Madeleine McCann: Prayers, Bones And Media
MADDYWATCH - Anorak’s at-a-glance guide to press coverage of Madeleine McCann
Remember, everyone, to play Anorak Bingo you must mention Madeleine McCann, Shannon Matthews and – here’s the tie-breaker – Scarlett Keeling. Eyes down…
DAILY MAIL: Amanda Platell
There cannot be a person in the country who didn’t feel a surge of delight on learning that little Shannon Matthews has been found alive and well.
We can think of one.
All the more so in these days when good news has become such a rare commodity. Yet even as we celebrate, we should spare a thought for Gerry and Kate McCann, for whom Shannon’s discovery, wonderful as it is, will be a fresh reminder of their own terrible loss. The return of one lost girl is a marvel. The return of two . . . now that’s a miracle worth praying for.
Was it the power of prayer that got Shannon Matthews found? If so, who gets the reward?
Tick. Tick.
THE INDEPENDENT: “Deborah Orr: Wonderful news that carries a message for the media”
It isn’t often that the papers have some really wonderful news to report. But it really is wonderful that Shannon Matthews has been found alive.
Amanda Platell agrees.
This amazing news also carries a lesson for the media, about the way it turns horrible crimes into great stories, and what an unpleasant, self-regarding business this can be.
There were suggestions that Shannon’s disappearance was not getting the coverage afforded to another lost child, Madeleine McCann, because the latter was a middle-class child and the former a child from a more modest and chaotic background. There is some truth in this argument, of course.
You can read about it all over the media.
But the underlying assumption is that all the publicity around the McCann case is something desirable and useful, while the more meagre reporting about the Matthew case is undesirable and useless. If children really could be reunited with their parents because of the magical power of speculative column inches, though, then Madeleine, not Shannon, would have been returned to her family by now. The very idea that the hypocritical furore around Madeleine is something to be aspired to, a benchmark of any positive kind, is quite wrong and ought to be challenged.
The McCanns should not be the media’s benchmark for missing children. We’ve heard that before…
True, the “debate” helped to keep Shannon’s abduction in the public domain, just as the “debate” around Made-leine continues to keep her case in the public domain.
A debate. On what? What was being debated?
It might be argued that there would have been no great endeavour to find Shannon had the press not made the supposedly modest fuss it did.
MEdia.
I believe this isn’t the case. The local media has a vast part to play, but the national and international press, apart from reporting facts about the investigation, can offer little but intrusive “colour”. The reality is that the vast majority of the “stories” written about the McCann case have been prurient and sensational pieces of cynical propaganda, serving no practical purpose at all except for the selling of newspapers.
Indeed. Read all about selling papers in the Independent.
Tick. Tick.
IRISH INDEPENDENT: “Divers recover bag of small bones in search for Maddy”
DIVERS searching an Algarve reservoir for Madeleine McCann yesterday found a plastic bag containing small bones. Police experts were last night examining the gruesome find made by a frogman working for a Portuguese lawyer.
Gerry and Kate McCann were informed immediately by a private detective who was observing the search. Madeira-based lawyer Marcos Aragao Correia says he was tipped off by underworld contacts that Madeleine was murdered and her body thrown into the reservoir last May.The search turned up the bones in the murky waters of the Barragem do Arabe reservoir yesterday at 3.30pm.
Mr Correia said last night: “We found two bags one of which contains some small bones. We don’t know if they are human bones or not at this stage. If they are human bones, they look like they come from a child’s fingers.”
Tick. And a half tick for speculation.
THIS IS LONDON: “Bag of small bones found in reservoir where lawyer claims Madeleine McCann’s body was dumped”
Says Clarence Mitchell: “We have not been informed of anything by the police to indicate that this find is significant. There is nothing to indicate at this stage that they are human bones and they could easily be from an animal. There is nothing at the moment to indicate that this find has anything to do with Madeleine. We continue to believe she is alive.”
THE SUN: “Shannon: 24 days of tears”
IN the end, the prayers were answered – as yesterday the tears of anguish over missing Shannon Matthews turned to sobs of relief.
Prayers. What of the tip off? The police work?
TIMELINE:
Sunday, February 24: CHURCHGOERS pray for Shannon’s safe return. Madeleine McCann’s parents send a message of support.
Tick. Tick.
THE GUARDIAN: “What women want”
Following last year’s Booker win, Anne Enright is finally enjoying wider recognition - despite her work’s reputation for being gloomy and obsessed with sex and death
She became the target of ire in the tabloids when they picked up an article she wrote in the London Review of Books dissecting her reaction to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann. The piece was full of ambivalence, describing her suspicions of Gerry and Kate McCann but in the end condemning her own voyeurism. She refuses to say whether the fracas upset her, but seems sensibly resigned, agreeing that events proved how she was naive to think her nuances would be understood in the grotesque guessing game that the story had become: “I was misread and I hoped that would become apparent, but there’s no point in me stomping around and fighting with shadows.”
