So the BBC strikes again, probably along with a load of other knee jerk media that I don't care to read...but again, the point is that the BBC should have a bit more integrity when it comes to its reporting.

Yesterday I had a double take as I heard news on BBC News 24, right after the Lib Dem leadership result, go on about a rape being reported. "What is this about?" I wondered, "are the BBC trying to highlight the nature of frequency of rape in this country, perhaps taking a stand that no other broadcaster has yet dared on issues such as these?" Of course not, soon after I started listening it appeared the only reason this woman being violated even made the news is because she did so within the immediate vicinity of the Manchester United teams Christmas party.

My first instinct was outrage to be perfectly honest, analogies came to mind of other ridiculous news stories such as multiple murders in Ohio being reported simply because the President was in that state, or a slew of robberies only getting a headline in India because the Queen happens to be on the same planet.

But in all seriousness. Reported crime statistics, which we all know don't count for all of the instances of rape in this country, show that over 12,000 women are raped in a year. This is 1000 rapes a month, 250 a week. Yet this rape is the only one I have heard of to my memory this year. Does it not belittle the victim just slightly to suggest that your rape is only worth mentioning if a celebrity is potentially involved, or at least in the frame even if completely innocent?

The BBC and whoever else has carried this story has essentially laid the message out there to the country that it only cares about rape when there is celebrity gossip involved, and where reporting the rape will go on much more about pretty much everything other than you as a victim.

Beyond all of this it also undermines credibility in rape victims. Whether the BBC's intention or not it is making a tacit suggestion that as a victim you can generate more publicity for yourself if you can remotely place yourself near to a celebrity figure. By not reporting as many horrible rapes that occur between "normal" (and of course I use that term very lightly in the context of the rapist) individuals as when a celebrity may be involved it simply implants a thought in already ill-informed minds that maybe the woman lacks credibility on her claims.

In fact, it seems selling the hotel as a contemporary place to stay is much more important to the BBC than the case itself.

The hotel, a boutique hotel converted from a Victorian schoolhouse, was closed in the early part of Tuesday, but has since reopened.It opened two years ago with 30 duplex rooms and suites.