[ No. 6 ]

Two tragedies, one lie

by Bert Cielen

About a year ago, on an otherwise unremarkable Saturday night, a black Mercedes did what a tragic number of cars do on such a night: it had a close encounter with an immovable object.

There was, however, one thing not so usual in this case: the car contained a princess who, in spite of a stunning string of bad luck experiences and erratic choices, was immensely popular. Actually, there WAS another unusual feature about this accident: the car was allegedly under pursuit by a fleet of frenzied journalists. Worse, they weren't just any sort of journalists, but paparazzi, the most despised specimen of an already not so popular trade.

For some strange reason, the immediate general consensus was that these 'parasites' had 'killed' Diana. And even though none of the paparazzi were ever charged with any wrongdoing and although police subsequently confirmed that the chauffeur's use of prescription drugs and alcohol was the most likely cause of the accident, a large section of the public continues to look upon every journalist as one of the 'vile scum who killed the people's princess'.

About a month ago in Belgium, the country in which I live, a husband and wife and their two children (19 and 22 years old), killed themselves in a most dramatic way. They had even turned their house into a bomb by filling it with gas -- a simple spark could have blown up much of the surrounding neighbourhood. Unfortunately, such 'family suicides' have become all too common and while the whole matter generated headlines for a day or two, the focus quickly moved on to more pressing matters -- like the fact that the Summer was already halfway through and there had been very little sunshine.

But about two weeks later, "Humo", one of the most popular magazines, published an interview with the husband and wife that had been given only days before their deaths. It was a grim tale of betrayal, ill-advised business decisions, and an overdose of naivety. The most disturbing aspect of the interview, however, was the way in which the parents repeatedly dodged the question of whether their children were underage, and whether they had actually agreed to join their parents in 'leaving this world behind'.

Ingrid De Bie, the journalist, didn't trust the parents who had asked her to swear to tell no one until they had carried out their suicide pact. Against their explicit wishes, she contacted the mayor, asking him for help: were there any underage children? Could he perhaps check up on the family? Ingrid was convinced that the couple was serious about their plans. The mayor contacted the family's doctor and several close relatives, but all downplayed the problem pointing out that the couple had made similar threats before, and anyway, they had just announced that they were going to move to South Africa. Moreover, the mayor's office found evidence of only one child, a 19-year-old boy.

Following the publication of the "Humo" article a huge storm arose among the press and public opinion was united about one thing -- Ingrid De Bie had not done enough to prevent this tragedy. She should have done more than just call the mayor. Many expressed the belief that Ingrid should have somehow talked these people out of something that they obviously were intent on doing. She should have tracked down the children and confronted them with their parents' plans, some argued.

So what is the connection between those two tragedies? The fact that in both cases the press was vilified by 'the general public' even though they did nothing in violation of the ethics of their profession. Moreover, in both cases the journalists who were involved genuinely tried to save the victims. In the case of Diana, journalists made the 911 calls and tried to help out as best as they could. In the case of the suicidal parents, Ingrid De Bie raised the alarm with the authorities.

But what's really disturbing about both of these cases is that while the public railed against these 'oh so detested journalists', the newspaper and magazine sales produced by this 'despicable trade' reached unprecedented heights. Never has so much been written about Diana as in the weeks after her death, and never has it sold so well. Likewise "Humo" reached record sales in the city where the family lived. On the day of their burial most newsstands in the village had barely any copies left. Even more astounding was the way that certain newspapers -- who claimed to be the voice of an angry majority in denouncing "Humo"'s 'sensationalist tactics' in publishing Ingrid De Bie's article -- happened to be the same ones that had the tragedy splattered all over their front pages the week before and engaged in endless speculation about 'the how and why' of it all.