A poster for Jill Meagher
by MESHEL LAURIE
Yesterday morning, like every morning this week, I fished around my bed-side table before I even opened my eyes, grabbing for my phone. I know I wasn’t the only one compulsively checking the internet for information about a woman I’d never met, but for whom I’m now grieving, Jill Meagher.
The news websites informed me of the terrible break in the case overnight, and Jill’s fate was confirmed. As I sat up in bed, feeling so sad for all the people who knew and loved her and for everyone feeling they could’ve prevented it in some way, I considered the debate about the role of the media in tragedies like this.
Although I’ve been on the receiving end of some truly embarrassing attempts at journalism over the years, the fact is that I’m a member of the dreaded “mainstream” media myself. While I’m not always it’s proudest member, there are times when it’s capabilities within the community inspire me, and it’s self-serving detractors remind me that they are on the outside looking in for a reason.
Australia’s media can be ceaselessly cheesy, laughably sensational and at times it’s so insensitive that it sickens the citizens it so desperately wants to impress. A low point was reached earlier this year when a news chopper hovered over a NSW woman as she crouched beside the body of her daughter, killed in an accident on their farm. The footage from the chopper was aired on the news and uploaded to the network’s website which is obviously disgraceful. A very, very long way back from that desperate precipice is the coverage of Jill Meagher’s disappearance.
“There can’t be many among us who don’t know about the man in the blue hoodie”
As a nation held its breath for news of a girl vanished, seemingly before our very eyes, was it unreasonable for the media to stalk information and witnesses? On the contrary I believe it’s invaluable. There can’t be many among us who wouldn’t recognize Jill’s face now, who don’t know about the man in the blue hoodie, the CCTV footage, the U-turning car, the witnesses who needed to come forward. That is the very important function of the media, the value of a huge, well-oiled machine for information dissemination. As anyone with a person missing from their world will tell you, the public’s attention is as fleeting as it is crucial. Updating the “story”, finding new angles, keeping the public thinking, and talking about it can be a dirty job, and it can result in people like Jill being reduced to characters in an intriguing TV mystery. It can also nudge a memory, prick a conscience and perhaps release a family from the torment of not knowing.
Is a radio show or newspaper disrespectful for wanting to tell their listeners the latest developments? Is it not “classy” for a journo to track down a witness at work? I really don’t care. He can go back to his nice life tomorrow. When it comes to a crime like this, everyone needs to know everything, in case it reminds them that they too saw something that night, or that they’ve heard a whisper from a friend of a friend that might somehow be related.
There are of course weaknesses within our media, but Jill Meagher’s stolen life is not the theatre in which it should be examined. Today I’m reflecting on the power of our media to galvanize a community against a predator. For once in my cynical life I’m grateful to the scandal sheets and shock jocks who screamed Jill’s name until no one could ignore it. Of course I wish every missing person received that amount of attention, but this moment belongs to the one who did. We can squabble about who’s the most righteous big mouth on our own time.
Meshel Laurie is a comedian and broadcaster. You can catch up with her on Nova’s Drive Show with Tim Blackwell and Marty Sheargold 4-6pm on weekdays.
Comments
90 Comments so far
Sorry, going to break from the emotive groupthink over what large sections of the media have turned into the Cult of Jill Meagher.
Yes, this is a heartbreaking story about the rape and murder of a much loved young woman – no argument there, but it’s also largely a MELBOURNE crime story.
Its breathless/hysterical reportage nationally has seemed bizarrely OTT to me.
It feels like the story has been whipped-up into one great big soap opera. In other words — I’m saying the ceaseless coverage is distancing me from the story’s real emotional impact and making it feel like a product.
The media needs to back-off and just report the story NOT confect a highly emotive drama –This though, seems to be sadly par for the course these days.
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Maybe this is an opportunity for Mamamia to educate its readership about WHY the community needs to be careful what it posts online about the accused and how that could jeopardise the trial. The average person understandably has little idea how this all works.
Whether or not someone agrees with the online vigilante justice (I don’t – not a fan of lynch mobs), the point is it could do so much harm to a case. Do it, Mamamia!
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Hopefully, this tragedy highlights the need for us to all care for each other. If we are out with our girlfriends at night we should escort each other to our cars. e.g. if cars are in different directions we walk with our friend to their car and then they drop us back to ours.
