In the UK, an anti tabloid movement in hair salons

Nothing is going well anymore for tabloids in the UK. Dozens of hair salons across the country have made the decision to ban press and tabloid press from their stalls, in a refusal to continue supporting their "toxic publications". A boycott which comes several days after the suicide of Caroline Flack, presenter of Love Island , that many blamed on the bad media coverage of which she was the victim.

From London to Edinburgh, the anti tabloid movement has grown among hairdressers, who, as an alternative, prefer to offer their customers less inflammatory titles. At your disposal, beauty, travel and lifestyle magazines… For Nicky Thompson, owner of a hair salon in London, the news of the TV presenter's suicide was a “shock”. Thus he became aware of the “very negative” tone of the covers of the celebrity press, systematically accompanied by incendiary titles written in capital letters.

Online harassment

"I feel very concerned about the well-being and mental health of my staff as well as my clients and I don't want this kind of message to be here," he explains to the Guardian . "I just hope this will cause these newspapers to think a little more about what they write and the message it sends to those who read them."

The initiative of these owners of beauty salons and hairstyles, much applauded on social networks, was accompanied by hundreds of messages of support.

Have seen and heard from some beauty salons / hairdressers / dentists who say they are banning magazines that contain the mental abuse of celebrities / women / anyone. Magazines like this. I think we should get this to become a thing. #magazinesformentalhealth pic.twitter.com/enNZ9Dx0X3

Highly criticized tabloids

Far from being confined to these beauty salons, anti tabloid sentiment has only grown in public opinion in the United Kingdom since the suicide of Caroline Flack. As a reminder, the presenter was targeted almost daily for two months by the scandal press following her arrest in December for the alleged assault of her boyfriend. The day before his death, the Sun published an "exclusive" info on a Valentine's card illustrated with a drawing of the presenter with the message "I'm going to knock you out" ... An article that hastened to delete the editorial staff shortly after the drama. Like the rest of the negative articles that cannot be found on the site today.

After the shock caused by the death of Caroline Flack, thousands of messages raising awareness about online harassment surfaced under the hashtag #BeKind. But the conversation above all brought to light the existing dissensions between journalists of the tabloid press - which culminates in sales - and press journalist called "serious" on the exercise of their profession. Between incorrect - even false - information published and targeted harassment, the accusations are launched.

Journalistic ethics in question

“I woke up to many insulting messages here. Although I accept that journalists are hated and therefore the targets of trolls, we did not harass Caroline. Except for a horrible story, we supported it until the end recently. We loved it, ”writes Katie Hind, a celebrity reporter for the Mail on Sunday, on Twitter. In the days following the death of Caroline Flack, many of the scandal press journalists recalled the strong bonds of friendship they had with Caroline Flack in the face of the avalanche of critics with which they had to face.

On the other hand, journalists from the traditional press pointed out the gap between the anti-harassment messages unanimously displayed by the media and their implementation just days after the death of the TV presenter. "It's the same thing every week. The tabloids publish incorrect gossip, the information is collected everywhere else, the targeted person re-establishes the truth, the original articles are not corrected, the damage is done "publishes Omid Scobie, journalist at Harpers Bazaar, with for example an article on Meghan Markle, favorite target of the tabloids.

Following the death of Caroline Flack, a petition was launched by one of her friends to ask for "laws" better protecting the privacy of "celebrities and people". Today it collects more than 800,000 signatures.

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