The News of the World profited from the Derrick Bird shootings with their inaccurate reporting. Please complain to them and request that they make a significant donation to the Cumbria Community Foundation.

Here's my email to: editor@notw.co.uk

Dear Sir - Following the Derrick Bird shootings on the West Coast of Cumbria, the News of the World published many poorly researched articles. One such article was that which was written by Carol Malone (her column received a PCC investigation).

As a result of the offensive articles, and the profit that the News of the World gained as a result of our heartache, I'm calling upon the News of the World to make a significant donation to the Cumbria Community Foundation: http://www.cumbriafoundation.org/ - the foundation is there to help those affected by the shootings.

Please right many wrongs by giving generously.

Many thanks,
Sean Duffy.

Following the West Coast shootings on the 2nd June 2010, much of the UK press descended upon the town of Whitehaven, and the surrounding area. During their unwelcome stay, many misleading and unsubstantiated articles were written about the county, it's people and Derrick Bird. One of the worst articles, in my opinion, was written by Carol Malone in her column in the News of the World.

I, along with 19 other people wrote letters of complaint to the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) regarding Ms. Malones article which was published on the 6th June 2010. My complaint to the PCC can be seen in full below, along with their 'ruling'.

If you don't agree with their ruling, please forward your dissatisfaction to your local MP. You can find your local MP here. Together, we can all change the face of the gutter press that has blighted the UK for many years.

Please be aware that the PCC are self regulating and are funded by the newspapers themselves!

The Complaint

Dear Sir, I'm writing to you today to complain about a article that appeared in the News of The World, dated 6th June 2010. The article was written by Caroline Malone. I've extracted sections of the story that I object to, along with my concerns.

The article, on a whole has been written as fact. However, the vast majority of reporting is speculation, which is misleading to the reader and distorts the facts of the day. The lack of sympathy and discretion of Ms. Malone, while making enquiries, and her intrusion into the lives of those grieving oversteps the mark of common deceny and flies in the face of the code of practice of the Press Complainst Commission.

----------

Quote 1:
"FIRST it was incredulity. Now it's anger. Raw anger. The people of Cumbria are raging - yet their anger isn't directed at Derrick Bird. At least not yet. For now it's directed at a world that has suddenly and without warning invaded their lives, a world that is shining an unwelcome light on them at a time when they are scared and vulnerable and confused."

Concern 1:
As a Cumbrian, I have no complaint with the outside world. I do have concerns over press intrusion during a very difficult period.


Quote 2:
"It's as if Derrick Bird is their shame, their failure and they want to deal with it privately in their own time. These proud working class communities don't want to grieve, to heal themselves with the world looking on - judging them, judging Derrick. More importantly they don't want to admit they may, in some way, have failed him. How couldn't they have seen his anger, his paranoia, his pain?"

Concern 2:
Derrick Bird is not our shame and to suggest this is disgusting. Derrick Bird brought shame onto himself as a result of his actions. The Cumbrian people have not failed him. Support services did not fail him - how could they know that he, or anyone else was to carry out what he did on that fateful day. To blame the Cumbrian people for not seeing his "anger, his paranoia, his pain" is disgusting.


Quote 3:
"Because even though the bloody reality of what happened is there for them all to see, these are people in denial."

Concern 3:
We are not in denial. What happened, happened. It was out of our control, and everyone elses. To suggest that we are in denial, when she blatently doesn't know us is reporting at it's worst.


Quote 4:
"Because the Derrick Bird THEY knew could never have done these terrible things. The Derrick they knew couldn't have looked into the eyes of defenceless women and pensioners and blown their faces off."

Concern 4:
Due to the emotional nature of the events on the 2nd, it is not appropriate to use language, such as, "defenceless women and pensioners and blown their faces off" - especially in a newspaper touted as a family newspaper!


Quote 5:
"Some might even have yearned for a bit of excitement, believing their lives to be a bit boring."

Concern 5:
To suggest that we wanted this to happen, because our lives are boring is again disgusting and unwarranted.


Quote 6:
"Are you family?" one of them asked politely. I said I was not. "Then you have no business here," she said, turning her back to me. And as she did, I saw an elderly lady in their group quietly weeping. Maybe she WAS family. Or maybe, like everyone else, she was just overwhelmed. Either way, her pain was raw and her friends comforted her - and then each other.

Concern 6:
Press intrusion during the events of the 2nd June have overstepped the mark. Approaching mourning families during a time like this is press intrusion at it's worst.


Quote 7:
"But looking at David Bird's beautiful house nestling in its private road, with green fields and rolling hills in the distance it's not hard to see why his brother had grown resentful."

Concern 7:
This is pure speculation on the part of Ms. Malone. This is speculation, written as fact.