Hopefully good men will be more aware of the need to offer to escort their sisters, girlfriends, friends, mothers etc to their cars. I’ve always appreciated it when I ‘ve had a boyfriend who walked me to my car at night but not all men do this and perhaps in many cases it’s because they do not see a need to do so.
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Did this case ‘deserve’ as much attention as it received? Yes. And it doesn’t take anything away from the any of the other numerous tragedies in the world.
It’s worth acknowledging the tremendous community spirit of Brunswick. And the amazing solidarity of women everywhere.
The community reaction has been beautiful. Others have put it much more eloquently than I could.
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There are women and children being raped, abused and threatened in their own homes RIGHT NOW.
I just hope that some of the attention given to Jill’s murder spills over into an interest in keeping others safe. Otherwise these candlelit vigils, marches, and sombre facebook posts are just empty symbolism.
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Hi Guys
I took your point and have deleted the earlier comment about the accused man’s history.
Bec xxx
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PS Derryn Hinch went to jail for revealing the past convictions of a sex offender during trial. You don’t want to end up that way.
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While I think this is a sad and tragic story and I can understand how it might make people feel vulnerable, it has piqued my interest that a) people seem to think that the only thing makes them unsafe is being a woman and b) that MM have published about 6 stories about this in the last week, yet I don’t recall a single story about 13yr old Declan Crouch from Cairns last year, and Declan was missing for about 9 weeks before they found his body. What is it about Jill’s story that is so much more valuable to tell than stories about men and children? Obviously I realise that Declan’s case turned out to be suicide, but MM still did not cover this story when it could just as easily have been homicide. For me all these stories about how vulnerable we are as women just work to ignore how vulnerable other factions of society are. Personally, and I say it without any disrespect to Jill or this story (RIP Jill), I think the biggest single issue in modern society is poor mental health and even poorer understanding of mental health issues. Perpetrators of violence almost always have unaddressed mental health issues. The leading cause of death in young people, especially men, is suicide. Most people in their lifetime will suffer depression that can be debilitating and make you act completely out of character. I’d love to see MM have a bigger focus on mental health awareness of all people, not just women. We are all vulnerable in this world, even those who commit violent crimes and/or ruin their own lives. And really, I have far less fear of walking alone at night, than I do that my life will be eventually affected directly by suicide of someone close to me. I know which one is more probable and which one is preventable.
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Mm, I’m surprised you let a comment like this through!! This could prejudice a fair trial. Please everybody be careful what you say about the accused – it could cause a mis-trial. That is what her husband Tom warned us all about. You should delete all comments referring to the accused’s criminal history. Better still, don’t be stupid and don’t publish them in the first place!!! If you want justice for Jill DO NOT publish those sorts of comments.
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I could be wrong but if he has pleaded guilty and in fact led police to Jill’s body … that means there is no need for a jury to decide his guilt.
He’s pleading guilty.
So that means he will simply be sentenced in January.
Or I am wrong in thinking that?
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You are wrong in thinking that. He hasn’t yet had the chance to plead his innocence or guilt; this happens at a later stage in the judicial process.
We are lucky in this country to have an excellent justice system. Let’s respect it by keeping comments about the accused out of the public forum.
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Nope, the defendant is not required to enter a plea until the commital hearing (which in this instance is in January). At this commital hearing stage defendants are asked their plea (guilty, not guilty or no plea). If it’s ‘not guilty’ or ‘no plea’ and the judge rules there is sufficient evidence, then the case proceeds to a trial by jury.
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All that’s happened is he has been charged. He doesn’t appear in court again til January. No plea has been entered. We don’t know what he’ll plead. We should all avoid repeating rumours on this as it could prejudice the trial.
Put simply – DO NOT speculate AT ALL about the accused. Just don’t comment on him, for Jill’s – and justice’s – sake.
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He hasn’t entered a plea yet! His next court appearance is in January – so far he has simply been charged.
For the sake of justice – and Jill’s family – people need to STOP speculating about the accused’s guilt or innocence and his past. Just refrain from commenting on him at all. It’s that simple, and SO incredibly important.
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It’s surprising to me that some people are assuming the media and general public’s reaction to Jill’s disappearance wouldn’t have been the same for any woman in the same circumstances. While I believe a large part of the attention this case has received is due to how many of us feel this could have been ourselves or a loved one, I think the specific location of where she was walking and the CCTV footage have also been major factors in how people are reacting to this, especially with those who live in Melbourne or are at least familiar with that area.
