AFIS Founder, Michelle Daniells, grew frustrated by newspaper headlines that singled out the private school backgrounds of defendants and convicted criminals. Why is that relevant?
Curious about how widespread this practice was, she investigated further and discovered more than 18 recent articles from various media outlets using this tactic as lazy clickbait.
Determined to call out this prejudiced and divisive reporting, Michelle was inspired to write her first-ever Letter to the Editor:Letter to the Editors of The Times and The Telegraph
Sir,Your crime coverage has again referred to a defendant as “public school educated”:
-Ex-public schoolboy facing death penalty in Thailand, October 2
-Former public schoolboy jailed for rape, May 13Would you ever write “state-school educated man jailed for robbery”? Of course not; it would look absurd and prejudiced.
Yet when the subject is privately educated, the double standard passes unchallenged.Most people have no choice in the school their parents select. To use this later in life as a journalistic label is unfair, divisive and adds nothing to the facts of a case.If education is relevant, then publish proper research. Dropping “public schoolboy” into a headline is not analysis, it is lazy shorthand. I urge your publication to lead the way in ending this practice
Yours faithfully,
Michelle Daniells Founder
Association for Families of Independent Schooling (AFIS) C.I.C.
