The Gutter Press

Miss A had a bit of a delay in her journey to work this morning, a young person, obviously at their wits end was stood on the wrong side of a bridge, over one of the busiest roads in Essex, the A12. People had stopped to help, and no doubt the emergency services were en route to help this poor soul.

Getting wind of the story of delays on the A12, my local paper, The Essex Chronicle shared a story on their site, and via Facebook of a ‘Police Incident’ on the A12 causing delays. They didn’t have any details, aside from the location of the traffic build up, and the fact police were attending. I commented on the story stating that there was a person on the wrong side of the bridge. Within seconds my Facebook Messenger pinged..

It was The Essex Chronicle.

Hi Kip, thanks for commenting on our story. Did you get any pictures of the person on the wrong side of the bridge?

I had to read it several times, was the news reporter ACTUALLY asking if I’d taken pictures of someone threatening to kill themselves?

Yes.

Yes they were.

I know we live in a society that is constantly taking pictures – but here was a member of the press asking for images of a suicidal person for their publication.

My reply, was simply..

No I bloody didn’t. Who would do that?

Sensing my distain at the question – the reply suggested it might be normal to take pictures of the emergency services on scene..

Hi Kip, curious passers-by often take pictures of police officers attending emergencies, but thanks for your help anyway.

The initial request was perfectly clear though, they wanted images of the person on the wrong side of the bridge, not the police attending, or ambulances – my local paper, who I’ve written for, several times, wanted some snuff porn of a poor young woman, keen to end her life. I get that their job is to report news, and share local events, but asking for pictures of a teenage girl at her lowest ebb is just a step too far.

This world really is disgusting at times.