This didn’t happen in some outer suburb that many of us couldn’t even name a street in let alone ever visited. Sydney Road is a busy Melbourne street in a popular inner-city suburb that everyone is very familiar with. Then there was the release of the CCTV video. Most of the time when someone goes missing we see photos of that person, maybe a police sketch of a suspect or a photo of someone who they believe may have information.
But – without going into detail in order to respect the judicial process obviously – the CCTV video further humanised her. Not only that, it humanised everyone else in the footage and painted a clearer picture to those outside of Melbourne who may be unfamiliar with that area just how heavily trafficked it is at that time of night on a weekend. It’s one thing to see someone’s photo and read news articles but to watch events transpire is something that I don’t think many of us would have experienced before. At least not in the context of a situation that we could realistically see ourselves in also and have it be so close to home.
So no, I truly don’t think the reaction would be any different if she weren’t Caucasian and/or pretty, if she worked somewhere else, if she was homeless or a prostitute or whatever else has been suggested. One of the life lessons we have drilled into us from the time we’re young is that we should put ourselves in another person’s shoes to try to understand what they’re going through. I think we’re seeing the effect of how strongly that belief has permeated society. This reaction is because many of us *can* put ourselves in her shoes regardless of where we live or what stage of life we’re at now. Random acts of violence are very difficult for us to wrap our brains around under any circumstances. But when it’s personalised to the point where you start thinking of how many times you’ve done the same thing and realise that something like this could happen simply because of the precise minute you happened to be walking down a certain stretch of a busy road, it is very difficult to fathom. And then to physically watch a part of it unfold it almost becomes unbearable to accept that once in a rare while the trust most of us subconsciously place in each other when we’re out in public can be sadly misplaced.
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Can someone please clarify something for me. What was info regarding the: U-turning car? What did this mean in the end?
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I’m quite critical of Australia’s media, but I thought most of the coverage (meaning, not all), was well done, and assisted in keeping the pressure on those in the community who knew something, to come forward. The cops did a brilliant job catching the most hated man in Australia, but I reckon the media (both social & mainstream) played its role, so why not give some kudos where its due.
I now think the media needs to back off Tom Meagher and respect his wishes (which I thought he articulated so nicely) to be given the chance to grieve privately.
It’s a fine line…
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I’m sorry but it was the wonderful police work that caught this man not the media. In fact I was appalled that on the channel nine 6 o’ clock news, they named, in detail, the suspects previous convictions . I am just hoping that this wasn’t the case in Victoria! Now I just hope the media will leave this devastated family alone to grieve in peace. RIP Jill Meagher
I hope this serves as an awful reminder to women everywhere to be aware of your personal safety, too many times I see young girls walking home alone late at night without any fear. In an ideal world all of us should be safe but the reality is there are psychopaths out there who are violent to not just women but men too. As someone mentioned before there are some of us who are old enough to remember the murders of Anita Cobby, Janine Balding, Sharron Phillips, Helen Feeney, Sian Kingi and many others. Shari Davies who survived imaginable horrors. I remember all of us (nurses) having to be escorted to our cars at night because Shari Davies rapist was on the run and had a “thing” for nurses. I guess my point is we became aware that we were vulnerable and took precautions to make ourselves safer. Still to this day I am very careful in car parks because of Shari Davies. I have passed this on to my daughters, who are now grown women, that yes it is unfair but don’t put yourself in a vulnerable position, always get someone to walk to your car at night, friends take turns in remaining sober to help your friends, don’t get a cab alone, ring the police if your car breaks down at night etc.
The one thing we should all be doing as women is lobbying our politicians to change the laws that allow violent repeat offenders out in our community. Ultimately this is the only way to keep women and children protected from predators.
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I’m sorry, but I disagree.
The extra vigilance on behaviours needs to be focused on perpetrators, not the victims. The necessary cultural shifts will happen when efforts to effect change and lessen violence against women and children are focused on the behaviours of the perps, no the victims and the offensive and unnecessary normative control of women’s behaviour and psychology.
