Tabloids miss the point at Brit Awards 2018

Dua Lipa
Dua Lipa

Dua Lipa’s record number of nominations was not the focus of tabloid attention at the 2018 Brit Awards. Credit: Justin Higuchi

The 2018 Brit Awards was eventful and inspiring for many reasons, but some media outlets’ coverage causes outrage among fans

Wednesday night marked the 38th Brit Awards ceremony. It should have been a night to celebrate diversity in music, with fans waiting with bated breath to see which artists would triumph. With Dua Lipa and Ed Sheeran nominated for five awards each, and the likes of Jessie Ware, Rag ‘n’ Bone Man, and Stormzy having success in 2017, the tension levels where high. And the awards show didn’t disappoint.

However, the next morning the front pages of the newspapers weren’t celebrating the success of female artists, or the much-improved diversity of the Brit Awards. They didn’t focus on Dua Lipa’s speech calling for “more women on these stages and more women winning awards,” or the fact she received more nominations than any other female in Brits history.

Neither did they focus on Stormzy being the first black artist in 26 years to win British Album Of The Year. Even his rousing, emotional speech calling out the Prime Minister Theresa May and her lack of action over the Grenfell disaster didn’t make a dent to the front pages.

It was the so-called “hilarious” incident involving Este Haim, the bassist from the band Haim, videobombing Cheryl and Liam Payne while the pair were being interviewed by host Jack Whitehall which most of the tabloids picked up on.

The coverage caused people to vent their anger towards some newspapers on social media. The lack of diversity within print media, and the content produced by journalists, has been controversial for a long time. Articles written by Katie Hopkins and Piers Morgan are perhaps among the most controversial in recent times.

In 2016, The Guardian newspaper reported the findings of a survey which stated that British journalism is 94% white and 55% male. Whether this is a contributing factor is up for contention. There is also the claim that certain newspapers and editors are biased towards political parties. And the feeling that occasionally the British print media misreports important issues is strong.
People believe racism and bigotry is fuelling agendas. The newspapers will claim that they cover stories that will sell more copies; clickbait rules internet journalism, are the papers competing in the same way?

This was a big night for the British music industry to prove itself to fans that it was a level platform for everyone. But the event has been overshadowed for the wrong reasons.




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