Madeleine McCann: Britney Spears, Lolita And Birthday Cards
MADDYWATCH - Anorak’s at-a-glance guide to press coverage of Madeleine McCann
DAILY MAIL: “Woolworths forced to withdraw LOLITA bedroom furniture range for girls”
The Lolita Midsleeper Combi, a wooden bed with pull-out desk and cupboard designed for girls aged around six, retails on the Woolworths website for £349.99
The name has “sexual connotations”. A “mother” sees it and writes: “Am I being particularly sensitive, or does anyone else out there think it’s bad taste for Woolies to have a kiddy bed range named ‘Lolita’?”
Well, you don’t have to buy it…
A spokesman for the company says: “What seems to have happened is the staff who run the website had never heard of Lolita, and to be honest no one else here had either. We had to look it up on Wikipedia. But we certainly know who she is now”
Trusting Wikipedia for information has its own dangers. (And look out for an article on the state of British education.) But no danger is bigger than a bed named, perhaps, in honour of a charcter in a novel by Vladimir Nabokov
Or Lolita Fatjo, pre-production coordinator for Star Trek
Or many other women called Lolita
“On-line parent power has been growing in recent years. In 2006 Tesco stopped selling a pole-dancing kit on its website over accusations it was destroying children’s innocence. And last summer an on-line campaign by Mumsnet resulted in a cinema advert about the disappearance of Madeleine McCann stopped from being screened before the children’s film Shrek the Third”
THE TIMES: “Staff at Woolworths baffled by fuss over the little girl’s bed called Lolita”
“Woolworths has withdrawn bedroom furniture for young girls bearing the sexually charged name Lolita after a campaign waged by a mothers’ online chat room”
An internal company e-mail seen by The Times goes: “As discussed, we’ve got the product below on our website. Can it be hidden as soon as is possible? Then I really need to find out how it came about being on our site and who bought it. Lolita is a word that means sexually active young teenagers, so a young girls’ range of bedroom products is in very poor taste. We’ve had an approach from a website who are clearly a little disturbed by this”
THE SUN: “Gift from Maddie for twins”
No, not furniture
“Twins Sean and Amelie McCann will get a special present from their missing sister Maddie today on their third birthday. Parents Kate and Gerry got the gift for the pair who, at three, are the same age as Maddie when she vanished last May”
Sad. But is it relevant to the case? Is it news?
Grandmother Eileen McCann tells us: “Of course Madeleine being there would be our dream but we’ll do our best to make sure the twins have a lovely day”
DAILY TELEGRAPH: “Card from Madeleine at McCann twins party”
The twins are getting a gift in the Sun…
“Gerry and Kate McCann will throw a birthday party for their twins tomorrow - complete with a card from their missing four-year-old daughter, Madeleine”
DAILY STAR: “MISSING MADDIE’S SPECIAL PREZZIE”
“Little Sean and Amelie McCann will open a special present from their big sister as they celebrate their third birthday today”
With a card?
Says Eileen McCann: “There will be presents galore, lots of fun and games, lots of food and a big cake. Of course, Madeleine being home would make it complete and we continue to pray for that blessing”
SUR (Spain): “Marbella suffer their first loss of the year against Linares”
A football match: “Wearing T-shirts to raise awareness of the disappearance of Madeleine McCann and Mari Luz Cortés, the children playing in the tournament accompanied the players onto the pitch as mascots at the beginning of the game”
RADAR: “Theater of Cruelty, Carnival of Souls”
“British rags hardly pretend to be providing straightforward news. What they are doing is what used to be the job of popular fiction; namely, processing myth out of characters sucked in from real life. Right now the cast list includes such durable regulars as Kate Moss—with or without Pete Doherty—Princes Harry and Wills, Posh and Becks, and Kate and Gerry McCann, whose daughter Madeleine’s kidnapping/disappearance in Portugal made them last year’s headliners”
ALISTAIR CAMPBELL (TIMES): Britney Spears: person or news commodity? She’s a great singer but obviously ill: we in the media have to decide to leave her alone”
Britney Spears and Madeleine McCann..?
“In some sections of the media, Madeleine McCann and her family are there. As I said in the Cudlipp Lecture on Tuesday, her disappearance was an interesting and important story, the stuff of every parent’s nightmare. But it quickly became a commodity in which most of the media got close to hysteria, and some have remained there. Let us not pretend the coverage was driven by concern for the child - there are many missing children - or compassion for the parents - certainly not once the mood shifted - or regard for the truth. It has been the worst example of recent times, on a par with Diana, of some newspapers thinking that the word “Madeleine” sells, and finding literally any old nonsense to keep her name in that selling position on the front”
THE GUARDIAN: “Mechanics of the McCann campaign - Professional media management may have generated coverage of Maddy’s disappearance, but it hasn’t helped with public sympathy for the family”
“Try as they might neither Clarence Mitchell nor Justine McGuinness could quite shake off the sense that the way they’ve managed this case might have contributed to some negative public sentiment towards the family. In place initially as what Mitchell described as “a buffer” between the shocked and distraught parents and the world’s media, hungry for news about Madeleine, it’s clear that what developed was a professional media management operation. With city PR firm Bell Pottinger on hand - primarily, we can assume, to defend the interests of their clients Mark Warner Holidays - as well as Justine and, latterly, Clarence with all their experience of Westminster spin, the McCanns could not have wanted for more professional advice. But as time went on media management itself - and once you’ve started feeding stories to the press to get control of the agenda, you really can’t stop - began generating negative reaction from other parties”
Madeleine McCann: Making news and sensation from grief
Posted: 1st, February 2008 | In: Madeleine McCann Comments (1,022) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink
Comments
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- Desperate Dan on The 14 Ten Most Offensive Google Search Results
February 1st, 2008 at 4:01 pm
582
Foxy Mulder Says:
February 1st, 2008 at 3:59 pm
Lone Pidgeon, ever heard of Google?
