THE MEDIA AND THE TRAGIC CASE OF NIA GLASSIE

People have a strange sad fascination with these awful child abuse cases and, like all the others, this story got a lot of publicity initially. But now that the full dreadful details are being outlined in court, this one is so completely hideous that it's almost like our media outlets are slightly shying away from it. I've heard members of the public saying that they mute the TV reports on it or change channels because they can't bear to hear the horrific details. I think journalists and editors sense that, and I think it's affecting the coverage, or at least the low-key placement of the coverage. I've talked before in my media commentating about to what extent journalists should use or not use really grisly crime details. It's not the media's responsibility to protect us from the awful things that happen in the world, but there are definitely issues of taste and sensitivity and reading the public mood that come into play, and this tragic case is an illustration of that I think.