Seven people died when the ‘superyacht’ Bayesian sank off Sicily. From the gushing media coverage, you’d think only two people had sadly perished, ‘British tech entrepreneur’ Mike Lynch and his daughter Hannah. The boat’s chef Recaldo Thomas, who also died, barely merits anything more than an afterthought, a ‘by the way’ type reference. His name appears at the bottom of every list. Today, 24th August 2024, five days later, the story no longer dominates the front pages of all the national newspapers, with the notable exception of the Express, the Mail and the increasingly unhinged Telegraph. While it is, unquestionably, a tragic event for those concerned, and it is not surprising that the family says they are devastated and in shock, just who is the media talking to?
I have been stewing over the idea of blogging about the media coverage and wondering how I could do so without appearing to be heartless and then I saw a wonderfully judged post on social media last night that did just that. The coverage reflected the media’s “adoration of the rich and famous” to the exclusion of nearly all else. That’s exactly right and all I would add that obsession extends to many of many newspaper readers.
I had never previously heard of Lynch, nor any of the passengers on his yacht. I don’t even know what a ‘tech entrepreneur’ is or does. I bear him no ill will at all. His was a world a million miles away from the one I inhabit in England, where millions use food banks, 5000 people die every year because they can’t afford to heat their homes and nearly eight million people are on NHS waiting lists. I do not condemn Mr Lynch from gallivanting around the world on a luxury superyacht – I am sure he made his money by sheer hard work and talent – but quite why I should be interested in his life and subsequent passing as the media seems to think I should I do not know. Perhaps it is just me, but beyond my natural sympathy as a human being to anyone involved in tragedy, there is little more to it.
The Express seems to be a good example of the media coverage. Here’s today’s front page:
I’m not arguing with any of the comments, but really, how is this front page news? The lives of the rich and sometimes famous take priority, at least in the minds of media chiefs, but other than a few hundred thousand largely elderly newspaper readers, who else wants to see this?
Literally, as I write this piece, breaking news flashes up on my phone courtesy of Sky News, which tells me that “investigators are considering potential homicide” as they try to find out why the yacht sank. Well, frankly, let them and if there is a case to be heard, just let the authorities do their thing. And one more thing: while I have little interest in the story, beyond offering my long distance sympathy, can’t we just let the family and friends grieve of the victims in private?
Do we really need to read interviews with Hannah Lynch’s friends from the elite private school she attended? There may be a few ghouls out there who do, quite possibly the same people who obsess with the lives of the royal family, who get something out of this. My own real life experience is very different. People who are bereaved wish for privacy, time and space to grieve. What’s happening here is the very opposite, tragedy turned into a soap opera, for the benefit of voyeurs who are, as we say, obsessed with the rich and famous. Or so-called journalists and their readers, as we call them.
If I have offended any of you with my critique of the coverage, well so be it. If I have crossed a line, I didn’t mean to. Every life is precious, from the a ‘tech entrepreneur’ to a ship’s cook. You wouldn’t think so from looking at the media but that section of the media produces content like this for its consumers, so maybe we’re as sick as the journos? If we stop consuming, they’ll hopefully stop reporting on stuff that few of us are interested in and maybe, just maybe, concentrate on things we are? Don’t hold your breath.