no, what’s google?
February 1st, 2008 at 4:00 pm
dcb - lol
February 1st, 2008 at 3:59 pm
#
577
just_me Says:
February 1st, 2008 at 3:55 pm
574 - Stevo, do you mind me asking you what did you ask BW&B?
++++++++++++++++
I hope it wasn’t for more than £500,000 - the fund is running low remember?
February 1st, 2008 at 3:57 pm
578
Sledgehammer Says:
February 1st, 2008 at 3:55 pm
Reporter, just seen your earlier posts, if any one here had the brains to know who and what the Crown Office is, they might be able to add 2+2 and get four.
I openly admit i’m not well educated. Can you spell it out for me so that I can make my own mind up ? Please?
February 1st, 2008 at 3:56 pm
578
Sledgehammer Says:
February 1st, 2008 at 3:55 pm
Reporter, just seen your earlier posts, if any one here had the brains to know who and what the Crown Office is, they might be able to add 2+2 and get four.
why are you talking to yourself or your little friend Garth?
February 1st, 2008 at 3:55 pm
562 Stevo
Has anyone got the reference to the report that BP were working for MW. Can’t recall it being reported that BP were sent out to help the MCs. Thanks.
February 1st, 2008 at 3:55 pm
Reporter, just seen your earlier posts, if any one here had the brains to know who and what the Crown Office is, they might be able to add 2+2 and get four.
February 1st, 2008 at 3:55 pm
574 - Stevo, do you mind me asking you what did you ask BW&B?
February 1st, 2008 at 3:54 pm
569
Sledgehammer Says:
February 1st, 2008 at 3:51 pm
Rockhopper, hopefully as long as the suspicious death non link.
——————————————————-
FFS even you must accept that Maddie’s disapearance and probable demise is suspicious.
February 1st, 2008 at 3:53 pm
Ian,
I see that you are no friend of the dogs of war - have you no sense of history or adventure.
Not sure I should say too much about the lines of enquiry that I pursued on holiday - sub judice and all of that what what hey hey
February 1st, 2008 at 3:52 pm
BINGO! Got an email reply from Bates Wells. Here it is unedited:
Dear Sirs
Thank you for your emails of 21st and 22nd January 2008.
Bates Wells & Braithwaite has a duty of confidentiality to all of its clients.
We are not instructed to respond to enquiries in relation to Madeleine’s Fund. However as registered office for the Fund we have forwarded your emails to Madeleine’s Fund.
Any further enquiries can also be emailed to the Fund at mail@bringmadeleinehome.com.
Yours faithfully
Bates Wells & Braithwaite London LLP
February 1st, 2008 at 3:51 pm
Rockhopper, hopefully as long as the suspicious death non link.
February 1st, 2008 at 3:50 pm
560
Sledgehammer Says:
February 1st, 2008 at 3:42 pm
I am happy to disappoint you once again LP, I can’t be in two places at the same time, btw the fishing was very productive……
Was you bleak bashing?
February 1st, 2008 at 3:48 pm
547
JuneJohnson Says:
February 1st, 2008 at 3:28 pm
Mods and Admin
REPORTER
When anyone makes a claim here to something factual , they always include a link. If our ‘papers’ are full of it , then it should have made the internet with the online versions, so a link if you please.
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How long has he got left to provide a link proving it’s ‘being touted all over the wires’?
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Mods and Admin
His next posting, otherwise he gets a Yellow card
February 1st, 2008 at 3:48 pm
563
Shrek the Third Says:
February 1st, 2008 at 3:46 pm
+++++++++++++++++++++++
I got a passport for my 9 month old daughter today - it has a biometric chip with an antenna!!!!!
February 1st, 2008 at 3:48 pm
554 slyfox
If you were testing out a new drug i would have thought that you would need a higher number of test subjects to make it scientifically valid.
February 1st, 2008 at 3:46 pm
557 Jez Says:
February 1st, 2008 at 3:39 pm
533 Stevo
Surely it was reported that BP were working for MW – not sent out to help the MCs. Or am I mistaken?
Whatever the case, who would be picking up their very large tab.
_______________________
BP clients pay millions each year for their services.
