Madeleine McCann: Clarence Mitchell For Hire, Richard Desmond And The Guardian Repeats
MADDIE WATCH - Anorak’s at-a-glance guide to press coverage of Madeleine McCann
DAILY TELEGRAPH: “McCann’s spokesman Clarence Mitchell ponders PR move
As Kate and Gerry McCann return from their first family holiday since their daughter Madeleine disappeared 14 months ago, their spokesman Clarence Mitchell is in talks to join a PR agency where he plans to help other parents who have lost children to deal with the media.
Such is the news of the McCann case that the internet traffic-hungry Telegraph is looking at Clarence Mitchell’s career options. An interviwer might ask him what good has come of all the PR and media handling, and point out that not every missing child is the the blonde, photgenic progency of middle-class doctors and thus not deemed to be as newsworthy.
Says Mitchell, the McCanns’ spokesman:
“I’m happy to help anyone in the eye of a media storm, but I need to put myself on a firm financial footing. I should stress, however, that there’s absolutely no question of me abandoning Kate and Gerry McCann.”
Working for the McCanns is a job, and it pays. But when will it end?
THE GUARDIAN: “Fakery fallout hits TV sector”
Deception rows caused several top television figures to slide down the top 100. It’s the MediaGuardian 100, an arbitrary league table of TV shows and staff.
The newspaper sector accounts for three of the top 10 fallers - two editors and a proprietor. Richard Desmond is the second biggest faller, down 20 places to 55, after his newspapers had to make unprecedented front-page apologies and pay £550,000 in damages to the family of Madeleine McCann.
And the Guardian loves to write about Desmond:
55. Richard Desmond
In March, Richard Desmond’s Express Newspapers titles ran unprecedented apologies and paid £550,000 in damages over stories they had run about the family of Madeleine McCann….
It was another blow to the credibility of the papers, credibility that has suffered ever since Desmond bought them in 2000…
Under-resourced and undermined by the McCann apology, Desmond’s newspaper group also saw the first 24-hour national newspaper strike for 18 years in a dispute about pay and outsourcing.
Desmond is Fleet Street’s least-loved proprietor, but as the Observer’s Peter Preston memorably put it: “No one likes him, though (in common with Millwall FC) he doesn’t seem to care.”
No.78 is Peter Wright, editor of the Mail on Sunday.
If Wright is occasionally a controversial figure, then he gained extra credibility this year when he joined the Press Complaints Commission after the Daily Express editor, Peter Hill, stepped down in the wake of Express Newspapers’ £550,000 damages payout to the family of Madeleine McCann.
James Murdoch takes the top spot from his father as other City players suffer a tough year
Richard Desmond, the owner of Express Newspapers, has also had a mixed year, paying out £550,000 in damages to Gerry and Kate McCann for a string of inaccurate articles about their daughter Madeleine’s disappearance, and taking the unprecedented step of publishing front-page apologies in all four Express and Star national titles.
Is the Guardian obsessed with Richard Desmond?
Posted: 14th, July 2008 | In: Broadsheets, Madeleine McCann Comments (620) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink
Comments
July 14th, 2008 at 4:43 pm
OMG not another annaraccoon
***************************
…more like an anaraconda….or even an anarakoala…
July 14th, 2008 at 4:41 pm
Great to hear Ann
x
July 14th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
happy birthday for tomorrow clive, hope you have a good one.
July 14th, 2008 at 4:39 pm
284
Ann Says:
July 14th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
281
Maria Says:
July 14th, 2008 at 4:33 pm
Ann
Congratulations! Delighted to hear that wonderful news.
**************************************
Thanks so much Maria, I feel like I’m ten feet off the ground at the moment !!
——————————————————————————————
OMG not another annaraccoon
July 14th, 2008 at 4:39 pm
283
Noseycow Says:
July 14th, 2008 at 4:37 pm
Ann
Oh what ?? Smoothies do not hold the same charm as a good glass of something with Red/White/Rose on the bottle but …ho hum….if I MUST !!!! and thanks all !!
Take a look at the smoothie that Carmen found, and you won’t say that again…
**************************************************
Where will I find that then ….???
July 14th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
281
Maria Says:
July 14th, 2008 at 4:33 pm
Ann
Congratulations! Delighted to hear that wonderful news.
**************************************
Thanks so much Maria, I feel like I’m ten feet off the ground at the moment !!
July 14th, 2008 at 4:37 pm
Ann
Oh what ?? Smoothies do not hold the same charm as a good glass of something with Red/White/Rose on the bottle but …ho hum….if I MUST !!!! and thanks all !!
Take a look at the smoothie that Carmen found, and you won’t say that again…
July 14th, 2008 at 4:37 pm
280
chenier Says:
July 14th, 2008 at 4:26 pm
Ann, look upon it as a sacrifice well worth making!
