It’s been almost a week since Cambridge professor Jason Arday took his own life. History will not judge the British press well for what ensued in the weeks leading up to his death—something which Alan Rusbridger called a “pile-on” in his latest column.
Head honcho at left-wing news outlet Novara Media, Aaron Bastani, has apologised for comments he made on X before Arday’s death, including calling him a “conman”. While on the other end of the political spectrum, the Telegraph’s Charles Moore defended the press, writing that their “basic job... is to find out the truth”.
The problem lies, however, somewhere between the pursuit of truth and the likely racially motivated harassment of a vulnerable individual. In today’s episode of Media Confidential, Alan and Lionel discuss how Arday’s tragic story panned out in what they call “a modern media morality play”. The pair also analyse how a story about plagiarism turned into a Fleet Street crusade against diversity, equity and inclusion, and discuss the ethics involved when a vulnerable person is at the centre of public scrutiny.
Pop star and actress Ariana Grande also faces relentless public scrutiny, though for different reasons. As a young, female celebrity in the age of the internet, Grande has faced online hate since forever. But in 2023, when she began filming for the blockbusting Wicked movies, her significant weight loss became an obsession for the trolls. Since releasing the music video to her latest single “petal”, in which she appears underweight and potentially unwell, commentary from both the press and social media accounts has ramped up, ultimately leading to her “stepping back from public visibility”.
In today’s culture newsletter, I write on why Grande is not the problem—and that the obsession with her body, genuine concern or not, wrongly feeds into the idea that celebrities (particularly female ones) should be seen as role models to our children. Instead, I explore what her weight loss can tell us about a wider issue.
On the more “twee” side of culture, my colleague Peter Hoskin interviews the owner of Green Man—an independent festival set in the Welsh hills of the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park, and taking place this weekend. Fiona Stewart is the only female owner of an independent music festival in Europe. The line-up is split 50:50 by gender and Welsh identity is at its core. “We are a fundamentally Welsh festival, but outward-looking,” Stewart says. “Not only are we talking to people in Wales, we’re talking about Wales to people outside of Wales.”
And as Pete writes, “with Glastonbury taking its traditional fallow year—Worthy Farm belongs to the cows until June 2027—[Green Man] is the closest thing this British summer has to a centre of gravity.”
Share your thoughts on today’s Lightbulb at kathryn.schoon@prospectmagazine.co.uk.
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