BR Video: Jade Goody media coverage provokes mixed response from public

by Nikki Sandison, Brand Republic 23-Mar-09, 11:25

LONDON - The extensive media coverage of Jade Goody's battle with cervical cancer provoked a mixed response from members of the public in the latest Brand Republic video -- watch it now.

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Many of the people interviewed, filmed a couple of days before Goody's death, thought it was sad that she suffered, but said that the media coverage had gone too far, pointing out that many other people have cancer.

Some people thought that there were positive benefits to the coverage such as raising awareness of cervical cancer and generating money for Jade Goody's sons.

One person described OK! magazine's tribute issue, published last week before Jade Goody's death, as "horrendous".

Jade Goody lost her battle with cervical cancer shortly after 3am on Sunday. The media paid tribute to Jade Goody today with pages of coverage and special supplements.

Headlines included "Mummy's in heaven", "At peace on Mother's day" and "My beautiful Jade is at peace".

Prime Minister Gordon Brown and leader of the Conservative Party David Cameron also paid tribute to Jade Goody, marking the work she did to raise awareness of cervical cancer.

Footage of Jade Goody's wedding to Jack Tweed four weeks ago was aired on Living TV, which pulled in the channel's highest audience to date. OK! magazine achieved a bumper circulation of nearly 2m for its issue with exclusive coverage of the wedding, making it one of the magazine's biggest selling issues of all time.

Jade Goody's funeral will also be very public with giant screens televising proceedings inside the church to thousands of expected fans outside.

Read more about Jade Goody on Brand Republic:

Comments

Kevin Gordon - 23/03/2009

I am sure the family would give every penny away if they could bring their daughter back. Would the media do the same? I doubt it. However, as the video quite rightly points out, for lots of ordinary people she meant something. For many young girls who are now attending Cervical Cancer smear tests she has meant an awful lot more, and had the media not intervened, they would not be getting tested today. Mixed feelings? In the UK yes. In America, they would take it in their stride. On balance the resulting good far outweighs any bad, and for one, I think we should let her and her family rest in peace. If you want to know how grateful some people may feel, ask the mother of a girl who has gone for a smear test and has discovered she has cancer, but it is treatable. ask her how she would feel about Jade Goody. She would probably see her and her publicists as her saviour.