]

Things that happen in the SE will always get preference in the news.

 

[Liverbirdie]

Unfortunately on average nearly 1,500 people die everyday in the UK, I genuinely believe we as a society have become hardened to the majority of those, unless we are affected personally.

As for the deaths at the weekend, the terrorist attack was lessoned as people looked for a connection to the BLM protest, imo, and it would of had a larger coverage had it been on the streets of London, again imo.

Typed before your lemon yoghurt, or after?

 

[Deleted member 16999]

Typed before your lemon yoghurt, or after?

Same time as I was having my second one.

 

[Blue in Munich]

It shows the power that exists in the hands of a new editor / director. All terrible incidents but some barely mentioned.

Things that happen in the SE will always get preference in the news.

Or it could be that as the Reading story is now getting on for 48 hours old and the victims are starting to be identified and there is more depth to it, and because it is terrorist related and there is an investigation ongoing, it is maintaining a newsworthy status in the eyes of those reporting it.

The tragedy of the 3 Scottish children and their mother certainly made the main page of the BBC in the South, but as there is little more to add to it beyond reporting the tragedy that it was, it doesn't remain on the front page. The Cumbrian story is also on the front page in the South, but with little to add beyond the bare facts at this stage, it is occupying less space.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Or it could be that as the Reading story is now getting on for 48 hours old and the victims are starting to be identified and there is more depth to it, and because it is terrorist related and there is an investigation ongoing, it is maintaining a newsworthy status in the eyes of those reporting it.

The tragedy of the 3 Scottish children and their mother certainly made the main page of the BBC in the South, but as there is little more to add to it beyond reporting the tragedy that it was, it doesn't remain on the front page. The Cumbrian story is also on the front page in the South, but with little to add beyond the bare facts at this stage, it is occupying less space.

I think the bit in bold is the crux of the whole thread. What is on the news, how much time it gets is always down to the eye of the person in charge of the newspaper, tv news etc. We see what they choose. I am not suggesting they hide news but they do have enormous power.

I totally accept your point about a story 'having legs'.

 

[Fade and Die]

There is that - but dangerous and drunk-driving are also deliberate. And it may well be the case that the guy in Reading might well have mental illness issues - and individuals can lose control of their faculties when mental illness issues overcome them (which may not apply in this case - we don;t know)

Whatever the reasons, the outcomes were the same - in both tragedies three innocent people died

Of course he had mental issues, he believed his God wanted him to kill people and he would be rewarded in the afterlife!! Crazy stuff.
Re the reporting, all the stories are still on the Sky news app although the Paisley fire has dropped down a bit.

 

[rulefan]

Of course he had mental issues, he believed his God wanted him to kill people and he would be rewarded in the afterlife!! Crazy stuff.

What do you believe his religion is?

 

[backwoodsman]

Surely its long been the case that deaths caused by premeditated intention are reported more than those are not? The Reading incident was most probaly premeditated whereas Cumbria one probably wasn't. (But that's not to say that either of the two perpetrators is any less culpable than the other).

 

[Fade and Die]

What do you believe his religion is?

Since the Counterterrorism Police have taken over the investigation I’m gonna hazard a guess at Muslim?