News media prides itself on being even-handed when reporting on serious issues and crimes. Of course, it doesn’t always do even-handed reporting and, certainly, the dramatic headlines used to generate click-through to news articles often lack balance and perspective.
An exception to balanced and considered reporting is often found when a high-profile person passes away. In such events, there’s a tacit media protocol that the focus of postmortem mentions largely stay on a deferential – almost soviet – account of the person’s positive achievements.
But the passing of George Pell evidenced a departure from this protocol with an array of reputation assassins metaphorically sacking the sepulchre of this now passed – and vilified – priest, even while Pell was still a little bit warm.
While this piece is specifically about how media and search engines ‘frame’ personage obituaries, I’m braced that some may rail even on the mere mention of the late Cardinal’s name. That’s because, as many…
