If you’ve ever had the chance to speak with me for more than 10 minutes, I can guarantee you, our conversation had either something to do with my two favorite things: journalism or the British royal family.
Recently, The Closer, a French magazine, published topless photos of Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge while she was vacationing in Provence, France.
Now, topless photos, especially in France, are one thing – but Catherine was in a private swimming pool when the photos were taken.
But Laurence Pieau, The Closer’s editor, does not seem to have any qualms about the photos being published. Instead, she said there has been an “over-reaction” to the photos.
“These photos are not in the least shocking,” Pieau said in a Sept. 14 The Telegraph article. “They show a young woman sunbathing topless, like the millions of women you see on beaches. It’s still on the Internet. That shocked no one.”
The topless part wasn’t the problem – the shocking part is the magazine’s decision to publish the photos.
What was there to gain from us seeing these photos beside embarrassing Catherine? Was it really that slow of a news day the media had to publish these photos of a woman swimming in a private pool topless?
The role of the media is to act as a “watchdog” for society.
But who is watching us and holding us accountable?
Maybe I’m too invested in the media to fully give myself an answer to the question, but has media, as a whole, fallen into the same money-driven atmosphere every other business is a part of?
If that’s the case, then society needs to reconsider journalism.
Call me old-fashioned and naive, but I’m so sick of the business world making such an appearance in newsrooms these days.
Look, I can’t explain my love for journalism, and I certainly can’t explain my fascination with the royal family.
But I can acknowledge that certain media outlets’ decision to publish the photos is out of control, and further solidifies my belief the media needs better watchdogs.
Will it be you?
Buie, a sophomore political science major from Charlotte, is the managing editor.