{"id":7248,"date":"2020-02-29T15:52:34","date_gmt":"2020-02-29T14:52:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=7248"},"modified":"2020-02-29T15:52:34","modified_gmt":"2020-02-29T14:52:34","slug":"hoping-for-a-career-in-the-media","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=7248","title":{"rendered":"Hoping For a Career in the Media"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s not news that I\u2019m hoping to follow a career in the media.<\/span> <\/strong><\/em>Although I currently work for Cardiff University\u2019s newspaper, Gair Rhydd, I don\u2019t think I will pursue a career in newspapers.
\nBut despite my aspirations to become a journalist, it doesn\u2019t mean I can\u2019t hold the media accountable. Recently, more so than ever, I\u2019ve been more aware of the media\u2019s perception of certain celebrities. The way some are attacked and vilified. How some media outlets will do everything in their power to gain a story.
\nWith Taylor Swift\u2019s tell-all documentary hitting Netflix at the end of January and with the recent and sudden death of television presenter Caroline Flack, it\u2019s time we realise that targeting certain celebrities creates a mob mentality \u2013 and can often cause serious harm.
\nMost people by now will likely know I\u2019m a big fan of Taylor Swift. Since her Fearless album, I\u2019ve followed her career and enjoyed her music. I feel I\u2019ve grown up with her and her music and getting more of an inside look into her private life in her documentary has been fascinating. I feel I relate inherently with the way she reacts to how others perceive her. She mentioned how she\u2019d built her entire belief system on being liked. But when the world turned against her, she had to rebuild.
\nTaylor Swift has been criticised her entire career. Either because of who she\u2019s dating or how she reacts to situations. She\u2019s been scrutinised and clearly it meant she had to think about everything she did in her life. Which seems normal \u2013 to a point. It seems she put so much pressure on herself to be \u2018perfect\u2019 that she even considers her album Reputation a failure because of its lack of Grammy nominations \u2013 despite many, myself included, counting the album as one of her best.
\nThe media has spent many of Swift\u2019s years creating her as a \u2018love to hate\u2019 personality. During 2016, following Kanye West\u2019s Famous song debacle, and Kim Kardashian West\u2019s recording, the world quite literally turned on Swift. The media seemed to join in on this mass hatred of Swift, to a point where, when she was dealing with a sexual assault case, numerous media outlets were continuing to criticise her. Even as Taylor Swift was going through one of the hardest things anyone might have to go through, many media outlets were capitalising on her hardship.
\nI understand that the world has an obsession with celebrity culture, and that celebrities are seen as the \u2018elite\u2019. However, to an extent, the media can be perceived to be out for blood. I recently saw a viral video of Selena Gomez leaving a restaurant where she said, ever so timidly, \u2018do you mind leaving me alone, please?\u2019 to paparazzi. Their response was simply \u2018we got here first, there\u2019ll be more in a second\u2019, but Gomez even mentioned how they were scaring her.
\nOf course, celebrities put themselves in a position where the world scrutinises them. It\u2019s, unfortunately, part of the deal. However, there is certainly a point where things can go too far. And it often does.
\nCaroline Flack was charged last December with assaulting her boyfriend. Overnight, her life was upended. I sincerely believe that an abuser should be punished for their actions. However, the vindication Flack received during her assault trial was not the first time Flack was targeted by some media outlets.
\nAs with many female celebrities, everything Caroline Flack did was scrutinised. It feels as though the media were thrilled when her assault charges hit the headlines in December.
\nFlack\u2019s boyfriend dropped the charges against her, and yet the trial continued on (Flack was meant to stand trial next month). Although I believe assault trials should be carried through even despite charges being dropped \u2013 it\u2019s notable that Flack\u2019s trial was not dropped, when sadly, in most cases, the charges being dropped would mean the trial would be over. It seems like Flack\u2019s trial not being dropped is in part due to the fact she was famous.
\nIt seemed unlikely, due to her persona on ITV\u2019s Love Island and BBC\u2019s Strictly Come Dancing, that she could be an abuser. And in part, I think the media loved that. It was a story which seemed so unlikely \u2013 which meant it would sell.
\nAgain, I\u2019m not saying Caroline Flack\u2019s abuse of her boyfriend ought to be excused. I am however saying that the way her trial and the allegations were handled seemed targeted in a way which was different from how abusers are often perceived by the media.
\nOf course, it is not entirely the media\u2019s fault. In order to sell papers and gain more clicks to websites, you must make sure your content is what the public will want. If the world is hating a certain celebrity, the media will capitalise on this. It is both the media buying into this mob mentality which is harmful, but also the public\u2019s creation of the mob mentality which can cause severe damage.
\nEveryone should be accountable for their actions. However, if these celebrities are being held accountable, then so should everyone else, and that includes the media, too.
\nNo one else should feel like ending their life is the only way out of the hounding from social media trolls and the media.<\/p>\n

By Tirion Davies<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s not news that I\u2019m hoping to follow a career in the media. Although I currently work for Cardiff University\u2019s newspaper, Gair Rhydd, I don\u2019t think I will pursue a career in newspapers. But despite my aspirations to become a journalist, it doesn\u2019t mean I can\u2019t hold the media accountable. Recently, more so than ever, I\u2019ve been more aware of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[274],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6cWjO-1SU","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6812,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=6812","url_meta":{"origin":7248,"position":0},"title":"A Fan of Taylor Swift","author":"Alan Williams","date":"10th December 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Did you think I wouldn\u2019t hear all the things you said about me? If you know me well, you\u2019ll know I\u2019m a fan of Taylor Swift\u2019s music. Since her Fearless album (the first album I ever bought) to her most recent Lover album, I\u2019ve followed her transition from country music\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Play Hard Work Hard"","block_context":{"text":"Play Hard Work Hard","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=274"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7421,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=7421","url_meta":{"origin":7248,"position":1},"title":"International Women\u2019s Day","author":"Alan Williams","date":"2nd April 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"International Women\u2019s Day It was recently International Women\u2019s Day, so Happy International Women\u2019s Day! I have always been surrounded by incredible women. 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