Madeleine McCann who pays ?

What is troubling about the media coverage though, is does it push investigation in certain directions, and constrain those investigations in other areas.

It is a horrible thin line in cases like this for the police to treat the parents as victims, while also realising that they are statistically quite likely to be the strong suspects. And I don’t think that the media’s bias to white middle class families helps the police do their jobs.

Someone said earlier that they thought the mother appeared cold, I didn’t read her like that at the time, to me she looked like someone with a thousand mile stare, just barely being able to keep control, who probably just wanted to crawl into a corner, roll up in a ball and cry forever.

The fact is the Police have a budget like everyone else. How much is spent us relevant and the Police have a very difficult job deciding how and where the money is spent.

The McCans have to live with the fact they left their daughter alone, that’s a hefty burden for any parent to bear.

Someone said earlier that they thought the mother appeared cold, I didn’t read her like that at the time, to me she looked like someone with a thousand mile stare, just barely being able to keep control, who probably just wanted to crawl into a corner, roll up in a ball and cry forever.

That was me. I have no doubt she isn’t cold or emotionless at all. It was how she came across to some people (I always wondered if she’d been advised how to act) which didn’t exactly endear her to those who couldn’t see past it.

The people who have paid for this, in a monetary sense, are the residents and business owners of praia du luz.

It is a horrible thin line in cases like this for the police to treat the parents as victims, while also realising that they are statistically quite likely to be the strong suspects.

The ugliest truth is that certain sections of the media will have covered this story specifically because they thought it would turn out to be another “the parents did it” story, which always sells papers 🙁

The ugliest truth is that certain sections of the media will have covered this story specifically because they thought it would turn out to be another “the parents did it” story, which always sells papers

In this case though, I think the media coverage forced the police to not fully investigate that possibility. iirc the local police were lambasted for even considering it, and the officer who wanted to peruse that line of enquiry was forced off the case.
I also remember the media were very ready to convict the man who lived with his mother, as they were in that Bristol murder ready to convict the landlord with the “wild” hair.

Now, this is very much a wider point I am trying to make, because I do believe (99%)that the McCann’s are victims. But I also believe that media coverage affected(hampered) the investigation, and that not all possibilities were fully investigated because of it.

Let’s not forget that the media, as ever, presented the “foreign” police as just a bunch of bumbling amateur idiots who couldn’t begin to investigate a crime to our high standards.

The mcann’s do not deserve any of the blame they are the victims of an horrendous crime . The media decided to turn on them and alter the way they presented them as the story was starting to run out of steam which coincided with the Mcann’s increasing reluctance to dance to certain papers tune . The tabloid rules are play our way or we burn you hence the speculation / fantsy stories about sedatives etc.

I do not begrudge a penny spent on a hunt to find a missing child or their abductor . Surprised anyone would.

The media haven’t turned on the McCann’s

There is, unfortunately, equally harrowing and terrible stories that the media haven’t reported because the victims don’t meet the correct target profile.

crankboy – Member

I do not begrudge a penny spent on a hunt to find a missing child or their abductor . Surprised anyone would.

That’s only one way to look at it- the other is saying “Why this child and not another”.

That’s only one way to look at it- the other is saying “Why this child and not another”.

I don’t feel they’re mutually exclusive views.

People forget that roughly the same time as Madeline went missing (just after in fact) a young black mother who was on holiday in Ibiza (I think) did leave her toddler home alone in the apartment and she was charged with neglect of some kind.

From memory the Daily **** was not too sympathetic to her cause – all her fault, terrible mother etc and the police were waiting for her return to the UK.

She pointed out this wasn’t quite the reaction those nice, reasonable middle class McCann’s got…

If you can’t see the difference between going on holidays and leaving your toddler at home and going a minute’s walk away and having dinner…

The media haven’t turned on the McCann’s

I think they would disagree with you as would the fact they won libel damages against a number of news papers who also published her personal diaries.
Its wirth noting they testified against the press at Leveson

Lord Justice Leveson told the inquiry the newspaper[express] had published “complete piffle” about Madeleine’s disappearance.[131]

The Daily Star (another Express Group newspaper) published a headline that the McCanns had sold Madeleine: “Maddie ‘Sold’ By Hard-Up McCanns”.[132] Other headlines included “DNA puts parents in frame: British experts insist their tests are valid,” [ this was a lie as there was no DNA evidence to link them] and “Parents’ car hid a corpse [also no evidence of this despite testing]

What more evidence would you require to reconsider your viewpoint?

