News Hit

I typed Lara Bingle’s name into Google and it returned 686,000 hits. For a woman who is predominantly recognised for uttering a profanity in a tourism commercial, this is pretty impressive. How on earth did a woman who is as well-known for a string of relationships with high-profile sportsmen as she is for her career become this interesting?

The public interest in Lara Bingle has grown tenfold this week after it was revealed that a nude photograph of her has been making the rounds in cricket and AFL circles and now within the general public. The photo was reportedly taken by AFL footballer Brendan Fevola when the pair were involved in an affair a few years ago. The public is apparently enthralled by the consequences of this development for Bingle and her cricketer fiancé Michael Clarke. Or are they?

There are over 45 (and counting) Facebook groups dedicated to the Lara Bingle and Michael Clarke saga. The most bizarre of which include Lara Bingle looks like the Crazy Frog and Lara Bingle for Governer General. Some of the Facebook groups state that they do not want to hear any more about Lara Bingle, while others offer support. The majority of the groups denigrate Bingle and blame her for what has happened in the past week, claiming that the whole debacle is an attention seeking publicity stunt.

In all honesty, I feel truly sorry for Lara Bingle. Consider how old she was when the picture in question was taken. Who amongst us didn’t make a mistake or an error in judgement at the age of 19? However, I am not suggesting that she is completely faultless. For one thing, Bingle probably should have avoided getting involved with Fevola in the first place. Married men don’t make the best boyfriends. At the very least she should have ensured that the picture had been deleted, rather than taking Fevola’s word for it. Men who cheat on their wives probably aren’t the most trustworthy individuals. Similarly, signing a $200,000 exclusive tell-all interview about the scandal with a woman’s magazine isn’t likely to improve the public’s opinion of her.  This interview can only add fuel to the current media frenzy.

While she may not be perfect, it was still a complete betrayal of trust and an invasion of Lara Bingle’s privacy to circulate this picture. Just one look at the image shows that it was taken without her consent. Bingle is well and truly justified to be completely devastated and furious about the distribution and publication of this image. Regardless of her status as a public figure, everyone deserves a certain level of privacy.

Why is the media so interested in this issue and so intent on dragging it out for as long as possible? Of course, it is the role of the media to report on relevant, timely and newsworthy events. However, lately it seems that the news media are reporting on this story even when there is nothing new to report. Yesterday I was listening to the radio and heard the host complain that she was “so over hearing the same thing about the Lara Bingle and Michael Clarke debacle.” No prizes for guessing what the first item on the news bulletin five minutes later was - Bingle and Clarke, of course. Are they still engaged? Did Clarke leave the Australian tour of New Zealand to comfort his fiancé or to break up with her? What did Lara have for lunch?  Upon opening the newspaper this morning the first item my eyes fell upon was an article about Michael Clarke and Lara Bingle officially calling off their engagement. Apparently Bingle was also moving out of the apartment they share.  However, when I turned on the radio this afternoon I heard that the break-up had not been announced or confirmed by any official sources and was only speculation.

As long as tiny bits of information and gossip are added to this story, it is likely that we will continue to hear about it in all forms of news media.

As they say, ‘sex sells,’ and apparently a nude photograph of Lara Bingle sells even better.

By the time I completed this article Google returned 687,000 hits for the phrase ‘Lara Bingle’. Now that I have added another article I guess that makes it 687,001.