Jade Goody Racism Row (Creative Media Blog)

The Event

Celebrity Big Brother racism is related to events that happened on the reality show in 2007 between Jade Goody, Danielle Lloyd and Jo O'Meara against indian actress Shilpa Shetty.

The media's initial reaction

Various media outlets initially said that the racism row was just a ''girlish rivalry' but later started calling it bullying and racism. As time progressed, the majority of media coverage of Jade became negative, accusations of racism being a lot greater than those of bullying.

Ways different media sources presented the topic

Headline - 'Race row as Big Brother sinks to vile spectacle'

The Daily Telegraph is a broadsheet newspaper aimed at more intellectual readers therefore wrote the article in a more sophisticated manner.

The newspaper reported on the events in a non controversal way, just giving a brief insite into the matter.

They open the article with a brief description of the news; 'Allegations of racism on the reality show Celebrity Big Brother brought thousands of complaints yesterday amid protests led by comedy star Meera Syal.'

Followed by the opinion of Meera Syal; 'The actress and author said the Channel 4 show had slipped into "vile spectacle" after more than 7,600 viewers accused contestants of racially abusing the Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty.'

Ending in a short description of the alleged matter; 'It is alleged that they mocked Shetty for "wanting to be white" when she bleached her facial hair, complained about her spicy food and referred to her as "the Indian".'

I think that The Daily Telegraph reported on the manner correctly as they did not report on anything that wasnt true and didnt blame Jade Goody for the racism. The Telegraph did not give their own opinion on the matter but included someone else's, I think this was good because it is not influencing the reader in any way.

No laws were broken by The Daily Telegraph for writing this article and Jade Goody's family were not affected. They presented the events in a very respectful way.

Headline - 'Big Brother guilty in racism row'

The Sun is a tabloid newspaper aimed at readers of working class and tends to emphasize topics such as sensational crime stories, astrology, TV and celebrity gossip. Tabloid newspapers use commonly used language to make easier to understand for a wider audience.

The newspaper is more full on with its approach and presents news in a slightly more daring and controversal way.

The Sun opens the article with a statement that blames Channel 4 for broadcasting the incident; 'CHANNEL 4 was guilty of “serious editorial misjudgment” over its handling of the Celebrity Big Brother racism row, Ofcom ruled today.'

Followed by racist quotes that were said by Jade Goody and others; 'In its long-awaited report on the race row, Ofcom singled out three occasions on which Channel 4 had failed to handle the situation appropriately. They were: Jade Goody referring to Shetty as “Shilpa Poppadom”; Lloyd saying that Shetty should “f*** off home”; and the argument over Shetty cooking a chicken, which ended with Lloyd and O’Meara making derogatory comments about Indian eating habits.'

The Sun then went on to quote more racism that was said; 'Following the report, Channel 4 today released a transcript of unseen footage from the show, which details how Goody, O’Meara, Lloyd and Goody’s boyfriend, Jack Tweed, made up a limerick about Shetty in which they joked about using a word which rhymed with “tacky”.'

Big Brother producers did not broadcast certain things that were said, however The Sun quoted from the unbroadcast footage some of the racism; 'In the unbroadcast footage from January 16, O’Meara began a limerick: “There once was a house that was happy, and then there entered...”

Goody said: “I’ve got a great one, but I’m not allowed to say it.”'
Then a quote from the victim of the racism; 'And Shetty herself has exonerated Channel 4. “I have no grudges against anybody - not the people who head Channel 4, not the people who were in the house with me. I’ve moved on. For me it’s a closed topic,” she said.'
Finally, The Sun ended the article by giving the news that the Channel Four chief executive Andy Duncan was called to resign in 2009.


The way that The Sun reported on the events was very controversal. Although the blame was on Channel 4, by quoting the racism that was said gives the impression that The Sun has a lot of blame for Jade, Danielle and Jo. I think that The Sun went too far by quoting some things that didnt need to be quoted, for example they released a statement that was said in the Big Brother house but was not broadcast because it was seen inapropriate. By including that quote in the article The Sun are clearly trying to create more drama and complaints to make Jade Goody look worse. The article constantly quotes racist comments as if to make the reader for offended by what was said in Big Brother.


When Shilpa Shetty (victim of racism) went on to win Big Brother The Sun released a newspaper with the front page raising awareness for racism. The picture on the front page shows 11 children holding up signs that use racist language.

The Sun declares:

"They are some of the most offensive and ugly words in the English language...But today the Sun makes no apology for printing them - or the pictures on Page One showing children who are the innocent victims of such repugnant insults...Shilpa's victimisation by bullies Jade Goody, Danielle Lloyd and Jo O'Meara ignited a national debate on how racism, like a monster from the deep, still lingers and lurks in 2007....Shilpa defied the bullying to claim victory in CBB, showing most Brits accept other cultures and are tolerant of them."

The Sun then says that inside the newspaper, the same 11 children are pictured holding up signs that all say "British." This was meant to show the suffering that people still face as victims of racism, but stirred up a lot of controversy by using the racist language, especially on the front page where anyone can see, including young children and those that would take offence.
The Guardian released an article about this offensive front page, giving it the headline; 'The Sun's front page insults'.

Headline - 'Big Brother sponsor suspends deal'

BBC News chose to focus their report on how the sponsors reacted to the rasism rather than Jade Goody and the other housemates. They continue the article by saying what other businesses have made changes since the racism row.

They begin the article by saying; 'Carphone Warehouse has suspended sponsorship of Celebrity Big Brother following allegations of racism towards actress Shilpa Shetty on the C4 show.'

They then said; 'The company said its sponsorship would be removed from the current series "with immediate effect".'

Jade Goody's language was marked "unacceptable" and 30,000 complaints have been made over alleged racist remarks towards Shetty.
The article also said that 'The Perfume Shop chain has also decided to withdraw sales of Jade's perfume from its shelves following the controversy'.
Finally BBC News end the article by saying that this has been great for Channel 4's Big Brother viewings, bringing in more viewers than ever.


I think BBC News used the event to report on different news very effectively. By showing that Carphone Warehouse and The Perfume Shop have both made changes since the racism row was good as it reported on a little bit of the event but kept its main report about how it has effected those that are linked with Big Brother and its housemates.

 
Headline - 'Celebrity Big Brother 2007: Jade Goody Considers Giving Kids Up'
Heat Magazine focus on the everyday lives of celebrities and gosip.
They say; 'Jade Goody has revealed to Heat magazine that after all the hate mail and death threats she has received since appearing on Celebrity Big Brother, she is considering giving her sons father, Jeff Brazier, sole custody of the boys.'
Then they quote Jade Goody; 'Jade stated: “Last Monday after my interview on ‘This Morning’. It killed me because Fern and Phillip were questioning my mothering skills and I know I was a nasty person, but I’m a good mum. Afterwards, in the dressing room, I kept thinking, ‘I’m to blame. I put my family at risk.' “I thought, ‘I don’t want to be here. Maybe the best thing for my kids would be to stay with their dad.’ ”The article then ends with the writers opinion; 'That strikes me as a bit over the top. This whole racism thing will blow over and Jade will eventually be able to get back to living a normal life. I can understand that Jade is worried about her boys safety, but to give them up permanently, isn’t that going a step too far?'


I think that Heat Magazine were good to keep the article breif and only include quotes from Jade Goody. By ending in the question, its giving the reader something to think about and to make their own opinion. I think this is a good article as it tells the news without any controversy.



Overall I dont think the media targetted Jade Goody as much as everyone thinks. It seems as though most of the blame was on Channel 4 and the Big Brother producers. Of course Jade Goody got bad press for it, because what she said WAS racist.