Posted: 15th, March 2008 | In: Broadsheets, Madeleine McCann, Tabloids Comments (621) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink
Comments
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March 16th, 2008 at 1:30 am
Firestar.
I’m sorry you made Daisy’s post look like mine by including her use of my name at the beginning there.
However, I think you’re right and Daisy is wrong.
March 16th, 2008 at 1:29 am
SpongeBobbitt
What makes you think I’d wear one? I’m the generation of bra burners.
Yes, I admit I didn’t know the meaning of ‘fud’ but I was in on the conversation the other night, so I do now.
Up yours, too.
March 16th, 2008 at 1:27 am
The Dead speak from beyond the grave - so say the Forensic Department.
March 16th, 2008 at 1:27 am
Annie 123
The reason I am suspicious of the McCanns is the speed with which they departed Portugal and within 24 hours hired top Lawyers, when they were”nt charged.
Also the level of high profile support is puzzling, Gerry is/was an active Labour supporter, even raising funds I believe, but surely not enough to have their own PR, use of private jets etc? Makes you think.
March 16th, 2008 at 1:26 am
Val
529
The title you’re looking for is ‘End of the Line’.
Gandalf (sic) is not a Cornish mystic. He is totally fictional, the invention of JRR Tolkien.
Dunno what Gandolf is. He says he’s Scottish.
March 16th, 2008 at 1:25 am
Denzylle, okay, last post before I go. I understand that nails can give clues about drugs as well, in particular because they keep growing after death and they are not being cut by someone to eliminate clues
————
this is bollocks.
all that happens is the skin shrinks, giving hair and nails the appearance of having grown.
if forensics interests you so much, maybe you should read something about it.
March 16th, 2008 at 1:22 am
523
Denzylle
Goodnight - Take off that big bra and get in there girl. In Scotland, as discussed the other night, it’s known as a fud. …just to add to your vocab/games for the evening
March 16th, 2008 at 1:19 am
524 Gandolf
Nice one, can you find “Well it”s alright” the Travelling Wilberries, nice foot-tapper!
Since you name yourself after a Cornish Mystic, can I assume you live in Cornwall ?
March 16th, 2008 at 1:17 am
525
I’m off to my bed so I’ll check back tomorrow.
Yes, nails do show evidence of drugs, but do they keep on growing after death??
How? Nothing else continues. Blood flow stops at the moment of death. Hair doesn’t continue to grow, so why should nails?
And, if that’s so, why don’t we see old corpses with long toe- and finger-nails?
I’m really not sure about that.
March 16th, 2008 at 1:16 am
510
val Says:
I totally agree with you, all we can do is speculate on the information we have through the tv rather than the press.
ALL avenues are open until proven otherwise. The only people with the evidence or any evidence is the pj’s. And I do think they have had a very difficult job given the political intervention and media surrounding the Mc’s.
All any of us know as truth, Maddie was reported missing shortly after 10pm on 3rd May 2007. She may have disappeared before this time/day, we do not know.
The parents have been inconsistant in their reports of that day, how can anyone think straight when their child has disappeared? Every photo of KM shows her wearing a watch, so timings may not really be an issue?!!? I don’t wear a watch on a daily basis, my partner ‘collects’ clocks so several in every room. Popping down to the shops does not constitute me wearing a watch, 3 yr old keeps playing with it if I wear it, pressing the button to see the light, it’s a Baby G. I wear it on long journeys only.
Back to subject. Personally, I think the parents are involved. It is unusual for stranger abduction but not unheard of. During the summer holidays here in the UK, there are recorded cases of strangers attempting to abduct kids from holiday caravans by trying to snatch them through open windows. IF the parents are innocent, I would be surprised and the first to appologise. YES, they are guilty of child neglect BUT lets not confuse this with abduction/murder/accidental death.
March 16th, 2008 at 1:13 am
523
Ian, you might not agree, having one yourself, but much more entertaining than trying to get him done for boring old copyright issues.
March 16th, 2008 at 1:12 am
520
Denzylle Says:
March 16th, 2008 at 1:05 am
—
Denzylle, okay, last post before I go. I understand that nails can give clues about drugs as well, in particular because they keep growing after death and they are not being cut by someone to eliminate clues.
Got to go. Good Night everybody!!
March 16th, 2008 at 1:10 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmwzEhwScug
March 16th, 2008 at 1:09 am
Some good discussions this evening - plus the castration of SpongeBobbitt, always fun.
Nite nite all.
March 16th, 2008 at 1:08 am
517
SpongeBob Says:
March 16th, 2008 at 1:03 am
—-
SpongeBob, yes, if there is enough evidence to prosecute someone, so they should be. I want to read about the evidence the PJ have before passing my judgement.
March 16th, 2008 at 1:07 am
518 Daisy
“G”day”, hope to speak to you again.
March 16th, 2008 at 1:05 am
Daisy
514
Forensics interests me, too.
Have you read about body farms?
