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Sir David Amess ,the media and social media.

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I was sadden to here the news regarding Sir David Amess.  One of the many that wish to fight for their  constituents, and assist in our understanding of democracy.
I feel that the media,  informing the public of the killers name has  given that person the notoriety they may have seeked.  I would have thought that it would have been more respectful to Sir David and his family  not to name the killer . I also found that the reporting of the killers background, where he lived and information of his   family extremely divisive. Have the media really not taken into consideration the impact that information would have surrounding social media ? Are they really that naïve ? 
Why is it that there is no policy in place surrounding this issue ? 
If we wish to change society then l feel that this should be seriously looked at. 
Good reporting can have such a positive effect such as the story surrounding 'Captain Tom' however more often than not the negative reporting and emotive language can lead to dire consequences to all involved such as the 'Joanna Yates' murder where landlord Christopher Jeffries was falsely accused of the murder.  
'I have heard so many times in news bulletins and from the  police, 'not to post on social media '. Why give a detailed report ? Why not just give the bare minimum facts, or none at all. Why not say , 'its an ongoing investigation'. 
Surely by giving such media coverage to emotive issues there can never be a non-prejudicial case ?
Due to such media coverage, some  people and groups  will misuse  social media for their own gain. 
So many people have been attacked, bullied verbally and physically due to miss information and incitement through  others, there are many cases of people being targeted by vigilantes who have been given misinformation and  extremist's who pray on the vulnerable . 
All communication in one way or another can be misused, however l feel that there needs to be tighter restrictions surrounding   platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and What's App  if we want to limit, misinformation and the hatred that can be spawned by using them.
People should be able to debate and discuss relevant issues without the fear of being attacked verbally or physically, maybe now is the time to review the language,  that is used within news reports and the how it is presented   to  society. We must take into consideration that that we all perceive issues differently and therefore this needs to  be taken into account, when reporting the news especially surrounding emotive subjects. 
  
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Reporting of killers background and family divisive

Hi Hede,

Yes, sad to hear about the murder of the MP as I was also of Jo Cox MP.  No one has the right to take the life of another human being for whatever reason.

I agree with you. It is the perpetrator not the family who should be on trial here. Often the family are just the innocent by standers and are just as shocked and upset by the events as everyone else. It is wrong of the media to expand the story and expose family members without any justification only for salacious gossip.

Best wishes Gill



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*  Sorry I  omitted Sir David Amess MP

Regarding the killing of Sir David Amess


Yes Hede, it is sad.

It reminds me of other high profile killings, Martin Luther, the Kennedys and John Lennon et al.

One naturalist whose work has made an impact on me, was Konrad Lorenz, who once coined the phrase,

'the innate aggressiveness of man' and often, it is men (though not always, Myra Hindley comes to mind).

On a more positive note, I hope that your current OU module is going well.

Best wishes,
Jeremy

Martin Luther King, naturally. Excellent man.


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