Lucy Meadows: Shame On All Of You

A coroner told the press "shame on all of you" as he ruled that a primary school teacher had killed herself after her gender reassignment became national news.
Michael Singleton, coroner for Blackburn, Hyndburn and Rossendale, singled out the Daily Mail as he accused the paper of "ridicule and humiliation" and a "character assassination" of Lucy Meadows, 32, who took her own life in March.
He urged the government to implement the recommendations of the Leveson report on press intrusion as he criticised the "sensational and salacious" press coverage. Delivering a verdict of suicide, he told the inquest into her death he was appalled at media reports about Meadows.
As he closed the inquest, he turned to the reporters present and said: "And to you the press, I say shame, shame on all of you."

The Guardian. 

Screengrab via The Media Blog

Although; "In a note she left, she made no mention of press intrusion, citing instead her debts, a number of bereavements including the death of her parents, and her stressful job as a primary school teacher" (ibid), Lucy Meadows had complained to the PCC in January.
Whatever, Richard Littlejohn and the Mail's coverage was disgusting - though tragically it seems to be pretty much the standard in reporting trans issues these days. 

NUJ Meeting: Homophobia, Transphobia And The Media

Homophobia, Transphobia and the Media: From Bermondsey to Lucy Meadows

From coverage of the 1983 Bermondsey by-election to more recent controversial columns by Jan Moir, Julie Burchill and Richard Littlejohn, this NUJ Pride meeting will consider: Has anything changed in reporting of LGBT issues?

Human rights campaigner and NUJ member Peter Tatchell, NUJ general secretary Michelle Stanistreet,  Lesley Woodburn, member of the South East TUC LGBT network, and Helen Belcher of Trans Media Watch will be addressing the issues.

Venue: NUJ Head Office, Headland House , 308-312 Gray's Inn Road, London, WC1X 8DP. Nearest tube, Kings Cross

Time: 6.30pm, Tuesday 16 April

Chair: Marc Vallée, documentary photographer.

More here.

Good to see NUJ Pride breaking with convention and organising a meeting about gay politics where Peter Tatchell speaks.

Just joshing with ya! 

Sounds great.

Lucy Meadows: Trial By Tabloid, Death By Tabloid?

And with a tragic timing this story broke today; 'Sex Change Teacher Lucy Meadows Found Dead'.
Is there a connection between this and how the tabloids treated her?
[More in this Guardian article].
In December Richard Littlejohn wrote a piece about Lucy - 'He's Not Just In The Wrong Job, He's In The Wrong Body' ["He"?] - so offensive the Mail removed it from their website - it's cached here.  
There's now an e-petition calling for the Mail to sack Littlejohn - you can sign it here.
I'm very sceptical/cynical about these things, mainly as I don't think the people they are usually targeted on care much about them.
It's also not clear at the moment exactly why Lucy killed herself, though she had repeatedly complained of press harassment - and the hounding of her by the media went much further than Littlejohn's article.
But - rather obviously - I think it's good that people express their anger and revulsion over this.
I can't see the Mail sacking Littlejohn, but as with the outrage over Jan Moir's column on the death of Stephen Gately maybe it will curb some of their most odious and hurtful excesses.
Though I wouldn't be surprised if Richard Littlejohn's next Mail column is devoted to complaining about Twitterstorms and how he's being "harrassed" by some supposed "PC army" and some "Trans cabal".
Just like Suzanne Moore did.
Which brings us back to Julie Burchill...

PS This began as a postscript to the Burchill/PCC post below, but expanded along with the story.

PPS There is now a second petition from a rather strange-sounding American group, who I can't be arsed to credit.
This seems silly and counterproductive, and I can't see what purpose it serves - apart from as a self-serving PR exercise for themselves.