But if, as you suggest, this particular body (if there is one) yielded no marks at all, then the likelihood is that the cause of death was drugs, in which case there would be even less evidence after ten months. If the hair and internal organs were gone (as they would be after ten months), no evidence of a one off or short term drug use would remain.
March 16th, 2008 at 1:05 am
515 Annie 123
didn”t JT” s partner go and check on their child after being told by JT that she was sick?
Apparently, he never saw the open shutter either.
The Staff I believe at the Tapas bar hold the key because they were sober and we don”t know how much the Tapas9 had drunk that night.Apparently, there are many
inconsistancies on timelines and hopefully, this is what the interviews will be able
to sort out.
March 16th, 2008 at 1:03 am
As it is Sunday morning already here and I have things to do, Good Night to all of you who are still here sleuthing.
March 16th, 2008 at 1:03 am
513
Daisy Says:
—
Cadaver scent, if it was really found, could be planted, as well as blood, etc. IMO that is why the parents insist the child is alive. ‘
Can’t say I agree with this conspiracy theory. If there is evidence, then there is evidence….if it’s enough to convict them, with supporting evidence, then that’s justice.
March 16th, 2008 at 1:01 am
515
annie123 Says:
March 16th, 2008 at 12:55 am
—-
Annie123, I have always been of the opinion that the timelines as we know them are not quite correct. Mostly, because they come from the T9 and I doubt that anybody who is on holidays checks their watches every few minutes. It is staged IMO, to fulffil a purpose, but I can’t quite pinpoint what that purpose is, i.e. not a cover up of an accidental death, but something else.
March 16th, 2008 at 12:55 am
499
val Says:
For a start, forget the JT egg man. WHY couldn’t an abduction have occured between 9-30pm and 10pm. My question comes about due to the statements of Oldfield/payne? the one who checked at 9-30pm and KM’s statement at 10pm.
The 9-30pm did not mention the bedroom door slamming shut because the bedroom window was open as KM stated at 10pm. Therefore, the window was opened after the 9-30pm check.
Had the abduction occured at 9-15pm as JT stated, she would have walked past the ‘open’ bedroom window at 9-15pm to get to her own flat. No mention of this, and wouldn’t she have thought it strange having stated on TV that it was a cold evening? So forget the JT statement regards abductor, that leaves my theory? If an abduction occured.
March 16th, 2008 at 12:55 am
512
Denzylle Says:
March 16th, 2008 at 12:48 am
—-
Denzylle, forensics is something that intrests me and bones can speak volume even after a long time under many different circumstances. But then again, this particular body (if there is one) could have no marks at all.
March 16th, 2008 at 12:51 am
510
val Says:
March 16th, 2008 at 12:47 am
—
Val, I agree with you that all we can do is speculate. I am more inclined to believe that this is a “staged abduction”, not an abduction by stranger. Cadaver scent, if it was really found, could be planted, as well as blood, etc. IMO that is why the parents insist the child is alive. But, it is just my hunch and I don’t know more than anybody else.
March 16th, 2008 at 12:48 am
Daisy
506
Yes, I can’t really fault the examples you have given but - after ten months? Much less so than if the bodies were ‘fresh’.
And even less so if the remains had been in water or in the earth or exposed where they would also have been worked on by weather, wildlife or insects.
March 16th, 2008 at 12:48 am
508
SpongeBob Says:
March 16th, 2008 at 12:46 am
507
Châtelaine
Well I did….
488
SpongeBob Says:
[...]
Ok I do apologise - honestly, I was having fun with your name..
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6245940.stm
she has got really nice new boobs though…
****
O.K., O.K.
Missed that.
No offense then.
Good night
March 16th, 2008 at 12:47 am
496 Daisy
As I just posted to annie 123, all we can do is speculate, I do not suggest I know any more than anyone else, but am inclined to believe the PJ view, that Madeleine was
killed accidentally. If she had been abducted with the worldwide publicity this
engendered, whoever took her would not want to keep her. There are also the
inconsistencies , door locked/unlocked, shutter forced open/ not so say Police,
Cuddlecat on shelf says Kate/ no shelf in bedroom. Oldfield says he saw twins but
could not see Madeleine/ not true, door opens in such a way Oldfield would have been
able to see Madeleine and twins. See what I mean?
March 16th, 2008 at 12:47 am
507
Châtelaine Says:
March 16th, 2008 at 12:43 am
—
SpongeBob did apologize further back, where he posted the link to the divorce photo.
March 16th, 2008 at 12:46 am
507
Châtelaine
Well I did….
488
SpongeBob Says:
March 16th, 2008 at 12:20 am
484
Châtelaine
Ok I do apologise - honestly, I was having fun with your name..
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6245940.stm
she has got really nice new boobs though…
March 16th, 2008 at 12:43 am
504
SpongeBob Says:
March 16th, 2008 at 12:41 am
502 - Châtelaine
Ah but you see it matters if the person is capable of getting the joke. You didn’t, so I apologised, then you brought it up again, knowing the joke, soo….
****
You apologised??? You must be right then, I do selective reading …