Madeleine McCann: What Shannon Matthews Is Worth, Asda And PR
MADDYWATCH - Anorak’s at-a-glance guide to press coverage of Madeleine McCann and Shannon Matthews
THE SUN: “£20k reward in Shannon hunt”
THE Sun yesterday offered a £20,000 reward to find missing “little princess” Shannon Matthews.
Good on the paper. But does a reward help? Has it helped Madeleine Mccann? And why £20,000 when Madeleine McCann garnered so much more? Is a reward index linked to the missing child’s age? Or is it because Shannon’s parents are not middle-class - not doctors - and smaller amounts mean more to them?
We also printed posters urging our vast army of readers to help in the hunt for the nine-year-old schoolgirl. And last night her anguished mum Karen, 32, said: “I’m so grateful for all you are doing. It’s a fantastic gesture and means so much to us. We just hope it brings her back.”
Then, hugging Shannon’s stepdad Craig Meehan, 22, she added: “Our message to people is never give up . . . because we won’t until we find her.”
THE TIMES: “Poor little Shannon Matthews. Too poor for us to care that she is lost?”
“Her family may seem feckless. Neighbours can’t afford to run a PR campaign. How the public spotlight faded on missing girl.”
Shannon..?
Sarah Payne, smiling in her school uniform; Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, in their Manchester United shirts; Madeleine McCann, staring inquisitively with her distinctive bleeding iris . . .The names and faces of these girls who have disappeared are etched into the public’s collective memory.
Camera crews camped out in their home towns for weeks or months. Donations totalled thousands — even millions — of pounds. Members of the public, many of them strangers, came in their hundreds to offer help and prayers for their safe return.
Yet the trauma and mystery surrounding the disappearance of one nine-year-old girl almost two weeks ago appeared to drift from public consciousness within days…
She’s not Madeleine McCann. No doctors. No logo. No Maddy Catty. No watching the parents. The media treatment is no fault of the McCanns. But are we bored of missing children stories. Have the press caught Maddy fatigue?
Contrast the media-savvy McCann campaign with the brave efforts of Petra Jamieson, 30, a friend of Shannon’s mother, who managed to persuade her local branch of Asda to donate 24 white T-shirts on which the girl’s photograph had been printed.
What happened to Shannon Matthews? Who can we blame? The parents?
A deprived background, a dysfunctional family and a down-on-its-luck Yorkshire mill town: none of this is Shannon Matthews’s fault, yet it seems that she is paying the price.
No holiday scene. No excuse for hacks to go to hotter climes. Yorkshire in winter. Grey. Grim.
GLASGOW DAILY RECORD: “Mother’s Day Wish”
THE distraught mum of missing schoolgirl Shannon Matthews last night cried: “All I want for Mother’s Day is my princess back.”
DAILY MIRROR: “ALL I WANT FOR MOTHER’S DAY IS MY PRINCESS BACK”
Shannon Matthews’ desperate mother last night movingly declared: “All I want for Mother’s Day is my princess back.”As police continued searching thousands of homes for the missing nine-year-old schoolgirl, mum Karen, 32, said: “It is a special family day and we would all spend it together.
“Shannon would usually buy me a present or make me something at school.”
Stepfather Craig Meehan, 22, added: “It is going to be a heartbreaking Mother’s Day.”
LIVERPOOL ECHO: “Where’s media cry for poor Shannon?”
HOW disturbing that 10 days after Shannon Matthews disappeared, we still know so little about her. Her favourite band? The school she attends? The name of her best friend? All details that should be on our lips but aren’t.
But we do know her favourite song.
Somehow the vanishing of this little girl with her pony tail and fringe has failed to capture the media’s imagination; a story regularly consigned to the inside pages.
Why? Why do some cases attract saturation coverage and others don’t? I suspect it’s down to image, which stands for everything, and the skill now needed to work the notoriously fickle media.
Madeleine McCann’s parents have been criticised for employing a professional PR and for playing the media game, providing photo opportunities and press calls. But it’s paid dividends. The world now knows their daughter’s name and what she looks like.
Shannon’s mum can be no less distraught than Kate, but whether she has the support or the finance to get a media campaign on the road is doubtful.
But at the end of the day there is a little girl out alone in a harsh, cold world. And we should all be working together to get her home.
What part does the media play in finding a missing child? Don’t we have the police to search for Shannon and crack the case?
THE OBSERVER (Blog): “Speaker gets new spin doctor”
A Whitehall spin doctor who was a spokeswoman for Madeleine McCann’s parents has been hired to help the Commons Speaker, Michael Martin, deal with the media, it was announced today.
Not Campbell?
Sheree Dodd is an experienced communications expert who worked for John Prescott at the time it was revealed he was having an affair with his diary secretary.
Just another job…
Madeleine McCann- The PR Storm
Posted: 1st, March 2008 | In: Madeleine McCann, Tabloids Comments (798) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink
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March 1st, 2008 at 1:18 pm
141 matt
I for one, will want my donation back, plus interest!
March 1st, 2008 at 1:17 pm
138…Dee
If it is proved that they knowingly allowed the donations to continue
whilst being aware/responsible for Madeleine’s fate….there will be a
Legal Jamboree instigated….from all over the world. IMO.
March 1st, 2008 at 1:15 pm
115 jo Says:
“I wonder if Eddies is going to be quizzed as well?