Quote 8:
"The brothers might have started out as equals but life drove a whopping great wedge between them - a wedge that left David with a life his down-at-heel brother could only dream of. Which is why over the years Derrick's jealousy festered, together with his sense of failure and growing resentment towards his mother Mary, who he believed favoured David over him. Derrick had come to believe David's very existence was a symbol of his own failure and so last Wednesday he terminated that existence - and the killing spree started."

Concern 8:
This is pure speculation on the part of Ms. Malone. This is speculation, written as fact.


Quote 9:
"Just two minutes before he died Darren had been in their shop, as he was every day, buying a cuppa. Minutes later he was lying just a few feet away with his face shot off."

Concern 9:
Information regaring the injury is too graphic and pure specualtion as cornoner reports have not yet been released.


Quote 10:
"And where once tourists would come to see the scenery, now they'll come to gawp at Derrick Bird's killing fields.

Concern 10:
Again, this is speculation, written as fact.


Quote 11:
"A lethal combination of circumstances, frustrations and resentments came together in a seething hot cauldron of emotions - and out of it came the grotesque spectre of a man who mutated into a cold-blooded assassin devoid of conscience and humanity."

Concern 11:
How Ms. Malone can know the state of mind of Derrick Bird is beyond comprehension. This is speculation, written as fact.

The Ruling

Commission’s decision in the case of Various v News of the World

The Commission had received twenty complaints about the article. A number of the complainants considered the article to be misleading or inaccurate, with some stating that they had been denied the opportunity to reply to the article (particularly online). Others considered that they had been harassed by the newspaper. The majority of complainants considered that the article intruded into their grief and shock, and four considered it an invasion of their private lives. Some complainants felt that the people of Whitehaven and the surrounding area had been discriminated against.

While issues relating to taste and offence do not fall within the remit of the Editors’ Code, the Commission understood that the complainants had strongly disagreed with the views expressed by the columnist and that they did not feel that she was in a position to make informed comment on the incident. It acknowledged that the residents of Whitehaven and the surrounding area had been caused a great deal of distress by the recent event, and that the extensive press coverage had not necessarily been welcomed by them.

However, under the terms of Clause 1 (Accuracy) of the Code, newspapers are entitled to publish the views of individuals – however robust or controversial – provided that they are clearly distinguished from fact. This article, which had been written in the first person, had clearly been presented as a comment piece, and the Commission was satisfied that readers would recognise that the views expressed in it represented the columnist’s personal, and, indeed, controversial, opinions and speculation on the shootings rather than statements of fact. While the complainants disagreed with her presentation of the reactions and opinions of local people and Derrick Bird’s motivation (both of which they considered to be supposition), the Commission made clear that she was entitled to voice her opinion, in accordance with the freedom of expression, regardless of how unwelcome her views may have been to them. Given that the complainants had not pointed to any specific inaccuracies in the article, rather than views with which they disagreed, the Commission could not establish a breach of Clause 1 (Accuracy) of the Code.

Some complainants had expressed concern that their comments had not been published on the newspaper’s website. The Commission made clear that issues relating to the selection and presentation of material for publication were matters for the discretion of individual editors. The newspaper had not been obliged to publish all the comments which had been posted on the matter. Given that the Commission had not established any inaccuracies in the article, it did not consider that Clause 2 (Opportunity to reply), which was designed to afford individuals the opportunity to reply to inaccuracies, had been engaged.

The Commission understood that the article had caused great upset to the complainants, and that they found it highly insensitive. However, Clause 5 (Intrusion into grief or shock) relates to instances involving the personal grief or shock of an individual or family. While the Commission acknowledged that the shootings had greatly distressed the community as a whole, it considered that it would require the involvement of a directly affected first party – for example, the families of the victims or of Derrick Bird – in order to establish whether they considered that their grief had been intruded upon by the article. It had received no such complaint in regard to this article and, therefore, it could not address the complaint.

Clause 3 (Privacy) relates to an individual’s right to privacy. Although some complainants felt that the newspaper’s coverage and comment on the event amounted to an intrusion into their privacy, the Commission noted that the article did not make reference to the individuals themselves. There could be no possible breach of Clause 3 of the Editors’ Code of Practice.

Under the terms of Clause 12 (Discrimination), newspapers must take care not to publish pejorative or prejudicial reference to an individual’s race, colour, religion, gender, sexual orientation or to any physical or mental illness or disability. However it does not apply to making reference to an individual’s county or town of residence. Furthermore, it is designed to prevent discriminatory coverage of individuals. Given that the complainants considered the article to be discriminatory towards residents of Whitehaven and the surrounding area generally, the Commission did not consider that it represented a breach of Clause 12 of the Code.

Finally, a few complainants considered that the article represented harassment. While the Commission understood that there had been a high media presence in the area, Clause 4 relates to physical harassment of individuals by journalists and/or photographers in the newsgathering process. The Code does not seek to prohibit legitimate debate and it is not the case that publishing an article about the shootings with which they disagreed would constitute harassment under its terms. There was no breach of Clause 4 (Harassment) of the Code.

