I have no defence for journos like these. There is no defence.
There is a demand for detail and 'human interest' aspects (that's the modern term for prurience), however, as Soddim suggests. People want to see and experience the grieving widow's tearful face. I don't understand it any more than you chaps do, but I can see that people do want to read this crap, and do want to participate, vicariously, in the tragedy.
The world has changed without our noticing it. The wailing crowds who watched Diana's funeral procession were exactly the kind of Sun/Mirror/Mail/Express reading morons who the editors are trying to satisfy with a crass picture of curtained windows, or a sobbed soundbite from a child, widow or neighbour. The demand is most certainly there. Unlike Soddim, I don't find that to be any excuse for people pursuing the 'victims', any more than job opportunities excused anyone from joining the SS.
But the answer isn't, as you know, to beat these people up. Get their identities (they should be willing to show a press card or other ID) and complain to their editors and to the Press Complaints Commission, and copy your complaints to DCC and Command
PR. Get your unit CRO to feed stories of specific instances of unwarranted media intrusion to other papers. Post their names and employers on this thread. These hypocritical bastards love stories about other people's reporters being scum.
By doing so you'll inconvenience the editors. You'll cost them money, and you'll make it more difficult for them to do their jobs in future. Impose a real cost on the papers who use these people's material, and you'll make a difference.
And also realise that the RAF is becoming a less media savvy, and less media friendly organisation institutionally, as are many of its members. The organisation as a whole, and too many of you blokes, don't recognise that you have allies in the media (let alone friends) and that by tarring us all with the same brush, you lose the chance to influence what we do.
I found little to be relieved about in this terrible tragedy, but I was relieved that this was an aircraft and an incident where whether or not it carried particular elements of the DAS was not an issue. I raised the subject of the Hercules' DAS on another thread, and people leapt down my throat, for all the usual reasons. I'm glad I'm not now saying that had we raised the lack of particular equipment on particular parts of the fleet then politicians might have done something to remedy shortcomings and/or equipment shortages and that this might not have happened.....