Two separate women, two different continents, two distinct voices; both caught on camera. The Duchess of York – Sarah Ferguson and Helen Thomas share nothing in common except that recent brushes with the media landed them in hot water.

Helen Thomas is a reporter and White House correspondent who covered the administrations of United States Presidents; from Eisenhower through to Obama. Whether on camera or in print this woman comes across like a straight shooter, fearless, opinionated and goal orientated. The seat she held in the front row of the White House Briefing Room was an indication of her stature within the press.

Sarah Ferguson, the former wife of Prince Andrew, brought a whole other dynamic to her role as the Duchess of York. Ripe for the rumours and covered by criticism she never seemed to fit with the Royal Family and by her own life choices and admissions did not fit well with herself. However her charitable work remained a staple throughout the years, in particular with children’s organizations. She founded Children in Crisis which focuses on educational opportunities for children in some of the poorest countries.

These two women recently got stung by a camera, microphone and possibly an agenda to expose them to public condemnation. Freedom of speech for instance is not a good thing if you mention anything bad about Israel and selling access to your husband, the Prince, for over 500,000 pounds is definitely not accepted as good judgement! These women faced a borage of media scrutiny, Helen Thomas retires and Sarah Ferguson goes on Oprah to explain herself.

Scandal abounds. There is always somebody somewhere trying to bring someone down. For Sarah it may be just what she needs to see the reality of her existence and get some help. She is reportedly in considerable debt and has never dealt properly with her personal issues.

Helen, after all her years of service trying to report the truth gets stung by her own. It is an unfortunate circumstance that abruptly ended her career. By her own decision to retire or a not so gentle nudge it appears that age doesn’t buy you a pass; she was a fair target for public scrutiny. Her so called scandalous comments that “Israel should get the hell out of Palestine...go back to Germany, Poland, America and everywhere else”, did not sit well. Who knows? Maybe it was time for Helen, who is almost 90 years old, to get out the business of reporting from the Hot House...I mean the White House. However, after an impressive career in journalism you don’t want to go out with those last words being recycled around the globe.

Scandal for some of our younger celebs tends to lean more towards acts of voyeurism. Lindsay Lohan’s documented substance abuse finds her failing to show up for court and when she finally does; she looks like an incoherent bloated addict after a weeklong bender. A flash of crotch while getting out of a limo highlights Britney Spears diminishing public image, while Paris Hilton has a sex tape and time in jail on her resume. Some people make mistakes that are caught on camera, some look to the camera to showcase their abnormal behavior.