There is, unfortunately, equally harrowing and terrible stories that the media haven’t reported because the victims don’t meet the correct target profile.

Harrowing and terrible stories always get reported. The media seeks them out irrespective of the victim’s profile.

The Madeline McCann’s case has had more coverage than most for a variety of reasons, including the fact that her parent’s have skilfully maintained that her case remains in the media spotlight.

I don’t feel they’re mutually exclusive views.

But as someone posted earlier, in Glasgow, posters of locally missing children were torn down to be replaced by the pictures of a child that had gone missing in another country away. Are those parents any less worthy?

Are those parents any less worthy?

I don’t know why you’re asking me tbh. (or maybe you’re not.)

What more evidence would you require to reconsider your viewpoint?

More than a single anomaly, rather than the mass of publicised reports.

in Glasgow, posters of locally missing children were torn down to be replaced by the pictures of a child that had gone missing in another country

That claim probably probably needs some evidence to back it up. And an explanation why there was apparently limited space.

More than a single anomaly, rather than the mass of publicised reports.

I am not entirely sure what that reply means – could you clarify?
It seems clear the evidence does not support your claim they did not turn on them. Unless of course you wish to argue that printing deceitful reports that were piffle and found to be libellous in court was somehow “supportive” or not turning on them.

ernie_lynch – Member

That claim probably probably needs some evidence to back it up.

Me seeing it good enough? (Though just to pick up on MSP’s post, it wasn’t specifically kids- just the normal missing persons board which is usually mostly young adults, the elderly etc.)

I am not entirely sure what that reply means – could you clarify?

Well the mass majority of press articles are clearly supportive of the McCanns, and rightly so, I don’t think you can classify the few hatched jobs as the press as a whole turning on the, this clearly hasn’t happened.

That claim probably probably needs some evidence to back it up. And an explanation why there was apparently limited space.

ok, I took this claim at face value, but with the media hysteria around this single case, I could very well imagine that it is true.

Well the mass majority of press articles are clearly supportive of the McCanns

You know that how ?

the media hysteria around this single case

Unless I’m mistaken you’ve taken a very keen interest in this case. Possibly even read the majority of press articles covering this story. So you would appear to be part of the “hysteria” ….. the media doesn’t appear to have a monopoly when it comes to McCann hystria.

I for one know very little about the Madeline McCann case, basically because I tend to avoid reading about it as there’s nothing that I can do to help find her, and it’s a tragic story which, like other tragic child related stories, I don’t relish reading about in great detail.

I don’t think you can classify the few hatched jobs as the press as a whole turning on the, this clearly hasn’t happened.

There was over 100 articles cited in the libel case so it was more than a few it was relentless.
I think if they accused me of killing my kid and selling them as i was skint whilst publishing my personal diaries I would probably consider them to have turned on me during the “hysteria” even if you would not.

It’s perhaps because of the Mcanns professional status it’s inconceivable to a lot of parents that they would leave their children unattended some distance away and how the abduction could if been avoided with that said it seems the original police investigation was woefully inadequate by an incompetent police force.

DD – apologies I wasn’t clear. She did take the toddler on holiday with her and left them at the hotel when she went to a bar.

She did not leave them at home in the UK.

The mcann’s do not deserve any of the blame they are the victims of an horrendous crime .

I agree that they are victims of their girl going missing, but don’t agree that they are not wholly blameless. Their actions to leave their girl un-supervised ( for however short a period of time ) are a contributing factor to the circumstances.

I also agree with the comments that the media frenzy was possibly something that interfered with the natural course of enquiry. Too much media pushing by the McCanns was I often thought to myself … I couldn’t see past the notion that their lack of supervision of their child was as aspect which should have drawn more criminal enquiry and that their relationship with the media acted to divert the focus away from them in that regard.