Alan Jones has announced he has cancer. Watch as the media trip over themselves to give him the biggest “WE LOVE YOU AND SUPPORT YOU” arse-kisses ever.
Just like they did with Delta Goodrem (The Daily Telegraph devoting a WHOLE FRONT PAGE to Delta, with the headlines screaming “WE LOVE YOU DELTA”, several pages and photos and her life story — and she wasn’t even dead).
Just like they did with Kylie (The Herald Sun devoting THIRTEEN PAGES complete with memory lane photos and her life story — and she wasn’t even dead).
I first became aware of Alan Jones’ “special announcement” when the SMH website posted “breaking news”, something about Jones about to hold a midday press conference. And the SMH promised they would broadcast it on their website. “No need for that,” I silently told them, sending fervent telepathic thoughts. “It’s only Alan Jones, renowned shock-jock bigot.”
While cancer is not something I wish on people, and hope they recover from it, please please please give us a break when it comes to celebrities who have cancer! Wish them well, speedy recovery and move on. Capisce?
On the other hand, if it gives us a brief respite from hearing about BELINDA NEAL BELINDA NEAL BELINDA NEAL…
I was going to start this post by making a joke about how I once tried to use MySpace and was so angered and frustrated by its hideous design, slow loading times, and complete lack of usability that I tried to top myself. But that would be in poor taste so I won’t.
Instead I’m going to have a bit of a laugh at the media’s newest sensationalist campaign in the wake of the tragic suicide deaths of two teenage girls: “Our Society’s Kids Are Addicted to MySpace and Are Catching the ‘Emo’ and are Making Suicide Pacts and Are Killing Themselves So We Must Ban MySpace and the Internet and ‘Emo’ and Childhood.”
Does any news outlet in the country ever let the concept of correlation vs. causation get in the way of a good sensationalist headline any more? Where were the “Listening to Nick Cave Music by Candlelight While Wearing Black Makes Kids Kill Themselves” headlines fifteen years ago?
Go read Jeremy and Adam 1.0 who have both written good posts about this topic.
UPDATE (6pm): Well fuck me dead:
[John] Howard was asked if the government could improve monitoring of the internet or educate parents in a bid to stop a similar tragedy.
“I think the greatest thing that has to be said about this is that parental responsibility in the end is the key to behaviour by children,” Mr Howard told ABC Radio.
“Government can’t educate parents to be responsible if they don’t have an instinct for responsibility.
“And whilst there are things the government can do there is a limit before you start running up against freedom of speech.”
grodscorp@grods.com
