What always strikes me is how small the stories of these ghastly tragedies are - People Died - and by how much the media, news and public desperately try to expand it to fill the pages.

It reflects the lack of depth in humanity; we cannot conceive of any emotion beyond the intellectual scope of our species. Our brains - impressive at times - are actually very small things, aren't they?

The British media have now sadly found the 'British boy died' angle, as if the other children who died no longer matter, or the assumption that the British newspaper reader doesn't care about the others.

Glad you spotted that too Steve - my thoughts exactly; not only does it diminish the truth of sadness, it's subtle racism like all the subtle homophobia we see.

BBC are the worst only care about their own and can blow any story out of proportion. Just look at the coverage of the Olympics saying it's best sporting event on TV this year, what about the FA Cup ? What the negatives that people have about it the cost, forcing young people to be more involved in sport etc. Who cares about Handball if you can play Dodge-ball I suppose Health & Safety issues in schools, it will toughen up kids getting hit by balls.

Why Gymnastics if there is porn online ?

What has taught me about having a son with severe health issues is that you enjoy every single moment with them, every smile, comfort them, because you never, ever know. I can't imagine the pain and torment these poor parents of every nationality are going through, it really is time to let them grieve privately, not make an angle on every single tragedy just to sell print. Maybe Leveson should read some of these papers and get an understanding that way. Other peoples tragedies are worth gold to the newspapers.

It's a bit like certain pop stars who think they're really brilliant, but fail to put their modest talent into a wider context, and don't even hear the groans and chuckles of the far superior session musicians that make their music sound good. The mainstream media produces salacious pap for the masses and cannot be held up as an example of the thought processes of a great number of us.

andrew wrote:
BBC are the worst only care about their own and can blow any story out of proportion.

Exactly, andrew.

How many times do we get a "story" on the News or news programmes like Breakfast, which turns out to be nothing more than a "plug" for Panorama or some other programme on later that day ?