We are in the process of creating a new video gallery on myWhitehaven.net - please bear with us during the changes. If you have a suggestion for an area of Whitehaven to be filmed, please get in touch. We'd love to hear from you.

It's now five days since the tragic events of Wednesday when twelve people had their lives cut short during three hours of terror. Now is the time for the press to up roots and leave us alone. The public from the West of Cumbria are sick of the sensationalist press coverage that has been splashed all over the front pages of the UK's newspapers.

During the hours of chaos that descended over our beautiful part of the country, the updates from the press were invaluable in keeping us all safe, and we thank you for that. However, prolonging the 'story' by digging dirt and fabricating headlines to sell newspapers is not welcome. We don't want to hear alleged sordid tales and headlines about a Taxi Terminator.

There are a number of families directly affected by the events that unfolded on the 2nd June. The press being here is prolonging their agony. They don't want you on our streets, nor do the vast majority of the Cumbrian public.

As you have stated a number of times in the press, we are a close knit community - but you should be warned that you tread on our toes at your own peril. People from Cumbria, especially in the West, are the most welcoming in the UK. That hospitality is extended only to those that we want here - not those vying for position in the gutter.

We really feel for every family affected by the killings. We have always looked after our own, and will continue to do so, long after you have moved on to the next money making venture for your dirty rags. Our anger isn't pointed at Derrick Bird, his family or the "unwelcome light" that is shining upon us. Our anger is aimed four-square in your court... directly at the gutter press.

Derrick Bird obviously had some sort of breakdown that resulted in his killings - we can't believe this happened, but we do understand that something went wrong in his head for him to act the way he did. We don't understand why he did what he did. Maybe we'll never know. But, we need to move on. Many have already done so, but others can't with you camped out on the streets and outside homes. Leave us alone and leave all the affected families alone.

If you love Google Streetview, you'll love the 3D integration that we have on our website. Hunt out your old 3D Red/Blue glasses and prepare to be amazed at our interactive, 360 degree, 3D tour of Whitehaven.

To view our Streetview scene in 3D, click the small icon wearing the 3D glasses. If you don't have 3D glasses, you can still view Whitehaven in standard 2D. Affordable 3D anaglyph glasses are available for sale from various organisations on the internet - If you have the skills, and time, you can also make your own 3D glasses.

Status Quo wowed thousands in Whitehaven when they previously appeared. Now, they are to make another visit to the town. Quo are the headline act for the Saturday evening on the harbourside stage. The guys from Quo loved the town so much on their previous visit that they approached the festival team directly to see if they could appear.

This is the first headline act to be announced for the Whitehaven festival - two more major acts are to be announced soon. Your jaw will drop at the announcement, so please watch this space.
 
If you are interested in attending the Whitehaven festival add the following dates to your diary:
25th, 26th and 27th June, 2010.

Don't forget to visit our festival page!

myWhitehaven video has been launched today on Facebook - now you can share your video clips of the town with ease. Here's the link - please join the group and tell your friends to join in too: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=277317172398

The weather forecaster on our news and weather page has been updated with a tool from the Met Office - now you can check out a five day weather forecast for Whitehaven - you can also look at temperature, rainfall and pressure maps. in addition to these features, if a weather warning is issued by the Met Office, it will be visible on the weather forecaster.

Please be sure to bookmark the page so that you are kept fully informed of the weather!

As you may know - myWhitehaven.net is the publisher of a small number of toolbars.

A number of the components from our toolbars were recently submitted to the Conduit Awards - a shortlist has been drawn up, and we are pleased to be able to announce that we have made it to the Conduit Awards finals. We are really proud to have made it this far.

Can you help us go further? Your vote for us in the finals is a vote of confidence in what we are doing. It would really mean a lot to us if we made it all the way to the finish line in December. Please VOTE NOW, and ask your friends to vote too.

We have SIX components that have made it through to the finals, so please visit each category to register your vote. THANKS!!

What are the Conduit Awards?
The Conduit Awards is a competition that honours the creative development of components and applications that can be shared in the Conduit Marketplace. These 'gadgets' are available to more than 200,000 toolbar publishers and more than 60 million users.

The Conduit Awards began on November 1st - thousands of toolbar publishers pushed forward their entries to the competition - the list of components was reviewed and reduced to 64 items in eight categories.

From now, until the 5th December, you as a toolbar user can contribute to the final outcome - you can help decide who the overall winner is of the Conduit Awards, 2009.

To help us in the competition, please click the Vote Now button - when the voting page has loaded, please click the Vote Now button again.

As with previous years, we have made available to you for free, a downloadable calendar for 2010.
The photograph on the calendar is of the beautiful gardens at St. Nicholas Church.

If you are interested in downloading our calendar, please click here.
Feel free to share it with your family and friends.