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
Comments
March 1st, 2008 at 10:04 am
Val, now why would the Leics plod have a letter that was sent to the home office,allegedly, some one is telling porkies, more than likely 24Horas.
March 1st, 2008 at 10:02 am
72 Ade
Ah, but it”s the prestige that goes with it.
I”m rather scared to mention it because posters took the p… out of me the last
time, but I did actually meet someone who had met Gerry at conferences and
he is very well regarded in his field, and quite likeable.
He is obviously ambitious and one wonders why they had the IVF treatment
so close after Madeleine to produce the twins.
March 1st, 2008 at 10:02 am
78 irish girl spain
age is but a number
i count backwards for birthdays
see ya later
March 1st, 2008 at 10:00 am
see yas later folks
garageband awaits…
have fun fun fun
March 1st, 2008 at 9:59 am
60
âde Says:
March 1st, 2008 at 9:20 am
that should be 45 irish girl
========
hope your not referring to my age
have a great day/weekend - i’m off now to make some sardine butties and
have the craic with the swarthy geezers. (i’ve taught them to say feck, shag and
bejazus)….so far
see you monday
March 1st, 2008 at 9:57 am
74 Gandolf
aha mr emmanuel
that’s an om (orchestra model) body instrument like my posh (hand-made) one
based on a martin model
mine’s got no scratch plate so the top can vibrate better
i’ll get me coat
March 1st, 2008 at 9:56 am
62 Gandolf Says
Just watched the report, more or less confirms what we know.. the last sentence
on the rogoratory letters “JT, DP and RO according to their Lawyers, will be
changing their Statements” That”s interesting news IMO
March 1st, 2008 at 9:53 am
Morning everyone,
66
val Says:
March 1st, 2008 at 9:29 am
____
This is along the lines of what i think has happened too Val.
March 1st, 2008 at 9:51 am
I jest love ma geeetar.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-ylrDwCQj4
March 1st, 2008 at 9:45 am
68 val
strumming?
moi?
i do fingerpicking - on steel strings, not classical guitar
actually i do strum a bit too
March 1st, 2008 at 9:43 am
66 val
i pretty much agree with your analysis.
actually a 6-figure research grant is not that big
especially if it’s 100,000 pounds
gets you a research assistant for 2 years a bit of equipment and some travel money
eu research contracts are 7 or 8 figures
looks he’s basically a puffed-up loser in everything
what fun
March 1st, 2008 at 9:42 am
Aardvarko, you’re definitely on the wrong track. Can I bet my last cent that Gandy is NOT sledgehammer?
Anyway, gotta run tooooo, be back later to see if I can confirm my suspicions
Bye Gandy
March 1st, 2008 at 9:42 am
Just thought I would post to you as Gandalf, Aardvarko, as you appear to be unable to spell my name properly, and I will be the judge of how it is spelt.
March 1st, 2008 at 9:39 am
Aardvarko, that would be Knockhill that is 47.4 mls from Parkhead (Celtic Park), 53mls from Glasgow, 28.1MLS from Strathallan Castle and 4 days from Melbourne your point being.
March 1st, 2008 at 9:37 am
63 Ade
Thanks for that, still don”t know how I was supposed to get that info from the
Sapo site if all I could get was a Foreign language, but no matter, now I know the gist of it.
Good strumming, my ex played Spanish guitar and tried to teach me a few chords. Needless to say I wanted to play like Segovia straight away when I
couldn”t even stretch my fingers to make a note……so I gave up!!!!!!!!!
March 1st, 2008 at 9:36 am
I need to go out now, but I will be checking back to see if Gandy has answered my post no 65. Long term posters will know what I was getting at.
March 1st, 2008 at 9:29 am
52 Hannasus
I think I mentioned here some weeks ago a conversation I had with a Detective, whose friend is / was involved in the Madeleine case and APPARENTLY the
McCanns are “heavily involved”.
My scenario at this stage would be that Madeleine was accidentally killed by Kate, who admitted in her Diary that M was a handful. A quick decision was made to conceal the body because of their professions and Gerry having just won
a 6 figure Grant to do research.