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You are not the first person to suggest this viewpoint. But how can we achieve such a cultural shift? The perpetrators in these scenarios are mentally unstable and often psychopathic. No cultural shift is going to deter these people. Many of them reoffend after they’ve already been punished by society. There are 7 billion people living on this planet. If only .01% of them have violent tendencies, then that this is 70 million people who could commit horrendous violent crimes. Violent women will often commit violent crimes against children because that who is who they can physically overpower and intimidate, men will commit violent crimes against anyone, not just women. It is not realistic to suggest that we shouldn’t have to be vigilant about our safety. Of course we have to be. We cannot completely eradicate this small number of people likely to commit these crimes – perpetrators often reoffend after they have already been punished by society. Yes we need to educate better to reduce violence in general, but that will never ever negate the need to be vigilant about our own personal safety.
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I think talking personal safety is theoretical. Of course we should be as safe as we can but where do you draw the line? I lived on my own for 8 years, on a park in the inner suburbs of Sydney, approximately the same distance as jill was from home. I was too close for a cab ride, I had nobody to walk me home, I often had nobody to call to check in. I often walked across the park because i wasn’t convinced walking around the park was safer. Sould I have not gone out at night? What about in winter when it was dark by the time I got home from work? I chose to live alone, I chose to have a night life but why shouldn’t I? I chose to take those risks because I refused to live in fear. I don’t regret it. From what I’ve read Jill did everything I would have done to protect myself in her circumstances. She texted her husband to come pick her up. She made calls to family on the way home. She was very unlucky. Let’s not blame the victims.
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I think the break through came with the police deciding to release the CCTV footage..even though they had to weigh up if it would endanger Jill’s life..but that had already decided that it was most likely that she was already dead.So well done Vic Police..you probably saved a life or two by going public…
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My close friend was watched on the toilet by a peeping Tom
She wasn’t going to report it but her friends insisted that she should. It turned out that he was a serial predator of women and her complaint resulted in him being treated harshly by the courts (too long ago for me to remember the punishment)
So, if something bad happens to you or your friends, report it to save the next victim.
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There’s reporting and there’s actual recording of an offense by Police on their records.
I know plenty of women who have tried to report suspicious behaviour and crimes, only to be told there’s not enough info to make a report. Would be a different story if they were a stolen car.
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The photos of her ‘grave’ when her body was found that appeared onThe Age were, I think, going one big step too far. Way too much of a visual people.
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I’d like to think that Jill Meagher might be alive today but for the fact that the dregs of society are given little more than a slap on the wrist by the judiciary, rather than a genuine jail sentence.
I’d like to say much more, but I won’t as I don’t want to mention anything that could be seen to prejudice the charges against this person.
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Exactly right, Bradley. The judiciary refuses to throw away the key and lets violent criminals out time and again. ‘Reclaim the Night’ is just more empty lefty symbolism. What we need is ‘Reclaim our Right’ to defend ourselves because our courts refuse to do their job.
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I completely agree your sentiments, Bradley. However, ‘Anonymous’ I don’t think the efforts of ‘Reclaim the Night’ as a powerful symbolic event should be conflated with the occasional (or intrinsic?!) failure of the judiciary to keep offenders in prison. We need public events – driven by the community and WOMEN – to remind us all of the power of numbers and rights of women. It is people taking action on the streets that historically has led to laws being changed and improved. I think it is thus important not to dismiss ‘Reclaim the NIght’ – who knows how and when we can affect change and make women safer. The reclaim the night event may be one of a long chain of small but very important steps towards improving our society.
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It achieves nothing. It is empty symbolism.
On the other hand, if women marched and demanded lifetime sentences for rapists and pedophiles, that would ensure that their first victim was their last.
I’m also sick to death of repeat offenders getting their wrist slapped and let free.
A worldwide pedophile ring was busted a year or two ago. The US predators were given life sentences. The Australian ringleader is appealing his 36 month sentence.
This is an obscenity.
As women we should be *demanding* protection from these animals for ourselves and our children.
Slutwalks and Reclaim the Night are juvenile nonsense.
Life sentences for anyone who harms women and children saves lives.
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I one hundred percent agree. Doing a reclaim the night “slut walk” will not on any level change the mentality of perpetrators of such crimes as Jills. I think the people who participate in such events feel empowered, but I don’t believe they have actually achieved anything else by doing it. Homocidal rapists and paedophiles are the most mentally unhinged people on Earth – they don’t care who you are, what you wear, how big your boobs are, or that you think you have the right to walk alone at night. People like Jill’s murderer need harsher penalties, longer sentences and (in the cases of lesser offences) better rehabilitation processes to stop them reoffending.