Lord Bell/Michael Caplan QC, it’s inconceivable that they don’t know each other. Both are or have given service to the McCanns.
This is big league and a true connection - not guesswork.
February 1st, 2008 at 3:44 pm
554 slyfox Says:
February 1st, 2008 at 3:38 pm
532 stevo Don’t know if you saw my very early post at 1am this morning but thanks for the posting links advice.
_________________
You’re welcome….hope you understood it!
Yes, your theory sounds very plausible. To recap then, essentially you’re wondering if the T9 were part of a “group” who tested drugs on their own children as part of some legitimate experiment? This “experiment” was something that bound them together in a pact of silence and some side-effects…vomiting etc. were noticed.
The pharm company came to do the disposal…hence “they’ve taken her” but they are bound by this pact of silence although you’re saying “what if that’s not the real reason for M’s demise?”
Sure…excellent theory. Explains a lot of what we’re seeing.
February 1st, 2008 at 3:42 pm
I am happy to disappoint you once again LP, I can’t be in two places at the same time, btw the fishing was very productive……
February 1st, 2008 at 3:40 pm
552 REPORTER
Protect, meaning ‘not got any’ sources?
February 1st, 2008 at 3:39 pm
533 Stevo
Surely it was reported that BP were working for MW – not sent out to help the MCs. Or am I mistaken?
Whatever the case, who would be picking up their very large tab.
February 1st, 2008 at 3:39 pm
Sorry, bad editing there.
Off to hoover.
February 1st, 2008 at 3:39 pm
Bell Pottinger on Blogs like this one:
Mapping on-line conversations
Recently the PR industry has woken up to the threat (or is it an opportunity?) that bloggers, social media and all the other on-line media represent. Many a conference is held on this topic with a growing realisation that “the audience” has become part of the Media and is very much part of “the conversation”. PR experts agree that “something must be done” but with literally millions of bloggers out there, where to start?
Despite “the web” being a very large place, we have found that it can be mapped and understood. Thus we have created “webmaps” where the key on-line voices are found and shown us where to go to listen to the most important conversations. Using our proprietary “webmapping” software we have sifted through the on-line chatter, and helped clients such as Sony PlayStation, 02, the Arts Council and the Labour Party understand who really matters to them. (and Team Mccann)
Equipped with objective, insightful maps about the influential websites and on-line voices, our clients are now finding the on-line world to consist of threats that can be managed, but most of all full of new relationships to be forged.
To find out more about how we can help manage this complex issue, please contact Jon Leach , Planning Director of the Bell Pottinger Group.
February 1st, 2008 at 3:38 pm
532 stevo Don’t know if you saw my very early post at 1am this morning but thanks for the posting links advice.
The Bell Pottinger connections you have come up with are very very interesting.
It got me thinking…always a dubious activity and I’ll try to keep this brief. BUT!
GM strikes me as a pretty ruthless and ambitious character and I think he’s probably very good at manipulation and thinking on his feet.
With that in mind he could have concocted plan to tie in pharmaceutical interests with the death of his daughter.
Could he have claimed her death was due to a widely used child (or in test phase) sedative drug, - hence OB saying his child was vomiting - told pharmeceutical contacts. This could be disastrous PR. So all out action plan for cover up hence high level support from pottinger etc.
When in fact m died on 2nd either by G or K losing it, and not by the sedative.
So other Tapas roped in because of poss child neglect/sedation, and drug company through adverse reaction.
I know, I know, but I think he’s quite capable of pulling out all the stops to save his ass.
Except M actually died on 2nd
when she actually died on
February 1st, 2008 at 3:38 pm
548 Harry Hind
Who cares? I doubt he pays taxes like so many ex-pats, vote for our government and come back when they need help - shouldnt interefer in other countries if they dont want to pay the price.
So why do you say the human rights record in Portugal is bad, can direct us to the statistices to prove that statement?
February 1st, 2008 at 3:37 pm
547 I never stated it was in any paper, we learned the lesson of protecring our sources from the MF debacle.
————–
Mods and Admin
If you aren’t prepared to reveal your news or its source, then refrain from commenting on it otherwise you will be viewed as a Troll and treated as such
Or as our American friends would say ‘pi55 or get off the pot’
February 1st, 2008 at 3:33 pm
548
Harry Hind
Harry! So did you go to Chaplins?
February 1st, 2008 at 3:32 pm
525
Sledgehammer
11:30? In what country then?
Why so pleased that the parents who failed might escape justice, seems a little unfair on the child they misplaced doesnt it?
February 1st, 2008 at 3:31 pm
REPORTER
Is that ed - Ed Gein?
February 1st, 2008 at 3:31 pm
Nothing to report from PDL chaps and chapettes.
But I do think that we should all spare a thought from a fellow countryman in serious trouble.
I refer of course to the worrying news that Simon Mann, ex-SAS officer and father of 7, has been extradited from Zimbabwe to Equatorial Guinea to face coup plot charges - Equatorial Guinea has a poor human rights record to say the least: worse than Portugal what what
This officer and gentleman could well die in prison.