When they received so much support from “people in high places” and the PR
machine swung into action, the McCanns had to go along with it and eventually
started to enjoy the attention and fame, to the extent that they are “believing”
their innocence, if you like.
All sheer speculation of course, probably nothing like that!!!!!!
March 1st, 2008 at 9:26 am
Gandalf - would that be the Knockhill which is 17 miles from Strathallan, by any chance?
March 1st, 2008 at 9:26 am
Aaaaaaaaaaaargh GANDY! Suppose I’m not going to get a yes or a no, but I have my deepest, darkest suspicions …….
March 1st, 2008 at 9:25 am
48 val
mornin’ to you too
i’m much better today thanks
doom after-effects all gone - work day today, lots of practising me geetaar
stevos video was intended to show the high level of activity (including fingerprint dusting) that went on on the 4th - contrary to what the mctrolls said about the pj
i noticed gerrykins was wearing a watch - which he seems to do in most of the videos.
of course none of them wear a a watch in the tapas bar
March 1st, 2008 at 9:24 am
Try this.
http://joana-morais.blogspot.com/2008/02/taxi-driver-story-and-rogatory-letter.html
March 1st, 2008 at 9:22 am
Julie, about you being dizzy ?
But this is certainly making me dizzy, according to this the taxi driver has never been interviewed. might need to post another link.
javascript:updatePost(3);
March 1st, 2008 at 9:20 am
that should be 45 irish girl
March 1st, 2008 at 9:19 am
44 irish girl
hello there and top o’te mornin’ t’ya too
if there’s white bits involved i’ll come over myself
as you can see i’m fine and i hope you are too
it’s actually sunny in devon today
i’m not around here much today - things to do
i have to learn 5 hard tunes for tomorrow’s session and some recording
otherwise tomorrow will just be another doom bar day
so garageband will win over anorak, i fear
March 1st, 2008 at 9:12 am
Gandy, I’m not talking about the LA law one, and you know it!
Answer the question, am I right or totally on the wrong track
March 1st, 2008 at 9:10 am
55 - lol be careful!
March 1st, 2008 at 9:09 am
Julie, I know, LA Law gets me that way to, but that Jill Eikenberry is one classy dame.
March 1st, 2008 at 9:09 am
45
just_me Says:
March 1st, 2008 at 8:53 am
Hi Irish/g/s - Im fantastic thank you. My friend gave birth last night so off to buy some baby bits today. Im so going to get broody lol
=======
)
awwww.
i was god-mum to my niece’s babby a couple weeks back.
Tears and laughter
enjoy shopping.
(have a rake of swarthy Spanish types here today, fixing my pool,
may see you later if i haven’t been abducted…
March 1st, 2008 at 9:05 am
There is no doubt at all in my mind that those who shout loudest that there is no conspiracy are those who support the McCanns as innocent of wrong doing.
We now have the undeniable visible proof that the media is indeed manipulated by the establishment (the Prince Harry affair). We know that the secrecy wrapped around the McCanns and their pals is real (not one person coming forward to tell us waht they were like as kids etc - the Sun using the word ’slur’ when talking about police suspicions).
We also have another child of lower class missing and for some reason a relatively minute - I’d say insullting when compared with the doctors daughter - reward. Apparently lower because it means more to the less well off parents? Ridiculous - is it the parents a reward should be aimed at? Of course not!
The political defence - the (admittadly flawed due to not being democratically elected) Prime Ministerial involvement, the connection with drug companies (was this a freebie for the doctors?) the incredible blindness to racist press comments…all feed more extremem conspiracy theories and allow people like Garth and the other one to tar any logical thoughts as ‘conspiracy theory’.
It actually does all boil down to a vital few facts, as the Pro-Mccanners like to tell us, except they then miss out one or two facts from their list!
The facts
Madeleine McCann is missing.
Her parents failed in their duty of care.
March 1st, 2008 at 9:02 am
OMG Gandy, do 2+2=4, you are who I think you are??????
BTW that video made me feel sick