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I agree, but the Jails are full, hence why they’re released. You’ll find many offenders have ‘mental health issues’ (not necessarily psychotic illnesses, but issues that can lead to horrific crimes nonetheless) & the public mental health system can’t support them effectively (because governments don’t like funding it). Most of their families just don’t want to know about them, so they’re on their own, when they’re out – its a viscous circle that puts us all at risk. Somehow, as a community, we have to find the resources to sort this growing problem.
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Absolutely! I want these bastards OFF our streets! I know the system is innocent until proven guilty but we need STRONGER sentences for such horrific crimes such as rape and murder. We also need a better system of dealing with sexual assault crimes as currently the system is riddled with flaws and the VAST majority of predators get away with it..back to the streets and likely to re offend. These people live within our communities and innocent people’s lives are ruined.
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Just a side note – I think the media also follow it so closely because Jill was so attractive. Someone not so pleasing to the eye or perhaps a missing drug addict wouldn’t have had the same exposure.
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Agreed. Compare this reaction to say the public grief for any of the low socio-economic and unattractive men and women tortured and killed at Snowtown for instance. There sure seems to be a whole lot more sympathy that flows from the general public when you are an attractive white female.
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Chelsie, I think it is not so much to do with attractiveness as the fact that she was a middle-class women with a good job, a loving family, and a promising and bright future. This is how I would describe all of my friends, sisters, cousins. This is why we were all so shocked, so horrified, and so deeply deeply sad. This does not mean that we as a society don’t care about those who lead troubled lives that end tragically, but those cases just don’t touch us on such a personal level as the terrible thing that happened to Jill Meagher.
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Prostitutes get murdered…. Why don’t you think they compare?
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Yes, and why I’ve been also feeling a kind-of ‘survivor guilt’. It really could’ve been any of us. So why her? I think that connects with us in a way that doesn’t in other cases.
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I do not agree with you..while I do agree that Jill was a very attractive women indeed..I think most women would agree it could happen to any of us…ugly to beautiful..from skinny to fat.what does it matter to the him..it’s a sense of power..so be it our junkie sister or beautiful daughter, we can only hope this sort of ugly person or situation never touches our lives in real.
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More to the point, an attractive woman who worked in at the ABC.
I believe that the all consuming news story that was Jill would not have happened has she worked for a hospital. She intimately knew or was connected to so many journalists.
My goodness that sounded harsh. I don’t mean it to be.
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She was also white, middle class, and employed (with a “respectable”) job.
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Yes, she’s white, middle class, “normal,” “regular,” with a job and a husband like most of us, and that’s exactly why we relate to her and why her story is so personal. Most of us here are not drug addicts or prostitutes so it’s more difficult to relate to those stories on a personal lever. Sigh how many times has this been covered already. It just seems like basic common sense to me, it surprises me how many times it had to be explained to people who obviously don’t get it.
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Highly recommend this excellent article by veteran Age crime reporter, John Silvester. He straddles the ap between explaining and reporting beautifully.
http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/meet-me-at-the-pub-20120928-26r4d.html
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Couldn’t agree more, excellent article.
I’m so sad. For Jill. For her husband. Her family. For the fact that she won’t be a Mum, that he won’t be a father. For the fact that they have all been so cruelly robbed of so much happiness and joy ahead of them.
My heart is with you all xx
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Wasn’t it amazing? Couldn’t look away.
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Yes. This is a pro at work.
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Just read…best article I’ve read in regards to explaining the process of the investigation…very well told.
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I agree. An excellent article that dealt with the thoughts that had been racing through all our minds during this very sad week, and answered/explained them clearly and methodically.
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It is a great piece of writing about the investigative process, however none of us needed to know about her final text to her husband. I am dismayed to think how this got out; I doubt he shared this painful detail with the media. However it got out, reporters should have resisted the temptation to share that. It is none of our business.
While I do hope to learn a little bit about how the case itself was solved, the details of Tom Meagher should be kept private. When there should be some closure now, it is starting to feel like a bit of a reality show. We can be sad but the grief belongs to her family, friends and colleagues. We cannot fathom a guess at how this must feel or be for them.
