In the news

Not all readers.

But seriously, that's not a good enough excuse. Readers (or anybody) have no right to be privy to the feelings or emotions of a grieving family. If they want to give it willingly and come forward, then fine, that is their right. But for anyone other than someone specifically trained to deal with or therapise the feelings of grief to ask someone to speak candidly about how they are feeling, is hugely irresponsible. Who knows what they could be triggering.

Telling me what the parents of an murdered child or brother of a missing person is feeling does nothing to provide me with more facts or information about the incident.

Leave the fact collecting to the police.

... offering the family a chance to give their comment.

It's not for a lack of means or opportunity that people choose to remain silent, or alternatively contact the press should they wish to: journalists such as those we're discussing are serving no-one but themselves.

... that's what the readers want.

Even if that is true, considering their modest circulations, it is arrogant in the extreme for journalists to justify their behaviour with the wants of a such a small minority.

... because getting journos from lots of different outlets to do something is like herding cats.

It's almost as if a Code of Practice is required...

A Code of Practice issued by an external regulatory body, who's membership is not optional and who's rulings are enforceable in law that is.

The Editor of the Press Gazette has written something about this today

His article is risible.

It's not enough that the same-old, lame-old, self-justifying mitigations are rallied to the cause (although it being disrespectful not to contact the family is a new one on me and warrants a special mention, if only for its complete disengagement from reality).

No, we're supposed to swallow the idea that hacks shoulder this burden unwillingly, spurred on only by their earnest desire to serve the greater good.

"I'll take one Sword of Justice, a Shield of Truth and a Heavy Heart please."

And the onus is on the public to contact IPSO ("IPS-who?"), in order not to receive a "death knock"? Rather than journos acting with a presumption of "not behaving like a cunt"?

And the Liverpool John Moores University report cited, does not find that the public welcome a doorstepping. It finds that they're less than keen on hacks resorting to Facebook et al when the door is slammed in their face!

But it seems you're not the only one who "sees no ships": "One daily newspaper journalist described it [plundering social media] as ‘a virtual version of taking comments from cards and flowers at the scene'”.

Oh.

I see.

Mind you, it's little Moores (I thang yew!) than a barely opaque attack on calls for Moores (Have you tried the veal?) press regulation off the back of Leveson, so I'll be using my copy to wipe the arse of an ursine forest-dweller.

Were it not for the undue influence these widely unread rags have (ever expanding, cheap-to-produce current affairs shows on radio and TV, plugging gaps in their schedule with "What The Papers Say" slots) and the undue political influence their owner's have (thanks to the undue influence of their widely unread rags), they'd have collapsed under the weight of public disinterest by now.

Much like the monarchy and the church. But don't get me started...

Seems to me that 'News' is too much like hard work,
however,
'misery' is easily accumulated and even more easily dispensed
and,
it has no sell-by or best-before date.

The misery of a mis-reported story lingers long after the truth has been reported and the miscreant apprehended and dealt with, as at every stage of the process of justice the misery can be revived.

To edit a UK tabloid, you have to hate people and wish to make their day, every day, a misery.

... the story...

I don't accept that death knocks is part of 'the story'.
Yes, I definitely feel confused and scared about the current spate of terrorist incidents in Europe, and yes I would love to read more in depth analysis to help me understand what is going on.
What I don't believe is that my confusion is caused by a lack of intrusive reporting on the grief felt by ordinary people who lost loved ones in the Paris/Nice/Berlin/Stockholm incidents.