And we promise not to make lip smacking noises about what an excellent vintage it is more than, say, 2 or 3 times a day…
*******************************************
..as if !! …..just look at those Porcine Aviators going by !!!!
July 14th, 2008 at 4:33 pm
Ann
Congratulations! Delighted to hear that wonderful news.
July 14th, 2008 at 4:26 pm
Ann, look upon it as a sacrifice well worth making!
And we promise not to make lip smacking noises about what an excellent vintage it is more than, say, 2 or 3 times a day…
July 14th, 2008 at 4:18 pm
275
chenier Says:
July 14th, 2008 at 4:07 pm 276
Noseycow Says:
July 14th, 2008 at 4:08 pm
Ann
Fantastic news!! Celebrate with a Smoothie
****************************************************
277
Matt. Says:
July 14th, 2008 at 4:09 pm Stay away from those Spirits, Ann.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Oh what ?? Smoothies do not hold the same charm as a good glass of something with Red/White/Rose on the bottle but …ho hum….if I MUST !!!! and thanks all !!
July 14th, 2008 at 4:16 pm
Matt, it could be telepathy…
July 14th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
274
Ann Says:
July 14th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
273
Clive Says:
July 14th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
Back to ghosts
Maybe if one of us could see Madeleine’s ghost, we could find out the truth
…………………………………………………..
Well, apparently she comes to Kate in the night !! so how she can keep saying she is still alive I don’t know, either you are flesh or you are spirit…..
****************************************************
Stay away from those Spirits, Ann.
July 14th, 2008 at 4:08 pm
Ann
Fantastic news!! Celebrate with a Smoothie
July 14th, 2008 at 4:07 pm
270
Ann Says:
July 14th, 2008 at 3:49 pm
——————
I’m very glad!
All the more booze for us
July 14th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
273
Clive Says:
July 14th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
Back to ghosts
Maybe if one of us could see Madeleine’s ghost, we could find out the truth
…………………………………………………..
Well, apparently she comes to Kate in the night !! so how she can keep saying she is still alive I don’t know, either you are flesh or you are spirit…..
July 14th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
Back to ghosts
Maybe if one of us could see Madeleine’s ghost, we could find out the truth
July 14th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
271
Clive Says:
July 14th, 2008 at 3:52 pm
………………………………………
Thanks Clive, I am breathing again !!! been a long, hard slog
July 14th, 2008 at 3:52 pm
Ann
now that really is great news. Hope you now have a happy summer.
July 14th, 2008 at 3:49 pm
For the interest of those who may recall I had a nasty cancer op back in January, I just wanted to share with you the results of the six-months-after-the-op MRI scan. It appears there is “no recurrent metastatic tumour ” ( …Doctor-speak for no Cancer) four simple cysts in the liver (…WARNING - stay off the alcohol ! ) and thus I am apparently truly in the clear !!! Deep joy in this household… !!
July 14th, 2008 at 3:46 pm
Getting Spookier n Spookier this place.
Must remember never to say “BOO” when I arrive online.
July 14th, 2008 at 3:41 pm
school run
x
July 14th, 2008 at 3:40 pm
BBl
July 14th, 2008 at 3:40 pm
I’ve never seen a ghost but was ‘visited’ by a friend in my dreams around the time that he died.
i woke up giggling
was very comforting but didn’t know that he’d died until two days later.
July 14th, 2008 at 3:32 pm
Clive
They say when a passing is quick, untimely and instant, the soul finds it hard to believe it and carrys on.
July 14th, 2008 at 3:26 pm
Brandon’s ghost story is more interesting than my birthday.
When I was younger, a bunch of us were lazing around at the cricket club. This was at about 11 in the morning. Someone noticed our coach, who always dressed distinctively, was walking around the pitch.
Several of us looked out and saw him as we debated whether to go down to the nets with him for a practice. We decided no and continued to laze. A new guy joined us and asked if we had heard the news. He told us that “Old Macleod” ,our coach, had died the previous night.
Of course, we said nonsense as we had just seen him but of course when we looked out again he was not there.
It turned out that the previous evening he had come out of the bar and dropped dead.
The bar was imediately under the score-room where we lads hung out.
Even today, at least six of us would swear we saw him hours after he died.
July 14th, 2008 at 3:20 pm
You are most welcome Clive.
And I am most relieved that you are feeling relieved now. (See we’re a kind bunch really
)
July 14th, 2008 at 3:19 pm
Did you get your bon bons early too ?
July 14th, 2008 at 3:16 pm
Thanks to all who have wished me a happy birthday and apologies for not passing this on sooner.
I had to log off to relieve myself but all is well now.
July 14th, 2008 at 3:14 pm
BF …. You have just GOT TO post that photo here - now I’m quizzy