The guy has been charged, Jill has been found. Let her rest in peace, and let her family plan a funeral and start to now grieve. It is horribly sad, but in days and years to come, I hope it doesn’t define her husband, I hope people will see him as a strong, brave and intelligent man not a just a sad victim in this one awful story.
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I agree Anonymous. That particular piece of information is intensely private and should have been left so. and esp not made into a headline..how insensitive.
The article on the whole though was really a really interesting insight into the work that was going on behind the scenes that lead to the arrest.
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To be fair, the details of that text message had been released during the week. It was when there was growing speculation on social media that Jill’s husband was involved with her disappearance. I’m pretty sure they made that info public to show that Jill and her husband weren’t arguing on that night or unhappy as a couple as some were assuming.
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I’ve been particularly shaken by Jill’s story. Like you, Meshel, the first thing I did in the morning was head to the news sites for information. I felt as though I’d been punched when I read that her body had been found. I keep seeing her face. That smile. She looked so happy, so…..normal. Just one of us, minding her own business, living her life until someone took it from her. I shuddered every time I saw the footage of her meeting her alleged attacker, the way she moves backwards to get away from him then carries on walking, presumably hoping to shake him off & just get home.
It seems as though the media coverage resulted in a speedy arrest. I hope justice is served. I hope her poor family members eventually come through the other side and can smile again.
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I wish the media would give half as much attention to other murders. What happened to Jill was incredibly scary and sad, but what about the hundreds of children murdered each year at the hands of their parents. They are just as vulnerable (if not more), would have experienced just as much terror and fear as Jill did (if not more, over a longer period of time), yet we hear very little about these poor little souls. They deserve our outrage and our tears too. Yet the media give them very little airtime. Why?
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I agree, mamamegan. Knowing about the kids that die at their parents hands breaks my heart even more than the Jill Meagher case. The most innocent trust and the most horrible, inexcusable violation of it. It just breaks me to think about.
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Jill`s killer was caught by the police, not by the media. Let`s give credit where credit is due.
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Agree, agree, agree. I cannot understand the comments below about “thank god for all the media coverage, the suspect was caught so quickly” . We should really be applauding the police here, much more so than the media.
While I also followed the coverage of the search for Jill with sadness and dread, I just cant accept the extent of media coverage once the suspect has been apprehended, because it is at this point that the media CAN do some severe damage and impede any chances of the suspect having a fair trial, increasing the risk they will walk off scot-free.
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Absolutely! The arrest of this suspect was because of solid police work. It had nothing to do with the media. Instead of journalists beating their chests when they had nothing to do with it, how about a story on why he was arrested so quickly. That’s where the real story is. I’m soooo sick of our lazy media.
Speaking of which, Mamamia has given ample opportunity for everyone to express their condolences. Spinning this story out again and again is of no benefit now. The case is before the courts and we should be saying no more.
To those of us who watch the lenient sentences given out to rapists and pedophiles, murders like this are not unexpected. If our feminist media weren’t so hell bent on defending our indefensible government and instead campaigned for justice in sentencing for women and children, then maybe they wouldn’t be either.
Our media are not the heros, they’re very much part of the problem.
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Hey Anon,
Mamamia’s content is informed by the phrase ‘what everyone’s talking about.’ This morning when I opened the papers there were 8 pages dedicated to Jill Meagher. Her story is still the leading one on news bulletins. In the time I’ve been working at MM, I’ve never seen a news story affect women like this one has. It is what everyone’s talking about. It is all anyone wants to talk about. So Mamamia’s giving readers a place to do that.
- Lucy
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That is because you didn’t live through the Anita Cobby, Val Connell, Janine Balding (to name but a few) murders, Lucy.
Perhaps this hideous murder has struck a cord because this beautiful young woman was part of the media but, in reality, this crime is not a one off.
Those of us who have been around awhile have seen this public outpouring of grief and anger again and again.
I won’t say anymore at the moment because of the court case but when it is over perhaps the feminist media will wake up to why these criminals had access to innocent victims in the first place.
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I was born the year Anita cob by case happened… I grew up in Blacktown so have always known about it an have read the book… Even though I was not old enough at the time to have my own memories of it all… That case has always stuck with me… N hopefully this case reminds/ teaches all woman to be more aware.
