A senior reporter for the Liverpool Echo has written an open letter to the Daily Mail ahead of the Grand National this weekend, saying “we’ve had enough” of the tabloids negative coverage of women who attend the races.
Catherine Murphy has taken issue with the paper focusing on attendees photographed at “an unflattering angle in what is clearly nothing more than an attempt to embarrass them”.
She adds: “Year after year this has happened, and while the sneering headlines might have been toned down, the sentiment is still there.”
While the Daily Mail has covered those attending the races in a positive light in recent years...
... a notable number of pieces do still focus on those a bit worse for wear. We’re showing a couple of tweets here in order to illustrate what the letter is about, with apologies to the women pictured.
Murphy writes: “You repeatedly choose pictures of what you think are the ‘fashion fails’ or any embarrassing moment you can capture, to bait your Sidebar Of Shame keyboard warriors.
“I have seen and heard first hand the dread of ladies at Aintree as they walk in fear that they will do something embarrassing and end up on your website.
“We all know about unflattering angles. But there seems to be an agenda; to make a mockery of those daring to have a good time.”
Saturday promises to be a full day in the sporting calendar as the Grand National kicks off at Aintree and Manchester City continues its bid for the quadruple after they were handed the first FA Cup semi-final tie.
The 2011 winners will face Brighton at Wembley on the Saturday with Wolves taking on Watford at the national stadium 24 hours later, the Press Association reports.
City’s game – which will be live on BBC1 – will kick off at 5.30pm, 15 minutes after the start of the Grand National at Aintree.
Dear Daily Mail journalists and photographers
Each year thousands of racegoers head to Aintree’s Grand National festival having spent weeks, if not months trying to find the perfect outfit.
They are excited about the day - spending time with loved ones, letting their hair down, having fun and making memories.
What they don’t deserve, is to end up splashed across your newspaper and website, having been caught at an unflattering angle in what is clearly nothing more than an attempt to embarrass them.
Year after year this has happened, and while the sneering headlines might have been toned down, the sentiment is still there.
Having attended Aintree for many years both as a racegoer and a journalist, I have seen thousands of well dressed ladies in beautiful outfits, who have taken the time to get the perfect look. Yet you don’t seem to want to publish pictures of these women. Unless you catch them - heaven forbid - looking a bit worse for wear.
Instead, you repeatedly choose pictures of what you think are the ‘fashion fails’ or any embarrassing moment you can capture, to bait your Sidebar Of Shame keyboard warriors.
I have seen and heard first hand the dread of ladies at Aintree as they walk in fear that they will do something embarrassing and end up on your website.
We all know about unflattering angles. But there seems to be an agenda; to make a mockery of those daring to have a good time.
Aintree’s Grand National festival is one of the biggest race meetings in the world and there is so much positive coverage you could give to the event. Instead you choose to insult, ridicule and put down the women of Liverpool.
Every year, the ECHO website is filled with galleries of racegoers looking their best, enjoying themselves and highlighting one of the elements our city is loved for - its humour.
Frankly, we’re tired of the negative coverage - our girls deserve better.
So, if you can’t let them enjoy themselves without making fun of them, you’re not welcome in Liverpool anymore.