Do the media have any morals

The situation around Bridgend is really, really disturbing. Yesterday a number of people and organisations highlighted that the media coverage given to the situation may be contributing.

So what has the media response been like? The most astonishing is from the Sun who ignore the criticism and run with the story on their front page, made worse by the headline "17 deaths, 13months, 1 town, 1 question..... Why?" which is factually misleading. The problem exists around the County of Bridgend and is not confined the Town. That may be a subtle change, but it is one area of misreporting that has been covered and criticised over the last few weeks because it is an easy way of makig the problem appear worse than it is. The Sun also chooses to ignore the criticism that was made of the media in their reporting of the latest tragedy (at least it does on line - I will not buy a copy to check if it is me ntioned elsewhere).

The rest of the media are nearly as bad, almost universally using the criticism made of them yesterday to prolong the story through a new angle: "is media reporting making the situation worse?"

The best thing the media can do is just shut up. This is a real tragedy with families and the lives of young people at the heart of it. If there is any hint that media reporting is making it worse there is only one angle to take don't even mention it.

Maybe the Sun could also consider an anonymous donation to the Samaritans to support their initiative in Bridgend (note anonymous - not a donation in a blaze of glory). This would be a fitting compensation for its incorrect and irresponsible actions.