What has gone wrong with the media? What has social media madness and the race for traffic done to some of the country’s best institutions? Over the past week, the media’s obsession with TV presenter Phillip Schofield’s affair with a young man has been so intense that it has become deeply depressing. The over-coverage of this regrettable affair is a perfect example of all that is wrong with the modern consumer culture news cycle.
Last night, the BBC played its part. On a rather inglorious evening for the Beeb where the TikTok prankster Mizzy appeared on Newsnight and BBC News released an exclusive interview with the accused rapist and alleged misogynist Andrew Tate, Amol Rajan conducted the world’s most serious interview with the disgraced Philip Schofield.
The interview started gravely with Schofield saying: “I understand how Caroline Flack felt”. Invoking suicide from the start set the tone for the gruesome 10-minute interview where Rajan probed whether or not Schofield had abused his position of power to groom the young man.
Schofield denied the accusations. After, Rajan said Schofield’s hands were shaking the whole time.
But why has this feeding frenzy, enthusiastically facilitated and promoted by broadcasters, become so inescapable?
Showbiz adultery is hardly a revelation. It’s not new or unusual. Nor is it anyone’s business other than those directly involved. The age difference leaves open accusations of potential grooming – and Schofield has admitted that the boy was only 15 when they first met – but the young man was not underage at the time of the affair. Unless future evidence appears to the contrary, this is a witch-hunt.
Of the media’s harrying, Schofield said: “Do they ever think that there’s actually a person at the other end?”
Sure, but who will think of the readers and viewers bombarded with this story?
The sheer volume of coverage plainly shows just how much responsible journalism has suffered at the hands of social media-driven clickbait culture, as networks and titles battle for viewers, readers and subscribers, when AI is coming to automate news and squeezed consumers are spending less on subscriptions.
The Schofield farce is just the latest product of the media’s drive to procure our most valuable but dwindling asset – our attention.
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