”
Maybe he will also change his statement?
March 1st, 2008 at 1:12 pm
136 gandolf
So spank me
Seriously though, why has Shannon diasappeared from the news, is it because her mum is not in the same wage bracket as the mcconns?
Wonder if they will fly eddie over to have a sniff round, trouble is, word on the street is that he is not reliable enough
March 1st, 2008 at 1:12 pm
122
Matt. Says:
____
That’s a good point, if they do get found guilty of something, will they also stand charges of fraud and deception, will they be responsible for giving people their money back or will the donators have a case for getting their money back?
March 1st, 2008 at 1:09 pm
112
Marie Nicholas Says:
____
117
Matt. Says:
____
Thanks you two for answering my question
March 1st, 2008 at 1:07 pm
pppy, what a grass.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25nQbJhF5FA
March 1st, 2008 at 1:06 pm
90 Bountyhunter
When did you get back! We had a fun time meeting your wife while you were away. Did she tell you all about her rants.
I was on the floor PMSL when I read them.
Shes a card!
March 1st, 2008 at 1:00 pm
Lemme tell ya, you aint seen nothin yet!!!!!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRELWOvsafg
March 1st, 2008 at 12:50 pm
131…Marie Nicholas
Didn’t mean it in that sense, M N.
More like, wait for the cat fight when things get hot.
March 1st, 2008 at 12:46 pm
131
I’ll rephrase it : I do blame not putting the children’s security needs first.
March 1st, 2008 at 12:44 pm
128 Matt
Charity begins at home…
I don’t blame them for taking care of their own interests, but not when it comes to ignoring the babies’ security needs.
March 1st, 2008 at 12:42 pm
126 Dawn
“Didn’t Branson stump up some money for their legal fees”
At the time, I thought he was doing it to help, maybe, but also for publicity, as it was widely advertised. Not more expensive to him than an advertising campaign. Yet, did he give the money from his pocket or from his business? I should think it is his own money.
I think money given for charity doesn’t count in your income as regards taxpaying. It certainly cost him some, but was good investment too in terms of business management.
March 1st, 2008 at 12:38 pm
126…Dawn
For the McCann’s, yes.
March 1st, 2008 at 12:37 pm
125…Marie Nicholas
Well….let’s put it this way….the McCann’s will always look after
No 1 first.
March 1st, 2008 at 12:36 pm
>>>>>>>>>>>gone for the weekend
March 1st, 2008 at 12:36 pm
125
Didn’t Branson stump up some money for their legal fees
March 1st, 2008 at 12:34 pm
113 Matt
I hope, for their sake, they all have different lawyers ! They would be stupid not to, even if it makes it very expensive for them.
Who is paying for their lawyer’s fees is very important according to me. Lawyers obviously work first and foremost for whom pays them. That’s why I am intrigued by the business bosses’s generosity, and though I don’t believe much in hidden agendas from big companies, I am interested in Stevo’s findings.
March 1st, 2008 at 12:33 pm
121…jo
Rest well, jo.
Take care.
March 1st, 2008 at 12:33 pm
115/Jo
That must be right. The MOD didn’t sell ringside seats for Prince Harry’s tour of duty in Afganistan, so I can’t see the PJ publicising the T9 interviews as they are going on.
Maybe some interviews have happened already.
March 1st, 2008 at 12:33 pm
109…Dee
Esther McVey, (before she jumped the sinking ship), when asked
by an irate contributer “How can I claim my money back ?”…..gave
the non too reassuring reply,…..”Er,….I don’t know”.
March 1st, 2008 at 12:32 pm
Bye for now.
Must go and have a rest
March 1st, 2008 at 12:31 pm
119
Matt
¡ Oleeeee!
Do you think so???
That would serve him right….
March 1st, 2008 at 12:29 pm
111…jo
He may yet face charges.
March 1st, 2008 at 12:29 pm
114
Dawn
well….they are in for more disappointements than they possibly can think of
March 1st, 2008 at 12:27 pm
112…Marie Nicholas
That was clussoe…(spelling may be a tad out)….was not at all impressed.
March 1st, 2008 at 12:27 pm
111 Jo
I have a feeling that ComicPinkie is very satisfied with the quality of his own contribution, whatever the outcome of the case. He would be the type to be, as long as it got him some fame.
March 1st, 2008 at 12:27 pm
110
Marie Nicholas
They want to change their declarations…it was in the air in november if I recall .Lots of things are going to be “changed” ya will see.
I believe that news will be released after the mcLiars are quizzed as well.
Anything released before could jeopardise the whole thinggy and surely the PJ wont take any risk….
I wonder if Eddies is going to be quizzed as well?
March 1st, 2008 at 12:26 pm
” A reported sighting of Madeleine McCann in southern France has been ruled out by police there.
Gerry McCann has revealed that the young girl seen by a Dutch tourist in Montpellier last month was not his missing daughter.
He’s described the development as disappointing.”
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/breaking-news/world/europe/article3480233.ece
March 1st, 2008 at 12:25 pm
110…Marie Nicholas
I wonder how the unnamed “spokesman” felt he was qualified to
say “They’ve got nothing to hide”. ?
Clarrie is the McCann’s spokesclot….and although he may feel that he
is also the other’s spokesclot…it may not be quite like that.
I would imagine that each would have different Legal Representatives.
So who is this character who is “speaking” for them ?