Enemies of Reason Poundshop potshots at the media moral maze.

A sickening invasion of privacy

I know I often rail about how the Mail attacks immigrants, invents 'fury' from nowhere, reports all kinds of 'medical' nonsense about what does and doesn't cause cancer, and spins stories to meet its own agenda, but in a lot of ways they aren't even the worst things it does.

Yes, there's worse.

Sickening intrusion into people's private lives. Violating privacy with seemingly not a care about the feelings of those people who might be touched by the story. A prurient interest in the sex lives, marriages and divorces of others. And, even more reprehensible, raping people's privacy during times of grief and suffering.

I can't really do this stinking cesspit of miserable journalism justice without quoting from what they've done today about the former newsreader Carol Barnes, so here goes.

The four years of heartbreak after daughter's skydiving tragedy that have driven Carol Barnes to death's door

Carol Barnes has had a stroke. I didn't know that heartbreak after a skydiving tragedy caused a bleed in the brain, but I'm not up to speed on the latest medical knowledge, unlike the Mail. I bow to their greater insight on the matter.

Newsreader Carol Barnes is unlikely to survive after suffering a massive stroke, devastated friends have disclosed.

A tragedy, then. A woman is fighting for her life. Is now the time to go raking over the past, especially when, as you admit yourself Paul Bracchi, her friends are 'devastated'?

SHE still keeps her daughter Clare's ashes in her flat overlooking Brighton Marina, along with her butterfly brooch, gold tongue-stud, her old jeans and favourite pair of shoes . . .

"I keep saying I must get rid of her stuff, but I can't because they remind me of her," Carol Barnes would often tell friends.

What a bizarre quote to take in direct quotes yet attribute to 'friends' as the source.

They knew, too, about Carol's drinking and the grief-induced depression (which sometimes meant she was unable to pull herself out of bed in the morning) in the aftermath of her beloved elder child's death in a sky-diving accident in Australia in 2004.

It is a tragedy from which they are convinced she never fully recovered.

These 'friends'. If I were a friend of someone dying, I certainly wouldn't pick up the telephone to the Daily Mail and start telling all sorts of secrets about that person as they battled to stay alive and as her relatives kept a vigil around her bed. Hospital shops sell newspapers of course. Imagine - just imagine - one of those relatives picking up the Mail today as they took five minutes away from a dying woman. What do you think they'd think about this article, mentioning drinking and depression when someone is battling for survival and doesn't have the opportunity to answer back?

Of course, there is no medical diagnosis for a "broken heart", but those who know the 63-year-old former newsreader are convinced this is the real reason behind her admission to the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton, where she is fighting for her life following a stroke.

Of course, there is no medical diagnosis for 'heartless bastard', but those close to Paul Bracchi say that he didn't show any signs of remorse after having done a hatchet job on a dying woman.

Either way, it would be difficult to imagine a more pitiful outcome to an already heartbreaking story.

Actually, I can. This article right here.

What few people knew was that Carol had also tried to find other ways of coping with her loss.
Months after the accident, Carol, then a presenter on the ITV News Channel, was sacked as a magistrate in Brighton for drink-driving.

Yes, put the boot in. She's nearly cold.

She insisted the offence was not connected to her grief, and said she had simply miscalculated the number of units she had drunk at a golf club dinner.

In contrast to the picture that Mail is trying to paint of a grief-stricken woman boozing her way into an early grave - a grave, let's just remind ourselves, this person isn't even actually in yet. Still, we've had the piece legalled, we're fine.

And one person who knows her well gives an insight into the way her life changed.

The friend revealed: "Before Clare died, Carol would attend the opening of bars, galleries and charity events, often children's charities, at least once a month.

"She was a joy to be around because she was bubbly and fun and always had a glass of white wine in her hand.

That's very much the form at evenings like that. But of course, this article is trying to say something else.

The friend saw Carol about a month ago at another function.

"There was this dreadful sadness about her. I'd catch her gazing into the distance and wondered if she was thinking about Clare.

"She's a very private woman who talks about everything except herself. I just wish she could have reached out for help."

She was a very private woman. Until now.

Her brilliant 30-year career - she was voted Newscaster of the Year in 1994 - was drawing to a close, and she had remained single since splitting from her husband. Carol was still freelancing, but admits she spent much of her time on the golf course, attending functions in Brighton alongside other local celebrities such as Jayne Torvill and former Bill star Chris Ellison, or in the gym.

Is it any wonder she sometimes found refuge in drink?

I think one of the most disgusting things about this piece is the fact that it's a fellow journalist being beaten up like this. One of the cruellest, most unpleasant articles it's ever been my misfortune to read - and it's not giving the boot to a murderer, paedophile or war criminal. Just a journalist who read the news. Fair game for this kind of thing? Just because she was once in the public eye? The Mail thinks so.

"Losing her daughter obviously had a monumental effect on Carol," said another friend.

"I've known her for a long time and she is a good friend, so I don't want to say any more.

"It wouldn't be fair on her or her family, who are obviously going through an immensely difficult time at the moment.

An even more difficult time if they read this. I hope they don't.

Last night, Carol remained in a critical condition with her son at her bedside.

He, like everyone else who loves and respects her, will be praying she pulls through.

Me too. So she can sue you to hell.

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