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Wait, what has “feminist media” got to do with lenient sentencing? I think you will find that the vast majority of feminists are unhappy that SUCCESSIVE Govts have allowed lenient sentences for decades.
And, please refrain from using Jill’s case to push your conservative and anti-feminist agenda. It is insulting to her memory, and would be even more upsetting to her family and friends, should they happen to read it. Have some decency!
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Anon- if you think we should be saying no more, why read the article and then comment on it? Follow your own advice.
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Yep, I’m also so glad about the media saturation, the suspect was found so quickly.
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The suspect was already under police survelliance? The release of the CCTV was to make him react, lead to her body? What the public doesn`t always realise is that the release of information in many cases is very well targetted to obtain a desired effect.
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While I agree that there are indeed different strategies police use when releasing footage of this nature, they were in fact looking for the public’s assistance to identify this man. They didn’t know who he was when they released the footage on Wednesday. They discovered his name Wednesday night and that’s when he was put under surveillance as detailed in the article Sjb1273 linked above.
Interestingly The Age must be revising it throughout the day because when I first saw John’s article in the early hours this morning it was shorter and didn’t contain certain sentences or details.
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He was id`d not by a member of the public. I read what The Age said, journo`s are only told so much. It will come out in his trail.
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I thought that basically, the media did a great job this time in keeping this case “top of mind” – every missing person deserves this kind of attention.
The one area where the news reporters fall down however is in the wording they sometimes use when victims have died and are found.
Words like “grim…gruesome…grizzly” have no place in the telling of these stories.
These victims are someone’s beloved friend, family member or child and yet I’ve heard them used so often after road, train, car & plane crashes and bushfires and other tragedies……….it’s the only time I’ve rung news rooms to complain.
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Or as one reporter stated ‘the family openly wept on being told the news’ Was that necessary? Of course they would weep, of course they would be devasted beyond belief, that is a given. It is the media`s intrusion on peoples personal grieving that irks most of the public.
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i know exactly what you mean- i head she was “slain” on the radio, a term i find more appropriate for video games. she was a beautiful human being, who was devastatingly murdered. dragons are slayed, not real people.
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I’m brave enough to say this – the only reason the media rallied was because it was one of their own.
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That’s your opinion, however I disagree.
Id like to believe that the police would have acted in this swift manner no matter who the victim was. I think that the reason this case has struck a chord with so many people is due to the nature of how it happened.
How many of us, male or female have waved away the help of friends and colleagues on the way home with “I’ll be ok, I’ll get home safe, no need to worry etc” whether it was 5 minutes from home or an hour from home. I myself have been in this position thousands of times, and I thank my lucky starts I never ended up in Jill’s position.
The police did an outstanding job, and rather than act with suspicion, we should thank them for getting this vile human being off our streets.
We ALL deserve to feel safe no matter where we are, or what time of day/night it is.
RIP Jill.
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Ug Lee – I never mentioned the Police, who in all instances do an outstanding job. I mentioned the media, who are the subject of Meshel’s article. Even Meshel gives it away at the end of her item:
“Of course I wish every missing person received that amount of attention,” and my comment is to explain that.
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Fair call Javier. However I still disagree Jill got all this massive coverage due to her working for the ABC. I believe all this coverage would have still appeared all over the news if she was a receptionist working at X, or a manager working for Y – whatever. I believe for women, and I dare say men everywhere – this struck a chord with the public. This could have been any one of us this happened to.
The very nature of how it went down – a woman walking to her refuge after a few drinks after a hard days work – her home. The fact she never made it is all our fears for our daughters, ours sisters, our friends and colleagues – male of female. This, to me is the catalyst of the outpouring of emotion for Australia.
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@Javier I agree with you which is quite sad really. Or as my husband put it, lucky she was so pretty otherwise no-one would have cared. Now I don’t know that that is truly the case but it does make you wonder why so very many other missing people do not get the same courage.
All my thoughts and prayers are with Jill and her family, RIP.
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Sadly I agree Tink. People go missing many times a day, every day….why the media exposure in this particular case? I do agree with your husband which is very sad really because everyone deserves the same exposure in the hope for clues to be found.
I was so sad when I heard what had happened, such a senseless crime to such a beautiful person…
RIP Jill x
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I do wonder if Jill were, ugly, tat covered drug addict, would we all have cared as much?
