Reporting Shannon Matthews: The Guardian’s Masterclass
THE latest twist in the tale of alleged kidnap victim nine-year-old Yorkshire schoolgirl Shannon Matthews’s caused some media headaches. The arrest and subsequent charging of the child’s “stepfather” presented an interesting set of dilemmas for the printed and broadcast media.
First prize for correct legal niceties and coverage has to go to today’s Guardian which sums up the position in a masterly piece of reporting.
It is worth repeating. It is a brilliant summary of all which may be safely said:
The stepfather of Shannon Matthews, the nine-year-old schoolgirl who disappeared for 24 days, was last night charged with 10 counts of possessing child pornography.
Craig Meehan, 22, was arrested yesterday morning at the house in Dewsbury Moor, West Yorkshire, which he shares with Shannon’s mother, Karen Matthews, 32, and three of her seven children.
The supermarket fishmonger was driven away in an unmarked car and detectives later took boxes and bags from the redbrick semi and renewed a police guard which was lifted a week ago.
A West Yorkshire police spokesman said last night: “A 22-year-old man has been charged with 10 specimen offences of possession of indecent images of children.
“In relation to the welfare of the family’s children, it is being dealt with by social services. Police policy is we are not commenting on the welfare of the children.”
Karen Matthews was in the house as Meehan was taken in for questioning but later left with her children on a half-term day trip with other local families.
Shannon has not returned home since police discovered her in the drawer of a bed at a flat a mile from her home. The youngster has been in the care of social services since she was discovered at the flat in Batley Carr, on March 14.
Michael Donovan, a 39-year-old computer programmer from Dewsbury who is one of Meehan’s uncles, has been charged with abducting Shannon and holding her against her will. He faces trial at Leeds crown court on November 11.
Shannon is still being questioned by police and is being looked after by Kirklees council social services. No date has been set for her return to Dewsbury Moor, where residents had planned a party.
See? Not one word of speculation. Facts and nothing but the facts.
The Guardian story is by-lined Martin Wainwright and Sarah Knapton.
That shows the importance being shown to the correct way of doing things. Martin is the Guardian’s Northern Editor, based in Leeds, and Sarah is a freelance journalist on the Guardian.
She also works as a senior court reporter for Central News based at the Old Bailey and moved to London in 2005 from the North East where she was Chief District Reporter of the Newcastle Evening Chronicle. It is difficult to imagine two safer pairs of hands.
Plus! Vetting and approval by the Guardian sub-editors’ desk…one of the best in the business.
By - AGW
Posted: 3rd, April 2008 | In: Broadsheets, Twitterings Comments (12) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink
Comments
April 6th, 2008 at 3:25 am
I find the mother totally irresponsible, so many children to different fathers. Yes we can say pregnancies occur within a hopeless relationship, once maybe twice a woman could make that mistake but how many times for this woman?. How did she imagine a male of 22 would be mature and decent enough to take on a woman who had several children to different men. The thing is, in this situation the only people that suffer, turn out to be the children. What exactly has gone on with this poor little girl, and if she was so happy at home, as the mother and boyfriend both said on interview, why was she seen crying and upset before she was taken. Whatever, this child needs protection and needs to be taken into the care and environment that she has been lacking in her short life. Initially I thought she was kept hidden because they were trying to save her from abuse from the mother’s boyfriend, and hoped that was why they had taken her, and when they arrested him because of porn found on his computer I again thought that was the reason she was hidden away by the others, because she had been upset about something at home, and they were trying to protect her. It will all come out eventually, and thank god she was found alive.
April 5th, 2008 at 8:05 am
Mother in “safe” house. Best place for her at this time obviously. It is good new about the other children too. In other words the Mum and kids are fairly safe at the moment.
April 5th, 2008 at 7:39 am
The mother is at a “safe” house, the other kids in care.
April 5th, 2008 at 7:35 am
MODS AND ADMIN
Lyn,
Two more of her family have been arrested, no charges preferred as yet.
April 5th, 2008 at 6:37 am
Lets hope great care is taken with Shannon’s future. She is only 9 yrs old. I agree good quality foster care, preferably with her siblings. Oh what a mess. Quite an extended family by the sounds of it, and all needy. The welfare people are overloaded it seems and only when something tragic happens can the police get in. They have done a good job and two more of the extended family have been charged. Craig may have not been the only player in this and could easily have been used too.
April 5th, 2008 at 6:16 am
If Shannon is kept away from that environment, put in good quality foster care or whatever, there is no reason why she should not turn out OK…it does happen,and she doesn’t seem to be fretting about getting home too much, from what little we are told she seems quite happy but that may be because she is in “holiday mode” at the moment , she might think it is OK for now but maybe she might want to go back soon, especially now Craig has gone. The whole family needs taking in hand without which, Peter Mac may be right about the next generation, and the tragedy is, there are so many of them, not just Shannon’s family
April 4th, 2008 at 4:57 pm
4 lyn
” Shannon, IMO, is lucky to have been found alive, and now has a chance at life.”
I really wish I could agree.
But, she is an illigitimate child in a large and totally disfunctional ‘family’, intellectually, financially, and socially underprivileged, from a sink estate, and now in care and unable to see even her own mother except by arrangement. It is likely that she is also seriously emotinally and psycholigically damaged.
I just do not know what sort of chance she has of doing anything, except perpetuating the whole ghastly situation into the next generation.
April 4th, 2008 at 4:56 am
Lyn
Agreed. I think they’ll try and minimise any direct mention of Shannon and will (if they’re not innocent, of course) - try and charge them with as much as will get them an appropriate sentence (without going into details about the kids).
April 4th, 2008 at 2:30 am
3 Karen
Yes, this is probably why the authorities are keeping quiet on the issue. The less said about what Shannon has been through, and possibly her siblings, IMO, is better kept quiet, and leave the matters up the Shannon to talk about later on, if she wants to. Surely, she won’t be going back to that house. Unfortunately though, images from the accused computer has most probably made their way through the network. Shannon, IMO, is lucky to have been found alive, and now has a chance at life.
April 4th, 2008 at 1:53 am
Lyn
Really, a child should be protected from anyone knowing about that sort of thing. It’s a very awkward case - in that, if anything has happened to her, it’ll need to be on the charge sheet - but having the whole world know would be very stressful for her.
April 4th, 2008 at 1:50 am
Find it hard to believe the report that the stepfather did not have any images on his computer of Shannon nor the children. Read between the lines IMO, and a very sordid story will emerge. Shannon will have suffered for a long time no doubt. If the welfare people let her go back home, there is seriously something wrong with the welfare system. But, in the days leading up to Shannon’s disappearance there were moves to get her out of that house. So, hopefully, she won’t be going back again. There would be a hue and cry if she did go back home. Yes, why was Shannon upset and seen crying the day of her disappearance, and previous times before that.
April 3rd, 2008 at 10:58 am
yes very good reporting but in truth there still many miles to go to the full truth i just hope there no screw ups made with Shannon at this late date like letting her back home to soon the big question still unanswered why was the little girl so stressed in days running up to her disappearance