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as many people have already said, it’s because she was just like them, that is why people are so affected. I too mentioned that it’s a shame people don’t show as much emotion about other heinous crimes that have been committed on people.
A gruesome rape and murder of anybody, eg a homeless lady, a prostitute, whoever, deserves just as much media coverage I believe and just as much sympathy. Sadly this is not the case.
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Would we have related so much!
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related so much? A human being is a human being, regardless, don’t you think. Or is it just me that thinks that way.
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Javier, I am the world’s greatest cynic but I don’t agree with you.
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Javier, I absolutely agree with you. If it was me or you, we would not have received the same intense scrutiny – we’re nobody and nothing to the media. We’re merely the statistics of audience, reach, target market, distribution, ratings etc. I welcomed your brutally honest approach. Well done for being so courageous.
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I don’t think that’s true. The media responds like this when the victim is like the majority of readers and viewers – it’s only natural. Look at the abduction of schoolboy Daniel Morecombe in Queensland. Not only did the media react hugely, but awareness of the case was maintained (along with an awesome police effort) for more than a decade until finally an arrest was made.
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No Javier, it’s because what happened is rare.
According to the ABS only 6% of women die each year in Australia at the hands of someone they don’t know. To be kidnapped off the street is so rare and scary for women and as man you have no idea what it is to walk in fear alone at night. Working out strategies before you get to your car, wondering if there is someone in the backseat like Paul Denyer did to one of his victims. Checking stalls in public toilets before you use them, just in case there’s man waiting.
Trying to understand the fear she must have felt in her last terrifying moments is something you will never be able to understand. You will never know this fear for you are not a woman.
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Disagree completely. Over the last few days everyone I have talked to has been talking and thinking about this. Why? Well I guess as a 24 year old woman who lives in Melbourne (actually only a suburb away from Brunswick) this has affected myself and my friends so much because it could have been any of us. We have all walked down streets at night alone after going out with friends never thinking this could happen to us. Perhaps we were stupid to not be more careful but I know that I never thought something like this could happen to me. But it can. And yes abductions like this are very rare but to have it happen so randomly to a woman just like me who was simply walking home after a night out with friends makes me pause and think. Should I be walking home alone at night? What would I do if I was in the same situation? It’s difficult to say why some cases like these get more attention than others. But for me it’s not because she was pretty or because she worked for the ABC. It’s because this has really made me think about how lucky I am to be alive and how quickly, suddenly and randomly your life can be taken away in situations like these. It’s definitely made me consider whether I’m being too careless with my safety and taking my life for granted.
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And the police believe he could have killed again quickly so time was of the essence. I agree Meshel it was pretty amazing. I watched a cross to a journo who explained that they ( the media) had information but police had asked they respect the process and not pass it on yet. Incredible. This could have gone on for years without resolution. I grappled with imposing on this families grief by mourning someone i didn’t know but can’t help my feeling of devastation. RIP Jill.
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Please, please, please, can everyone be aware and careful of any comments you make about the accused if you want justice for Jill.
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If the moderators are pre moderating they should be culling any comments that are in danger of breaching legalities.
I’m not holding much hope that this comment will get through…
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This is the very first time I’ve been delighted with the media. What a useful tool it’s been in this instance. I’m delighted at the speed with which a suspect was apprehended and this would not have been possible without the media. In 2011 there were 56 murders in NSW and half of these were offenses committed by males against their female partners. Of the remaining half, I wonder how many were cases like Jill’s. I’d like to see all these murderers apprehended quickly and I’m disgusted at the violence committed by males against females. I am never more grieved than when I hear of yet another violent offense against women and I’m beginning to think the media is our best defense.
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Apparently, NSW figures show that it is 1% of rapes/ murders are committed by males unknown by the victim.
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No, we wouldn’t have found out who it was so quickly without the media. They don’t investigate the crime scene and the people involved. They didn’t look through Jill’s belongings for clues. They didn’t piece together all the evidence. They reported on it. Simple as that.
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I do wonder if the reason Jill’s body came home to her family was due to the intense public outpouring’s of hope, anger & sadness in her disappearance. Blue hoodie sicko could’ve just left her to rest where he chose & pleaded not guilty, which would’ve dragged out the case for years. So kudos to the teamwork of the VIC police, general public and the media, both traditional and social media, for keeping the pressure on, to bring Jill home.
A living nightmare… I to am grieving for a woman I never knew.
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